King Richard III

The context of the play

Richard Ⅲ is the final play in the cycle of eight plays Shakespeare wrote dramatising English history from 1398 to 1485. The plays are Shakespeare's version of the struggle for the crown of England. The following brief summaries will help you understand how Richard Ⅲ relates to the earlier plays (particularly events in Henry Ⅵ Part 3).

• Richard Ⅱ tells how Henry Bullingbrook deposes King Richard and is crowned as King Henry Ⅳ.
• Henry Ⅳ Parts 1 and 2 tell of Prince Hal's exploits with Falstaff, his victory at Shrewsbury over Hotspur (Part 1) and how he finally rejects Falstaff when he becomes King (Part 2).
• Henry Ⅴ tells of Henry's victory at Agincourt and his betrothal to Katherine, the French King's daughter.
• Henry Ⅵ Parts 1, 2 and 3 tell how Henry loses the English possessions in France and sees his kingdom racked by civil war (the Wars of the Roses) as a rival family, the house of York, challenges his right to rule. The Yorkists are triumphant, but the actions of the three York brothers have consequences for what happens in Richard Ⅲ:
  

  	-	The eldest York brother becomes King Edward Ⅳ, but his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville infuriates his younger brothers.
  	-	The middle brother, Clarence, perfidiously changes sides in the wars and is distrusted by Richard.
  	-	The youngest brother, Richard, determines to become King. He kills Henry Ⅵ and his son Prince Edward, and this makes Margaret, wife and mother of the two murdered men, an implacable enemy of the Yorkists.

• Richard Ⅲ tells how Richard murders his way to the English throne, but is finally overthrown by Richmond (a descendant of the house of Lancaster). Richmond becomes King Henry Ⅶ, so establishing the Tudor dynasty. He prepares to marry Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Ⅳ, and so unite the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster.

The Tudor myth

The claims of the new King Henry Ⅶ to the throne were insecure. At a time of patriarchy (where males are head of a family), he traced his royal ancestry back to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, through a female link. A significant male ancestor was an obscure Welsh squire, Owen Tudor (but Tudor had married the widow of King Henry V). With such a questionable claim to the English throne, it became essential for Henry to destroy Richard's reputation.

Under Henry Ⅶ and his son Henry Ⅷ, successive historians and writers established the now traditional view of Richard as an evil, unpopular King. Chroniclers related events from the Tudor point of view. This perspective emphasised the horrors of civil war, declared the legitimacy of the Tudor dynasty and praised the Tudors as the bringers of peace and prosperity to England.

During the reign of Henry Ⅶ writers stressed that Richard was a usurper (a person who wrongfully seizes power) who had murdered Henry Ⅵ, the princes in the Tower and his wife Anne. One 'history' claimed Richard was born with teeth and with hair down to his shoulders. 'History books' of the time were more concerned with moral teaching than today's history books are.

Two such 'histories' written during the reign of Henry Ⅷ were responsible for the popular image of Richard as the evil hunchback. Sir Thomas More's History of Richard Ⅲ (written 1513-18) presents Richard as deformed, evil from his birth and plotting to become King. Polydore Vergil's Historia Anglia (1534) was written at the request of Henry Ⅷ to legitimise the Tudor dynasty. Vergil's argument expresses what has come to be called 'the Tudor myth'. It claims that Henry Ⅳ's illegal seizure of the crown from Richard Ⅱ broke the God-given order of the universe and resulted in all the disasters that followed: the early death of Henry Ⅴ, the bloody civil war known as the Wars of the Roses and Richard Ⅲ's murderous, despotic reign. Vergil claimed that England was rescued by Henry Tudor as God's instrument on Earth, bringing peace and plenty by uniting the houses of York and Lancaster.

Under Queen Elizabeth, the historians Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed incorporated the interpretations of More and Vergil so completely into their history books that by the end of the sixteenth century this very negative portrayal of Richard's appearance and actions was almost universally accepted. This version of history was Shakespeare's major resource as he wrote his play.

The world of the play

List of characters

The royal family

RICHARD, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER (later King Richard Ⅲ)
DUCHESS OF YORK his mother
KING EDWARD IV
CLARENCE ^{□ his brothers}
ANNE his wife (earlier betrothed to Prince Edward, son of King Henry VI)
QUEEN ELIZABETH (wife of King Edward Ⅳ)
PRINCE EDWARD
DUKE OF YORK ^{□ her sons (the princes in the Tower)}
BOY
GIRL ^{□ Clarence’s children}
QUEEN MARGARET (widow of King Henry Ⅵ)
EARL OF RICHMOND (later King Henry Ⅶ)

The Woodvilles

MARQUESS OF DORSET
LORD GREY ^{□ sons of Queen Elizabeth}
LORD RIVERS (brother of Queen Elizabeth)
VAUGHAN

Nobles, church and court

Lords, Attendants, Halberds, Messengers, Soldiers, Servants, Citizens, Gentlemen, Page, Guards, two Bishops.

The action of the play takes place in various locations in England.

Richard soliloquises on the end of the civil war and the pleasure of peace. He mocks his brother's sexual games and regrets he cannot enjoy similar pleasures.

1 A dramatic opening (in pairs)

The house of York has seized power and Edward ('this son of York') has been crowned king. In his opening lines 1-41 Richard reflects on how these events affect him.

This opening soliloquy reveals a brilliant and witty mind within a deformed body as Richard begins the plots and deceptions that will fool successive characters. The soliloquy is in three parts:

Lines 1-13 The change from war to peace and the character of the new Yorkist monarch, Edward. Delighting in clever wordplay, Richard tells how, just as the hardships of winter give way to the glories of summer, so the harshness of war has changed to the pleasures of peace. The war over, King Edward enjoys amorous pleasures.

Lines 14-27 Richard's physical deformity prevents him from enjoying sexual exploits ('sportive tricks'). He is imperfectly shaped ('rudely stamped') and lacks the sex appeal that good looks give ('want love's majesty').

Lines 28-41 Because he cannot be a lover, Richard resolves to be a villain and gain power. His first move is to plot the imprisonment of his brother, Clarence.

Take turns to speak the soliloquy, then work out how you would stage the lines to greatest dramatic effect. There is more help on page 8 and on page 66. As you work through your presentation, write down what you learn of Richard's attitude to the end of the war, his deformity and his future plans.

King Richard III

Act 1 Scene 1
Outside the Tower of London

Enter RICHARD DUKE OF GLOUCESTER

Richard determines he will be evil. He tells the audience that he has arranged for King Edward to find his brother Clarence a threat and imprison him in the Tower. He jokes at Clarence's plight.

Richard as villain and actor

In line 30, 'I am determinèd to prove a villain', Richard declares his intention to be evil. Many people think that Shakespeare's portrayal of villainy resembles the character of Vice in medieval morality plays (see p. 250). Vice was a villainous servant of the devil who trapped people into sin by charm, wit and double-dealing. Like Richard, Vice often confided with the audience, encouraging them to delight in his cleverness.

Richard often refers to plays and acting techniques, relishing his skills as an actor throughout the play. For example, 'inductions' (line 32) were the dramatic prologues to plays. Step into role as director of the play and write notes advising the actor playing Richard what gestures and expressions he might use to show how Richard delights in such imagery as he invites the audience to share in his plots. Start listing other images as they occur in the play. You will find help with imagery on page 245.

Irony

Almost all of what Richard says to Clarence is ironic; he does not want him to have a 'good' day and already knows the answers to the questions he asks. Even his joke about christening is ironic in view of what happens later in the play. Christening uses water as a symbol of rebirth, but Clarence will shortly be drowned in a cask of wine. As you read on, watch for the many other examples of irony and make a note of them. You will find help with irony on page 249.

Richard claims that Queen Elizabeth has caused King Edward to imprison Clarence, and that she and Jane Shore have become powers behind the throne. Brakenbury's unease is dismissed with innuendo and sexual puns.

1 'Men are ruled by women' (line 62)

In line , Richard mockingly refers to Queen Elizabeth as 'My lady Grey' because before her marriage to King Edward in 1464 she was the widow of Sir Thomas Grey. Elizabeth used her position as Queen to gain power and influence for her large family, the Woodvilles, and in so doing aroused much jealousy.

Jane Shore's name occurs frequently throughout the play, though she never appears. She is the mistress of both King Edward and Lord Hastings, and was believed to be a witch. Clarence hints that Hastings was responsible for keeping her out of prison.

Richard Ⅲ has often traditionally been regarded as a 'male' play, yet Richard frequently refers to both these women as a source of trouble, as if they possessed real power. As you work through the play, try to identify the extent of women's power and influence. You will find help with women in the play on page 236.

2 Making Brakenbury feel inferior? (in pairs)

Brakenbury greets Richard and Clarence as 'your graces' (line 84) because they are royal dukes, but Richard calls him 'man' (line 90) and makes jokes at Brakenbury's expense by punning on 'nought' and 'naught', meaning 'nothing' and 'to have sex'. Does Richard deliberately use his position to make Brakenbury feel inferior? Give reasons why you think Richard appears so light-hearted.