Act I, scene i

. . . since I cannot prove a lover

To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
(See Important Quotations Eplained!
Summary
"ichard, the duke of #loucester, speaks in a monolo$ue addressed to himself and to the
audience. After a len$thy civil war, he says, peace at last has returned to the royal house of
En$land. "ichard says that his older %rother, &in$ Edward I', now sits on the throne, and
everyone around "ichard is involved in a $reat cele%ration. (ut "ichard himself will not )oin in
the festivities. *e complains that he was %orn deformed and u$ly, and %itterly laments his %ad
luck. *e vows to make every%ody around him misera%le as well. +oreover, "ichard says, he is
power-hun$ry, and seeks to $ain control over the entire court. *e implies that his ultimate $oal is
to make himself kin$.
,orkin$ toward this $oal, "ichard has set in motion various schemes a$ainst the other no%lemen
of the court. The first victim is "ichard-s own %rother, .larence. "ichard and .larence are the
two youn$er %rothers of the current kin$, Edward I', who is very ill and hi$hly su$$esti%le at the
moment. "ichard says that he has planted rumors to make Edward suspicious of .larence.
.larence himself now enters, under armed $uard. "ichard-s rumor-plantin$ has worked, and
.larence is %ein$ led to the Tower of /ondon, where En$lish political prisoners were
traditionally imprisoned and often eecuted. "ichard, pretendin$ to %e very sad to see .larence
made a prisoner, su$$ests to .larence that &in$ Edward must have %een influenced %y his wife,
Queen Eli0a%eth, or %y his mistress, /ady Shore, to %ecome suspicious of .larence. "ichard
promises that he will try to have .larence set free. (ut after .larence is led offsta$e toward the
Tower, "ichard $leefully says to himself that he will make sure .larence never returns.
/ord *astin$s, the lord .ham%erlain of the court, now enters. *e was earlier imprisoned in the
Tower %y the suspicious &in$ Edward, %ut has now %een freed. "ichard, pretendin$ i$norance,
asks *astin$s for the latest news, and *astin$s tells him that Edward is very sick. After *astin$s
leaves, "ichard $loats over Edward-s illness. Edward-s death would %rin$ "ichard one step
closer to the throne. "ichard wants .larence to die first, however, so that "ichard will %e the
le$al heir to power. "ichard-s planned net step is to try to marry a no%lewoman named /ady
Anne 1eville. An alliance with her would help "ichard on his way to the throne. /ady Anne
recently has %een widowed2she was married to the son of the previous kin$, *enry 'I, who
recently was deposed and murdered, alon$ with his son, %y "ichard-s family. Anne is thus in
deep mournin$. (ut the sadistic and amoral "ichard is amused %y the idea of persuadin$ her to
marry him under these circumstances.
Analysis
In the play-s well-known openin$ lines, "ichard refers to events that Shakespeare chronicles in
his earlier plays *enry 'I, 3arts 4ne, Two, and Three, and with which he would have epected
his viewers to %e familiar. The *enry 'I plays detail an ehaustin$ civil war for the throne of
En$land, which %oiled down to a contest %etween two families5 the *ouse of 6ork and the *ouse
of /ancaster. This civil war is known as the ,ars of the "oses, %ecause of the white and red
roses that sym%oli0ed the houses of 6ork and of /ancaster, respectively. "ichard-s side, the
*ouse of 6ork, eventually wins, and "ichard-s oldest %rother, Edward, is now &in$ Edward I'.
This knowled$e of the recent civil war helps us make sense of the openin$ lines, spoken %y
"ichard5 71ow is the winter of our discontent 8 +ade $lorious summer %y this son of 6ork9 8 And
all the clouds that loured upon our homes 8 In the deep %osom of the ocean %uried: (I.i.;<=!.
"ichard-s %rother Edward is the 7son of 6ork: who has %rou$ht 7$lorious summer: to the
kin$dom, and "ichard-s 7winter of our discontent: is the recently ended civil war. The 7house: is
the *ouse of 6ork, to which "ichard and his %rothers Edward and .larence %elon$, and which
now rules the kin$dom.
"ichard-s openin$ speech eplains important elements of his character. *e says that %ecause he
cannot %e happy2in part %ecause he feels that he cannot %e seually successful with women2
he has decided to ruin these prosperous times and make every%ody else misera%le5 7>T?herefore
since I cannot prove a lover 8 To entertain these fair well-spoken days, 8 I am determined to prove
a villain 8 And hate the idle pleasures of these days: (I.i.@A<B;!. *e $oes on to tell us how he has
%e$un to spread rumors that should cause &in$ Edward to suspect .larence ("ichard, and
Edward-s %rother!, and to punish and imprison him2plans whose results %ecome visi%le when
.larence walks onsta$e under $uard.
(ut "ichard is not really as simple and strai$htforward as his description of himself implies,
however. The true motivations for his evil manipulations remain mysterious. In his speech, he
speaks of his %itterness at his deformity9 "ichard is a hunch%ack, and has somethin$ wron$ with
one of his arms. (ut the play-s later action shows that "ichard is physically very active, and that
he is in fact Cuite confident in his a%ility to seduce women. (itterness at his deformity also fails
to eplain his overpowerin$ desire to %e kin$ or his lust for power. Dor these reasons, "ichard
may not seem like an entirely realistic and consistent personality to us. +oreover, for
Shakespeare-s audience, "ichard would have %een stron$ly reminiscent of the two-dimensional
7'ice: character of medieval morality plays, a character who was meant to illustrate man-s evil
side rather than to present a psycholo$ically realistic portrait. In fact, "ichard eplicitly
compares himself to 'ice (III.i.A@!. (ut "ichard is much more than this stock fi$ure2
Shakespeare consistently creates the impression that there is more to "ichard than we can %e$in
to $rasp.
"ichard-s openin$ monolo$ue also shows us what a masterful speaker he is. *is speech is full of
strikin$ metaphors and ima$es, such as his pun on 7son: when he descri%es how &in$ Edward
has turned winter to summer (I.i.@!. +ost important, however, this scene shows us the deceptive
way in which "ichard interacts with the world. "ichard has one persona when he speaks alone,
%ut as soon as some%ody else comes on sta$e, his attitude chan$es. In fact, he lies and
manipulates so convincin$ly that we certainly would %elieve the sympathy and love he epresses
toward his unhappy %rother .larence if we did not hear his earlier vow to destroy .larence2a
vow which he repeats as soon as .larence leaves the sta$e. "ichard-s remarka%le skill at self-
presentation has intri$ued $enerations of actors and audiences alike. The character "ichard is
himself an actor, playin$ a role to the other characters on sta$e.
Dinally, this scene hints at the complicated we% of schemes and alliances that $rows even more
comple durin$ the course of the play. In "ichard-s scheme a$ainst .larence, we see the first
concrete result of his su%tle and hypocritical desi$ns. Additionally, in the symmetrical echan$e
of no%lemen $oin$ in and out of the Tower of /ondon we see how fleetin$ favor must have %een
in the royal court5 .larence falls from royal favor and is locked up, while *astin$s re$ains it and
is freed. This unpredicta%ility of fortune and favor was a popular literary theme in Shakespeare-s
day.
Act I, scene ii
Summary
/ady Anne, the widow of &in$ *enry 'I-s son, Edward, enters the royal castle with a $roup of
men %earin$ the coffin of *enry 'I. She curses "ichard for havin$ killed *enry. (oth *enry 'I
and Edward, who were of the *ouse of /ancaster, have recently %een killed %y mem%ers of the
*ouse of 6ork, the family of the current kin$, Edward I', and "ichard. Anne says that "ichard is
to %lame for %oth deaths. She refers spitefully to her hus%and-s killer as she mourns for the dead
kin$ and prince, prayin$ that any child "ichard mi$ht have %e deformed and sick, and that he
make any woman he mi$ht marry %e as misera%le as Anne herself is.
Suddenly, "ichard himself enters the room. Anne reacts with horror and spite, %ut "ichard orders
the attendants to stop the procession so that he can speak with her. *e addresses Anne $ently, %ut
she curses him as the murderer of her hus%and and father-in-law. Anne points to the %loody
wounds on the corpse of the dead *enry 'I, sayin$ that they have started to %leed. (Accordin$ to
"enaissance tradition, the wounds of a murdered person %e$in to %leed a$ain if the killer comes
close to the corpse.!
3raisin$ Anne-s $entleness and %eauty, "ichard %e$ins to court her romantically. Anne naturally
reacts with an$er and horror and reminds "ichard repeatedly that she knows he killed her
hus%and and &in$ *enry. *e tells Anne that she ou$ht to for$ive him his crime out of .hristian
charity, then denies that he killed her hus%and at all. Anne remains an$ry, %ut her fierceness
seems to dwindle $radually in the face of "ichard-s eloCuence and apparent sincerity. Dinally, in
a hi$hly theatrical $esture, "ichard kneels %efore her and hands her his sword, tellin$ her to kill
him if she will not for$ive him, indicatin$ that he doesn-t want to live if she hates him. Anne
%e$ins to sta% toward his chest, %ut "ichard keeps speakin$, sayin$ that he killed *enry I' and
Edward out of passion for Anne herself2Anne-s %eauty drove him to it. Anne lowers the sword.
"ichard slips his rin$ onto her fin$er, tellin$ her that she can make him happy only %y for$ivin$
him and %ecomin$ his wife. Anne says that she may take the rin$ %ut that she will not $ive him
her hand. "ichard persists, and Anne a$rees to meet him later at a place he names.
As soon as "ichard is alone, he $leefully %e$ins to cele%rate his conCuest of Anne. *e asks
scornfully whether she has already for$otten her hus%and, murdered %y his ("ichard-s! hand. *e
$loats over havin$ won her even while her eyes were still filled with the tears of mournin$, and
over havin$ manipulated her affections even thou$h she hates him.
Analysis
Act I, scene ii is psycholo$ically complicated, and is without dou%t one of the most difficult
scenes in the entire play. It is hard for many readers to accept that Anne, who mourns the dead
*enry and curses "ichard at the %e$innin$ of the scene, could possi%ly wear his rin$ and let him
court her %y the scene-s end. This scene demonstrates "ichard-s %rilliance as a manipulator of
people. ,e receive a taste of this %rilliance in Act I, scene i, %ut the wooin$ of Anne shows
"ichard-s persuasive a%ilities at a whole new level. "ichard-s a%ility to persuade the $rievin$,
%itter Anne to accept him as a suitor is surely proof of his ominous skill in playin$ upon people-s
emotions and in convincin$ them that he is sincere when in fact he is lyin$ throu$h his teeth.
"ichard manipulates Anne %y fei$nin$ $entleness and persistently praisin$ her %eauty, a
techniCue that he su%tly twists later in the scene in order to play upon Anne-s sense of $uilt and
o%li$ation. "ichard implies that he killed Anne-s hus%and, Edward, %ecause Anne-s %eauty had
caused "ichard to love her2and that, therefore, Edward-s death is partially Anne-s fault. This
tactic culminates in the hi$hly manipulative, and risky, $esture of "ichard-s offerin$ her his
sword and presentin$ his chest to her, sayin$ she may kill him if she can. (ut, interrupted %y
"ichard-s speeches, Anne finds herself una%le to kill him. 7Thou$h I wish thy death, 8 I will not
%e thy eecutioner,: she says2)ust what "ichard is countin$ on (I.i.;E@<;EB!. In provin$ that
Anne lacks the will to kill him, "ichard himself esta%lishes a kind of power over Anne. *e
demonstrates that she cannot %ack up her words with action, while he %acks every claim he
makes with swift and violent deeds.
In a %road sense, this scene is a demonstration of "ichard-s powerful way with words, which
may %e the most important aspect of his character. *e wins Anne, a seemin$ly impossi%le feat.
She herself, knowin$ that she cannot trust him, is nonetheless una%le to resist his apparent
sincerity and skillfully manipulative $estures. *e en$ineers the entire scene to %rin$ a%out the
result he desires.
As the $leeful "ichard says after Anne has left2in a $ruesome spectacle of re)oicin$ that tends
to reinforce the audience-s loathin$ of him, 7>w?as ever woman in this humour wooedF 8 ,as
ever woman in this humour wonF: (I.ii.@;G<@;H!. "ichard then $oes on to $loat over his murder
of her hus%and, Edward, to which he now openly admits. /ast, "ichard seems to take pleasure in
comparin$ his own u$liness to Edward-s no%ility2appreciatin$ the accompanyin$ irony that the
%eautiful Anne will now %elon$ to the hideous "ichard. It is difficult to read this scene without
concludin$ that "ichard is twisted in mind and emotion as well as %ody. *is intelli$ence, his skill
with words, and his apparently motiveless hatred of the world at lar$e com%ine with these
twisted emotions to make "ichard very dan$erous indeed.
Act I, scene iii
Thou elvish-marked, a%ortive, rootin$ ho$,
Thou that wast sealed in thy nativity
The slave of nature and the son of hell.
(See Important Quotations Eplained!
Summary
Queen Eli0a%eth, the wife of the sickly &in$ Edward I', enters with mem%ers of her family5 her
%rother, /ord "ivers, and her two sons from a prior marria$e, /ord #ray and the +arCuis of
Iorset. The Cueen tells her relatives that she is fearful %ecause her hus%and is $rowin$ sicker and
seems unlikely to survive his illness. The kin$ and Cueen have two sons, %ut the princes are still
too youn$ to rule. If &in$ Edward dies, control of the throne will $o to "ichard until the oldest
son comes of a$e. Eli0a%eth tells her kinsmen that "ichard is hostile to her and that she fears for
her safety and that of her sons.
Two no%lemen enter5 the duke of (uckin$ham, and Stanley, the earl of Ier%y. They report that
&in$ Edward is doin$ %etter, and that he wants to make peace %etween "ichard and Eli0a%eth-s
kinsmen, %etween whom there is lon$-standin$ hostility.
Suddenly, "ichard enters, complainin$ loudly. *e announces that, %ecause he is such an honest
and plainspoken man, the people at court slander him, pretendin$ that he has said hostile thin$s
a%out Eli0a%eth-s kinsmen. *e then accuses Eli0a%eth and her kinsmen of hopin$ that Edward
will die soon. Eli0a%eth, forced to $o on the defensive, tells "ichard that Edward simply wants to
make peace amon$ all of them. (ut "ichard accuses Eli0a%eth of havin$ en$ineered the
imprisonment of .larence2an imprisonment that is actually "ichard-s doin$ (as we have
learned in Act I, scene i!.
Eli0a%eth and "ichard-s ar$ument escalates. As they ar$ue, old Queen +ar$aret enters
uno%served. As she watches "ichard and Eli0a%eth fi$ht, +ar$aret comments %itterly to herself
a%out how temporary power is, and she condemns "ichard for his part in the death of her
hus%and, *enry 'I, and his son, 3rince Edward. Dinally, +ar$aret steps forward out of hidin$.
She accuses Eli0a%eth and "ichard of havin$ caused her downfall and tells them that they do not
know what sorrow is. She adds that Eli0a%eth en)oys the privile$es of %ein$ Cueen, which should
%e +ar$aret-s, and that "ichard is to %lame for the murders of her family. The others, startled to
see her %ecause they thou$ht that she had %een %anished from the kin$dom, )oin to$ether a$ainst
her.
+ar$aret, %itter a%out her overthrow and the killin$ of her family %y the people who stand %efore
her, %e$ins to curse all those present. She prays that Eli0a%eth will outlive her $lory, and see her
hus%and and children die %efore her, )ust as +ar$aret has. She curses *astin$s, "ivers, and
Iorset to die early deaths, since they were all %ystanders when the 6ork family murdered her
son, Edward. Dinally, she curses "ichard, prayin$ to the heavens that "ichard will mistake his
friends for enemies, and vice versa, and that he will never sleep peacefully.
+ar$aret leaves, and .ates%y, a no%leman, enters to say that &in$ Edward wants to see his
family and speak with them. The others leave, %ut "ichard stays %ehind. *e announces that he
has set all his plans in motion and is deceivin$ every%ody into thinkin$ that he is really a $ood
person. Two new men now enter, murderers whom "ichard has hired to kill his %rother,
.larence, currently imprisoned in the Tower of /ondon.
Analysis
"ichard-s speeches in this scene display his calculated hypocrisy. ,e know that "ichard has
manipulated matters %ehind the scenes to have .larence imprisoned and that he plans to ruin
every%ody else in the court and elevate himself to power. (ut when "ichard enters this scene, he
complains that other people have falsely accused him of evil actions. (y %oldly $oin$ on the
offensive, "ichard puts other people on the defensive and forestalls any%ody accusin$ him, thus
effectively mana$in$ to cover up his villainy. It takes a $reat deal of $all for the manipulative,
rumor-spreadin$ "ichard to say of himself, 7>c?annot a plain man live and think no harm, 8 (ut
thus his simple truth must %e a%used 8 ,ith silken, sly, insinuatin$ )acksF: (I.iii.G;<GB!. ,ith
these words, "ichard accuses other people of conspirin$ to slander him. As "ichard $leefully
says at the end of the scene, he is so %rilliantly hypocritical that he can 7clothe my naked villainy
8 ,ith odd old ends, stol-n forth of *oly ,rit, 8 And seem a saint when most I play the devil:
(I.iii.BB=<BBH!. *ere, as often, "ichard seems reminiscent of the devil himself, who is renowned
in literature for his a%ility to Cuote scripture to his own purposes.
1onetheless, not everyone is deceived. Eli0a%eth seems to %e well aware of "ichard-s hostility
toward her, and their conversation, %efore +ar$aret interrupts them, is loaded with dou%le
meanin$s and su%tle )a%s. Durthermore, in her conversation with her kinsmen %efore "ichard-s
entrance, Eli0a%eth seems to foresee the harm that "ichard intends toward her family. She is
savvy enou$h to %e afraid of what "ichard may do if he is named /ord 3rotector after &in$
Edward-s death, and, refusin$ to %e cheered up %y her kinsmen, says sadly, 7I fear our happiness
is at the hei$ht: (I.iii.=;!.
+ar$aret-s etrava$ant and detailed curses, which she hurls at nearly every mem%er of the royal
family, create an ominous sense of fore%odin$. Since Shakespeare-s world is .hristian, we mi$ht
epect curses, prophecies, and other forms of ma$ic to %e discounted as superstition in his plays.
(ut curses and prophecies carry $reat wei$ht in many of Shakespeare-s works. +ar$aret hates
the 6orks and the ,oodevilles (the name of Eli0a%eth-s family! %ecause she feels they have
displaced her and %lames them for killin$ her own family. 7Thy honor, state, and seat is due to
me,: she says of Queen Eli0a%eth, and she curses the royal family to suffer a fate parallel to hers
(I.iii.;;@!. (ecause her own son, Edward, was killed, she prays that Eli0a%eth-s youn$ son, also
named Edward, will die. In addition, %ecause +ar$aret-s own hus%and *enry was murdered,
+ar$aret prays that Eli0a%eth will also outlive her hus%and to 7>d?ie, neither mother, wife, nor
En$land-s Cueen: (I.iii.;JH<@KH!.
Dor "ichard himself, +ar$aret saves the worst. After heapin$ terri%le insults upon him, she
curses him never to have rest. She warns %oth Eli0a%eth and (uckin$ham not to trust "ichard.
She says to Eli0a%eth, 73oor painted Cueen . . . 8 ,hy strew-st thou su$ar on that %ottled spider 8
,hose deadly we% ensnareth thee a%outF 8 Dool, fool, thou whet-st a knife to kill thyself:
(I.iii.@BJ<@=@!. The metaphors and similes with which +ar$aret descri%es "ichard2:thou
elvish-mark-d, a%ortive, rootin$ ho$: (I.iii.@@G!, for instance, or 7this poisonous %unch-%ack-d
toad: (I.iii.@==!2refer to %oth "ichard-s physical deformities and his corrupt inner nature.
Act I, scene iv
Summary
Inside the Tower of /ondon, the imprisoned .larence tells (racken%ury, the lieutenant of the
tower, a%out the stran$e dream he had the ni$ht %efore. .larence says he dreamed that he was
outside of the tower and a%out to set sail for Drance, alon$ with his %rother, "ichard. (ut as they
walked alon$ the deck of the ship, "ichard stum%led, and when .larence tried to help him,
"ichard accidentally pushed him into the ocean. .larence saw all the treasures of the deep laid
out %efore him, as his drownin$ was prolon$ed for a very lon$ time. *e stru$$led to $ive up the
$host, %ut had to feel the terri%le pain of drownin$ over and over a$ain. .larence then dreamed
that he visited the underworld, where he saw the $hosts of those for whose deaths he had %een
partly responsi%le in the recent overthrow of the monarchy. In particular, .larence dreamed that
he saw the $host of 3rince Edward2the son of *enry 'I and first hus%and of /ady Anne2
whom .larence himself had helped to kill. 3rince Edward cried out aloud, cursin$ .larence, and
the Duries sei0ed .larence to dra$ him down to hell. .larence then woke from the dream,
trem%lin$ and terrified. (racken%ury commiserates with .larence, and .larence, who has a
fore%odin$ of evil, asks him to stay with him while he sleeps. (racken%ury a$rees, and .larence
falls asleep.
Suddenly, "ichard-s hired murderers enter unannounced. They rudely hand (racken%ury the
warrant that "ichard $ave them2a le$al document that orders (racken%ury to leave them alone
with .larence, no Cuestions asked. (racken%ury leaves Cuickly.
/eft alone with the sleepin$ .larence, the two murderers de%ate how %est to kill him. (oth suffer
some pan$s of conscience, %ut the memory of the reward "ichard offers them overcomes their
Cualms. Eventually they decide to %eat him with their swords and then to drown him in the ke$
of wine in the net room. (ut .larence suddenly wakes and pleads with them for his life. The
murderers waver in their resolve, and .larence finally asks them to $o to his %rother "ichard,
who, .larence thinks, will reward them for sparin$ his life. 4ne of the murderers hesitates, %ut,
the other, after revealin$ to the un%elievin$ .larence that it is "ichard who has sent them to kill
him, sta%s .larence, and puts his %ody in the ke$. The murderers flee the scene %efore anyone
comes to investi$ate.
4 /ordL +ethou$ht what pain it was to drown. . . .
(See Important Quotations Eplained!
Analysis
.larence-s description of his dream is nota%le for %oth its strikin$ lan$ua$e and its portentous
foreshadowin$. .larence is unaware that "ichard is %ehind his imprisonment, %ut he nonetheless
dreams that his %rother causes his death. *is vivid description of the terror of drownin$ is also
memora%le5 74 /ordL +ethou$ht what pain it was to drown 8 ,hat dreadful noise of waters in
my ears, 8 ,hat si$hts of u$ly death within mine eyesL: (I.iv.@;<@B!. The evocative phrases
Shakespeare uses, such as the descriptions of the stran$e treasures .larence sees and the 7>t?en
thousand men that fishes $nawed upon: (I.iv.@G!, )utapose earthly wealth and human mortality
2a freCuent concern of "enaissance writers. Some of the ima$es used here, such as that of the
dead men-s skulls at the %ottom of the sea into whose eye sockets reflectin$ $ems have fallen, are
similar to ima$es that Shakespeare uses in his later play The Tempest. In that play, a fairy sin$s to
a youn$ prince whose father is %elieved to have drowned at sea, descri%in$ the way his father-s
%ones have turned into coral and his eyes to pearls.
.larence-s dream is also an eerie foreshadowin$ of his actual drownin$ later in the scene.
+oreover, it foreshadows the ni$htmare "ichard himself eperiences )ust %efore %attle in Act ',
scene v. /ike the appearance of +ar$aret-s curses in Act I, scene iii, the use of a foreshadowin$
dream here indicates the predominance of the supernatural in Richard III. ,hile the play is
technically classified as a history play, in many respects it more closely resem%les Shakespearean
tra$edy, $iven its villainous central character, "ichard, and the crucial role played %y
supernatural occurrences such as curses, $hosts, prophecies, and dreams.
,hen the murderers arrive, they de%ate %etween themselves %efore actually killin$ .larence,
introducin$ flashes of humor into the $risly scene. 7>S?hall I sta% him as he sleepsF: asks one, to
which the other replies, 71o. *e-ll say Mtwas done cowardly, when he wakes: (I.iv.JH<JA!. In a
li$hthearted tone that dis$uises a serious meanin$, the hesitant murderer speaks later of the
inconvenience of havin$ a conscience5 7A man cannot steal %ut it accuseth him . . . a man cannot
lie with his nei$h%our-s wife %ut it detects him: (I.iv.;@A<;BK!. The use of humor in what would
otherwise %e an etremely $rim and serious contet indicates the dramatic compleity of the
play. ,hile, on one level, the evil of "ichard and his murderers is unam%i$uous, Shakespeare
nevertheless introduces si$nificant psycholo$ical conflicts and su%tleties.
,hen .larence finally does wake, he comes very close to persuadin$ the murderers to let him
live, and in fact mana$es to hold them off for Cuite a while with his words. "ichard-s warnin$ to
the murderers seems )ustified5 7do not hear him plead, 8 Dor .larence is well-spoken, and
perhaps 8 +ay move your hearts to pity, if you mark him: (I.iii.B=G<B=E!. EloCuence is
apparently a $ift that .larence shares with his %rother. (ut, in the end, lan$ua$e does not save
.larence. *is eventual murder comes at the same time as the revelation that "ichard is %ehind
his murder, an announcement that .larence, with touchin$ naNvetO, refuses to %elieve (I.iv.@@;<
@B=!. Even after one of the murderers tells .larence, 76ou are deceived. 6our %rother #loucester
hates you: (I.iv.@@K!, .larence falters, 74 do not slander him, for he is kind. . . . It cannot %e, for
he %ewept my fortune, 8 And hu$$ed me in his arms: (I.iv.@@J<@BB!. This refusal to %elieve that
"ichard could %e wicked is a poi$nant illustration of )ust how convincin$ "ichard-s deceptions
can %e.
Summary5 Act II, scene i
A flourish of trumpets sounds, and the sickly &in$ Edward I' enters with his family, his wife-s
family, and his advisors. Edward says that there has %een too much Cuarrelin$ amon$ these
factions, and he insists that every%ody apolo$i0e and make peace with one another. *e also
announces that he has sent a letter of for$iveness to the Tower of /ondon, where his %rother
.larence has %een imprisoned and sentenced to death. (At this point, &in$ Edward does not
know that his other %rother, "ichard, has intercepted his messa$e and has caused .larence to %e
killed.!
,ith a $reat deal of ur$in$, &in$ Edward finally $ets the no%lemen (uckin$ham and *astin$s to
make peace with Queen Eli0a%eth and her kinsmen ("ivers, Iorset, and #ray!, promisin$ to
for$et their lon$-standin$ conflicts. "ichard himself then enters, and, at the kin$-s reCuest, $ives
a very no%le-soundin$ speech in which he apolo$i0es for any previous hostility toward
(uckin$ham, *astin$s, or the Cueen-s family, and presents himself as a friend to all. 3eace seems
to have %een restored.
(ut when Eli0a%eth asks &in$ Edward to for$ive .larence and summon him to the palace,
"ichard reacts as if Eli0a%eth is deli%erately makin$ fun of him. *e sprin$s the news of
.larence-s death on the $roup. ,ith calculated manipulation, he reminds Edward of his $uilt in
condemnin$ .larence to death and says that the cancellation of the sentence was delivered too
slowly. The $rievin$, $uilty Edward %e$ins to %lame himself for his %rother-s death.
Stanley, the earl of Ier%y, suddenly rushes in to %e$ the kin$ to spare the life of a servant
condemned to death. Edward an$rily %lasts his no%lemen for not havin$ interceded to save
.larence when the kin$ himself let his an$er run away with him. The already sick Edward
suddenly seems to $row sicker, sufferin$ from $rief and $uilt. *e has to %e helped to his %ed.
Summary5 Act II, scene ii
/ater, in another room in the palace, the duchess of 6ork, the mother of "ichard, .larence, and
&in$ Edward, is comfortin$ .larence-s two youn$ children. The %oy and $irl ask their
$randmother if their father is dead, and she, lyin$ to try to spare them, tells them he is not. (ut
the duchess knows how evil her son "ichard really is and that he killed his %rother, and she
$rieves that she ever $ave %irth to him.
Suddenly, Eli0a%eth enters, lamentin$ out loud with her hair disheveled, a common si$n of $rief
on the Eli0a%ethan sta$e. Eli0a%eth tells the duchess that &in$ Edward has died, and the duchess
)oins her in mournin$. All four make ritualistic lamentations. The two children cry for their dead
father, .larence9 Eli0a%eth cries for her dead hus%and, Edward9 and the duchess cries for %oth of
her dead sons2Edward and .larence.
Eli0a%eth-s kinsmen, "ivers and Iorset, remind Eli0a%eth that she must think of her eldest son,
the prince. 6oun$ 3rince Edward, named after his father, is the heir to the throne9 he must %e
called to /ondon and crowned. Suddenly, however, "ichard enters, alon$ with (uckin$ham,
*astin$s, Stanley, and "atcliffe. (uckin$ham and "ichard smoothly a$ree that the prince should
%e %rou$ht to /ondon, %ut say that only a few people should $o to $et him, decidin$ the two of
them will $o to$ether. All the others depart to discuss who should $o to fetch the prince, %ut
"ichard and (uckin$ham lin$er %ehind. It is clear that (uckin$ham has %ecome "ichard-s ally
and accomplice. *e su$$ests to "ichard that the two of them ou$ht to $o to$ether to fetch the
prince and says he has further ideas a%out how to separate the prince from Eli0a%eth and her
family. "ichard happily addresses (uckin$ham as his friend, ri$ht-hand man, and soul mate, and
he Cuickly a$rees with (uckin$ham-s plans.
Analysis
"ichard-s calculated hypocrisy is demonstrated once a$ain in Act II, scene i. *e pretends to %e a
$ood person un)ustly accused of har%orin$ ill will, only to deliver the news of .larence-s death
with a sense of timin$ calculated to send his %rother Edward over the ed$e with $rief, surprise,
and $uilt. *ere a$ain we see "ichard-s etraordinary unscrupulousness, his skill at lyin$, and his
a%ility to manipulate other people-s emotions. "ichard-s shameless hypocrisy allows him to say,
perfectly convincin$ly, 7MTis death to me to %e at enmity. 8 I hate it, and desire all $ood men-s
love. . . . 8 I thank my #od for my humility: (II.i.H;<EB!. It may seem stran$e that the no%lemen
%elieve him, %ut we have already seen how convincin$ "ichard can %e. Pust as .larence proves
incapa%le of %elievin$ that "ichard en$ineered his death even as the murderers sent %y "ichard
prepare to kill him, so does .larence-s son, respondin$ to his $randmother-s su$$estion that
"ichard ordered .larence-s death %y sayin$, 7I cannot think it: (II.ii.BB!.
Edward-s lon$, an$ry speech at the end of Act II, scene i is his only ma)or speech, and his last
%efore he dies. It is unusually touchin$ and powerful, and it appeals to the importance of loyalty
and love over the maneuverin$ and flattery that prevails in the court. Edward asks why no
mem%er of his court reminded him in his ra$e of how much he owed his %rother .larence9 he
then asks why no one advised him to refrain from issuin$ a death sentence. *e puts these
Cuestions succinctly5 7,ho spoke of %rotherhoodF ,ho spoke of loveF: (II.i.;KJ!. Instead, the
death sentence was issued, and, accordin$ to the story "ichard tells, the letter of reversal that
Edward sent out did not arrive at the tower in time. 4f course, "ichard deli%erately intercepted
the reversal and sent the death sentence, alon$ with his murderers, to the tower. "ichard is too
evil to %e affected %y Edward-s eloCuent words.
Qnfortunately for the kin$, the effort of his speech and his $uilt over .larence-s death seem to
wear him out. The results of this stress on the already sick kin$ are apparent in Act II, scene ii, in
which we discover that Edward has suddenly died. The mournin$ scene of Eli0a%eth, the
duchess, and .larence-s children is hi$hly ritualistic. The formality of their lan$ua$e and the
symmetrical structurin$ of their mournful cries shift the focus of the play away from
psycholo$ical realism toward a more styli0ed and theatrical depiction of $rief. The manipulations
and maneuverin$ that $o on at the end of the scene demonstrate that the death of Edward is to
have more far-reachin$ conseCuences than may immediately %e apparent. The imminent shift of
power should, in theory, $ive the reins of power to youn$ 3rince Edward, the son of Eli0a%eth
and the late &in$ Edward and the net in line for the throne.
Act II, scenes iii<iv
Summary5 Act II, scene iii
Three ordinary citi0ens on a street in /ondon discuss the state of national affairs. They share the
news of &in$ Edward-s death, and, althou$h one of them is optimistic a%out the future, sayin$
that Edward-s son will rule, the others are very worried. These citi0ens insist that, of the kin$-s
sons, the oldest, youn$ 3rince Edward, is still too youn$ to rei$n. They state that the two sides of
his family2the kinsmen of Queen Eli0a%eth on one side ("ivers, Iorset, and #ray! and his
uncle "ichard on the other2are locked in a )ealous power stru$$le. +oreover, they see that
"ichard himself is dan$erous, cunnin$, and thirsty for power, and they discuss his villainous
nature. The citi0ens complain that it would %e %etter for the prince to have no uncles than to have
uncles stru$$lin$ over control of him and the country. They dread what the future will %rin$.
Summary5 Act II, scene iv
(ack in the palace, the cardinal, an ally of Eli0a%eth-s family, tells Eli0a%eth, the duchess of
6ork, and Eli0a%eth-s youn$est son that youn$ 3rince Edward has nearly reached /ondon and
should arrive within two days. The prince-s mother, $randmother, and youn$er %rother say that
they are lookin$ forward to seein$ him.
Suddenly, the marCuis of Iorset arrives with terri%le news. *e says that Eli0a%eth-s kinsmen,
"ivers and #ray, have %een arrested alon$ with an ally of theirs named Sir Thomas 'au$han.
They have %een sent to 3omfret, a castle where prisoners are held and often killed. The order to
arrest them came, not surprisin$ly, from "ichard and his ally, (uckin$ham. Eli0a%eth and the
duchess reali0e that this news pro%a%ly means the %e$innin$ of the end for their family. They
wail for their loss2and for what is to come. &nowin$ that "ichard means her ill, Eli0a%eth
decides to take her youn$est son and flee to sanctuary2to a place where, she hopes, "ichard
cannot come after them. The cardinal promises his support and hands over to Eli0a%eth the #reat
Seal of En$land, a hi$hly sym%olic artifact.
Analysis
Act II, scene iii is what critics sometimes call a window scene, %ecause it %riefly turns away
from the actions of the no%le characters to $ive us a $limpse into the minds of the common
people. (ecause almost the entire play focuses so intensely on a close-knit $roup of no%lemen,
this techniCue of showin$ us the thou$hts of people in the street offers a new point of view and
$ives the play a $reater sense of perspective. ,e learn from this episode that the commoners are
deeply concerned a%out the results of the power stru$$le that they know is $oin$ on in the
hi$hest levels of $overnment. This concern hei$htens the tension of the play and also reminds us
that the effects of these court stru$$les are not confined to the royal palace. "ather, they have
profound conseCuences for everyone who lives in En$land. *istorically, this window scene also
would have made the play resonate deeply with a lar$e portion of Shakespeare-s audience, many
of whom were commoners who, like those in Act II, scene iii, worried a%out how the %ehavior of
powerful men and women such as the no%les would affect their lives.
In Act II, scene iv, the youn$er prince-s )okes and puns at his uncle-s epense show us that,
unlike .larence-s youn$ son, this %oy sees throu$h "ichard-s schemes. ,e also see that he is
precociously clever, fully )ustifyin$ his mother-s reference to him as a 7parlous,: or dan$erous,
%oy, and warnin$ that he is 7too shrewd: for his own $ood (II.iv.BG!. As we see later in the play,
"ichard does not like the people around him to %e too shrewd, for when people can see throu$h
his lies they %ecome a threat to his schemes.
Eli0a%eth-s response to the news of her kinsmen-s imprisonment mi$ht seem an overreaction to
some%ody unfamiliar with the situation, %ut $iven the contet, her cry of fear, 7Ay meL I see the
ruin of my house,: is perfectly )ustified (II.iv.=A!. She knows that an imprisonment en$ineered
%y "ichard is likely to lead to death, as it has already done for .larence. (ut, %eyond her fear for
"ivers, #ray, and 'au$han, Eli0a%eth can also see the lar$er meanin$ of this action. ,ith
Edward out of the way, "ichard has %e$un to use his power fearlessly and without concern for
reprisal. Eli0a%eth is now fri$htened for her own safety, as well as for that of her two youn$ sons.
The heir to the throne is in a particularly precarious position, since "ichard has $ood reason to
want him dead. Eli0a%eth-s decision to take her youn$est child and head for sanctuary is the only
rational response. The sole Cuestion that remains is whether even this maneuver can protect her
and her family from "ichard-s unleashed malice.
Act III, scene i
Summary
,ith a flourish of trumpets, the youn$ 3rince Edward, the heir to the throne, rides into /ondon
with his retinue. *is uncle "ichard is there to $reet him, accompanied %y several no%lemen,
includin$ "ichard-s close allies, the lords (uckin$ham and .ates%y. "ichard $reets the prince,
%ut the intelli$ent %oy is suspicious of his uncle and parries "ichard-s flatterin$ lan$ua$e with
wordplay as clever as "ichard-s own. The prince wants to know what has happened to his
relatives on his mother-s side2"ivers, #ray, and Iorset. Althou$h he doesn-t tell 3rince
Edward, "ichard has had "ivers and #ray arrested and imprisoned in the castle of 3omfret9
Iorset is presuma%ly in hidin$.
/ord *astin$s enters, and announces that Eli0a%eth and her youn$er son, the youn$ duke of
6ork, have taken sanctuary (takin$ sanctuary means retreatin$ to within a church or other holy
$round, where, %y ancient En$lish tradition, it was %lasphemous for enemies to pursue a
fu$itive!. (uckin$ham is very irritated to hear this news. *e asks the /ord .ardinal to $o to
Eli0a%eth and retrieve youn$ 6ork from her, and he orders *astin$s to accompany the cardinal
and forci%ly remove the youn$ prince if Eli0a%eth refuses to yield him. The cardinal
understanda%ly refuses, %ut (uckin$ham $ives him a lon$ ar$ument in which he says that a
youn$ child is not self-determinin$ enou$h to claim sanctuary. The cardinal $ives in, and he and
/ord *astin$s $o to fetch youn$ 6ork. (y the time they return, "ichard has told 3rince Edward
that he and his %rother will stay in the Tower of /ondon until the youn$ prince-s coronation.
(oth princes are unwillin$ to %e shut up in the tower.
After he sends the princes off to the tower, "ichard holds a private conference with (uckin$ham
and .ates%y to discuss how his master plan is unfoldin$. (uckin$ham asks .ates%y whether he
thinks that /ord *astin$s and /ord Stanley can %e counted on to help "ichard sei0e the throne.
Althou$h /ord *astin$s is an enemy of Eli0a%eth and her family, .ates%y %elieves that
*astin$s-s loyalty to the dead &in$ Edward I' is so $reat that he would never support "ichard-s
$oal of takin$ the crown from the ri$htful prince. +oreover, .ates%y %elieves, /ord Stanley will
follow whatever /ord *astin$s does.
(uckin$ham su$$ests that "ichard hold a council in the palace on the followin$ day, supposedly
to discuss when to crown youn$ 3rince Edward as kin$. In reality, however, they will scheme
a%out how "ichard can %ecome kin$ himself, and they must determine which of the no%lemen
they can count on as allies. There will %e 7divided counsels: the followin$ day. Dirst, a secret
council will %e held to strate$i0e. 1et, there will %e a pu%lic one, which everyone will attend, at
which those plans will %e carried out (III.i.;EH!.
(uckin$ham and "ichard order .ates%y to $o to /ord *astin$s, in order to sound him out and
find out how willin$ he mi$ht %e to $o alon$ with "ichard-s plans. "ichard adds that .ates%y
should tell *astin$s that Queen Eli0a%eth-s kinsmen, who are currently imprisoned in 3omfret
.astle, will %e eecuted the net day. This news, he %elieves, should please *astin$s, who has
lon$ %een their enemy. After .ates%y leaves, (uckin$ham asks "ichard what they will do if
*astin$s remains loyal to 3rince Edward. "ichard cheerfully answers that they will chop off
*astin$s-s head. (uoyed %y his plans, "ichard promises (uckin$ham that, after he %ecomes
kin$, he will $ive (uckin$ham the title of earl of *ereford.
Analysis
This scene provides further evidence of "ichard-s skill at manipulation and deception, %ut it also
makes it clear that "ichard-s manipu-lations are transparent to the ri$ht kind of person. ,hen
"ichard speaks to the intelli$ent youn$ prince, the %oy is clearly not fooled. ,hen 3rince
Edward says, 7I want more uncles here to welcome me,: he reveals that he suspects "ichard of
havin$ acted a$ainst his other uncles2which is in fact the case (III.i.H!. The prince may %e
referrin$ to .larence, his actual uncle, whom "ichard has caused to %e murdered. Still, since
kinship titles are rather va$ue in Shakespeare, he pro%a%ly refers more directly to "ivers, #ray,
and Iorset, althou$h two of them are actually his mother-s adult sons.
"ichard-s %oundless hypocrisy promptly comes to the surface. *e assures the %oy that his
mother-s kinsmen were 7dan$erous,: since 7>y?our $race attended to their su$ared words, 8 (ut
looked not on the poison of their hearts: (III.i.;B<;=!. ,hen he adds, 7#od keep you from them,
and from such false friends,: the irony is vast. "ichard himself, of course, has poison in his heart,
and is a false friend to the youn$ princes (III.i.;G!. That the %oy is aware of this is su$$ested in
his suspicious reply5 7#od keep me from false friends9 %ut they were none: (III.i.;H!. 3rince
Edward implies that he knows who his false friends really are, and that he is speakin$ to one of
them2"ichard.
(uckin$ham-s ur$in$ of the cardinal to 7pluck: the youn$er prince from the safety of his
sanctuary is o%viously unconvincin$ on either moral or theolo$ical $rounds (III.i.BH!. *is
ar$ument is %ased on the idea that a child who is too youn$ to understand the technicalities of
sanctuary must therefore %e thou$ht of as too youn$ to claim he deserves it. (uckin$ham is
clearly misinterpretin$ the very aim of sanctuary, which is to defend the helpless, %ut the cardinal
is willin$ to let himself %e persuaded %y (uckin$ham, who is %acked %y "ichard-s threatenin$
power. The cardinal, alas, does not provide a very admira%le eample of a cler$yman willin$ to
stand up for the ri$ht. 71ot for all this land 8 ,ould I %e $uilty of so deep a sin: (III.i.=@<=B!, he
says at first, %ut it takes only thirteen lines of ar$ument %y (uckin$ham to 7o-er-rule >his? mind:
(III.i.GE!.
The youn$ princes seem to have inherited a family intelli$ence and Cuickness with words. The
youn$er prince, the youn$ duke of 6ork, )a%s at "ichard deli%erately when he says he will not %e
a%le to sleep well in the tower for fear of his 7uncle .larence-s an$ry $host: (III.i.;==!. *is older
%rother responds, 7I fear no uncles dead,: and to "ichard-s pointed response271or none that
live, I hope:2the %oy answers, 7I hope I need not fear: (III.i.;=H<;=E!.
"ichard demonstrates his political acumen once more later in the scene, when he accepts
(uckin$ham-s su$$estion of the 7divided counsels: for the followin$ day (III.i.;EH!. *e sends
.ates%y off with what sound like reasona%le instructions to find out surreptitiously whether
*astin$s is likely to %e swayed to his side. *owever, after .ates%y leaves, when (uckin$ham
asks "ichard what the contin$ency plan is, "ichard replies simply, 7.hop off his head:
(III.i.;JK!. 6et "ichard wisely makes a $enerous offer to (uckin$ham a moment later, promisin$
him an earldom when "ichard o%tains the throne.
Act III, scenes ii<iv
Summary5 Act III, scene ii
'ery early in the mornin$, a messen$er knocks at the door of /ord *astin$s, sent %y *astin$s-s
friend /ord Stanley. The messen$er tells *astin$s that Stanley has learned a%out the 7divided
counsels: that "ichard plans to hold this day (III.i.;EH!. The previous ni$ht, the messen$er says,
Stanley had a ni$htmare in which a %oar attacked and killed him. The %oar is "ichard-s heraldic
sym%ol, and accordin$ to the messen$er, Stanley is afraid for his safety and that of *astin$s. *e
ur$es *astin$s to take to horse%ack and flee with him %efore the sun rises, headin$ away from
"ichard and toward safety.
*astin$s dismisses Stanley-s fears and tells the messen$er to assure Stanley that there is nothin$
to fear. .ates%y arrives at *astin$s-s house. *e has %een sent %y "ichard to discover *astin$s-s
feelin$s a%out "ichard-s scheme to rise to power. (ut when .ates%y %rin$s up the idea that
"ichard should take the crown instead of 3rince Edward, *astin$s recoils in horror. Seein$ that
*astin$s will not chan$e his mind, .ates%y seems to drop the issue.
Stanley arrives, complainin$ of his fore%odin$s, %ut *astin$s cheerfully reassures him of their
safety. Dinally, *astin$s $oes off to the council meetin$ alon$ with (uckin$ham. Ironically,
*astin$s is cele%ratin$ the news that Eli0a%eth-s kinsmen will %e eecuted, thinkin$ that he and
his friend Stanley are safe in the favor of "ichard and (uckin$ham. *astin$s is %lissfully
unaware of "ichard-s plan to decapitate him should *astin$s refuse to )oin "ichard-s side.
Summary5 Act III, scene iii
#uarded %y the armed Sir "ichard "atcliffe, the Cueen-s kinsmen "ivers and #ray, alon$ with
their friend Sir Thomas 'au$han, enter their prison at 3omfret .astle. "ivers laments their
impendin$ eecution. *e tells "atcliffe that they are %ein$ killed for nothin$ %ut their loyalty,
and that their killers will eventually pay for their crimes. #ray, remem%erin$ +ar$aret-s curse,
says that it has finally descended upon them, and that the fate that awaits them is their
punishment for their ori$inal complicity in the 6orkists- murder of *enry 'I and his son. "ivers
reminds #ray that +ar$aret also cursed "ichard and his allies. *e prays for #od to remem%er
these curses %ut to for$ive the one +ar$aret pronounced a$ainst Eli0a%eth herself, and her two
youn$ sons, the princes. The three em%race and prepare for their deaths.
Summary5 Act III, scene iv
At "ichard-s .ouncil session in the Tower of /ondon, the suspicious *astin$s asks the
councilors a%out the cause of their meetin$. *e says that the meetin$-s purpose is supposed to %e
to discuss the date on which 3rince Edward should %e crowned kin$, and Ier%y affirms that this
is indeed the purpose of the meetin$. "ichard arrives, smilin$ and pleasant, and asks the (ishop
of Ely to send for a %owl of straw%erries. (ut (uckin$ham takes "ichard aside to tell him what
.ates%y has learned2that *astin$s is loyal to the youn$ princes and is unlikely to $o alon$ with
"ichard-s plans to sei0e power.
,hen "ichard re-enters the council room, he has chan$ed his tune entirely. 3retendin$ to %e
enra$ed, he displays his arm2which, as everyone knows, has %een deformed since his %irth2
and says that Queen Eli0a%eth, conspirin$ with *astin$s-s mistress Shore, must have cast a spell
on him to cause its witherin$. ,hen *astin$s hesitates %efore acceptin$ this speculation as fact,
"ichard promptly accuses *astin$s of treachery, orders his eecution, and tells his men that he
will not eat until he has %een presented with *astin$s-s head. /eft alone with his eecutioners,
the stunned *astin$s slowly reali0es that Stanley was ri$ht all alon$. "ichard is a manipulative,
power-hun$ry traitor, and *astin$s has %een dan$erously overconfident. "eali0in$ that nothin$
can now save En$land from "ichard-s rapacious desire for power, he too cries out despairin$ly
that +ar$aret-s curse has finally struck home.
Analysis5 Act III, scenes ii<iv
Stanley-s dream of the %oar is the latest of many supernatural si$ns and omens in the play. #iven
what we know a%out "ichard, *astin$s o%viously would have %een wise to pay attention to this
omen. Instead, he dismisses it, due to his supposedly rational skepticism. 7I wonder he-s so
simple, 8 To trust the mock-ry of unCuiet slum%ers,: he says $enially of Stanley (III.ii.@B<@=!.
Another factor in *astin$s-s easy dismissal of the dream, however, is his own inflated e$o,
which leads him to %e overconfident and complacent. *e %elieves that he and "ichard are 7at the
one: in terms of their plans, and that his close friend .ates%y will tell him everythin$ that $oes
on in the second council (III.ii.;K!. *e also makes one of the most e$re$iously incorrect
statements a%out "ichard in the play, indicatin$ the depth of "ichard-s skill at deception5 7I think
there-s never a man in .hristendom 8 .an lesser hide his love or hate than he, 8 Dor %y his face
strai$ht shall you know his heart: (III.iv.G;<GB!.
.learly, *astin$s makes the wron$ decision here, and when he reali0es his doom in Act III, scene
iv, he thinks %ack to previous omens. Stanley dreams not only that the %oar destroys him, %ut
also that *astin$s-s own horse stum%les three times on the way to the council 7>a?s loath to %ear
me to the slau$hter-house: (III.iv.AH!. 74 +ar$aret, +ar$aretL 1ow thy heavy curse 8 Is li$hted
on poor *astin$s- wretched head,: he says (III.iv.J@<JB!. ,e can interpret *astin$s-s fate as
Shakespeare-s statement that people ou$ht to pay attention to the omens of their dreams, %ut we
can )ust as easily read it as a warnin$ a$ainst overconfidence. *astin$s now re$rets his earlier
%ra$$in$ a%out his enemies- eecution at 3omfret, ima$inin$ 7myself secure in $race and favor:
(III.iv.J;!. Durthermore, he reali0es that, if he had wised up to "ichard earlier, he could have
avoided his fate and perhaps even saved En$land from what "ichard plans to visit upon it. 7I, too
fond >foolish?, mi$ht have prevented this,: he laments (III.iv.A;!.
*astin$s also muses %efore his death on the 7momentary $race of mortal men,: an idea that the
play returns to a$ain and a$ain (III.iv.JH!. The Cuickness with which people-s fortunes can
chan$e was a very popular topic for literature of Shakespeare-s period, and for $ood reason5 in
the courts of "enaissance En$land, a person-s welfare2and his or her life2depended on the
whim of the ruler. A shift in political power would re$ularly cause the downfall and mass
eecution of do0ens of formerly powerful courtiers. 3erhaps for this reason, "enaissance court
literature ehi%its a $reat fascination with the precariousness of human fortunes. The medieval
idea of the ,heel of Dortune, in which those at the top of the wheel are inevita%ly %rou$ht to the
%ottom, and vice versa, was still very current in Shakespeare-s day. This fatalistic view of human
life coeisted with a strict .hristian mindset that insisted that worldly %elon$in$s would cause
corruption and could not %uy $lory in heaven. All in all, despite the %ur$eonin$ wealth and
materialism of the "enaissance world, "enaissance people were often in $reat conflict a%out the
real value and meanin$ of their money and their luuries.
In the moments %efore his death, *astin$s muses on this theme. *e reflects that the person who
%uilds his hopes on material prosperity instead of #od-s $race 7>l?ives like a drunken sailor on a
mast, 8 "eady with every nod to tum%le down 8 Into the fatal %owels of the deep: (III.iv.JJ<;K;!.
This idea is nowhere %etter illustrated than in the precedin$ scene2Act III, scene iii2in which
we have a %rief last look at "ivers, #ray, and their friend 'au$han %efore their eecution.
*astin$s earlier re)oices over their downfall, %ut their eecution is as unepected as his own.
/ike *astin$s, the doomed ,oodeville men proclaim their innocence. /ike *astin$s, they recall
+ar$aret-s curse and foretell dire conseCuences for En$land under "ichard-s rei$n. /ike
*astin$s, they predict that their eecutioners will face retri%ution for their deeds. 76ou live, that
shall cry woe for this hereafter: (III.iii.H!, says 'au$han to his )ailers, and *astin$s2in a similar
mood2ends his last speech with a chillin$ couplet5 7.ome lead me to the %lock9 %ear him
>"ichard? my head. 8 They smile at me, who shortly shall %e dead: (III.iv.;KH<;KE!.
Act III, scenes v<vii
Summary5 Act III, scene v
"ichard Cuestions (uckin$ham a%out his loyalty and his capa%ilities. (uckin$ham answers that
he is a%le to lie, cheat, and kill, and is willin$ to use any of those skills to help "ichard. 1ow that
/ord *astin$s and Eli0a%eth-s family have %een killed, and the court is under "ichard-s control,
"ichard and (uckin$ham know that they need to start manipulatin$ the common people of
En$land in order to ensure the crownin$ of "ichard as kin$. The first thin$ to do is to manipulate
the lord mayor of /ondon into %elievin$ that *astin$s was a traitor. (uckin$ham assures "ichard
that he is a $ood enou$h actor to pull off this feat.
The lord mayor enters the castle, followed %y .ates%y with *astin$s-s head. (uckin$ham tells
the mayor a%out *astin$s-s alle$ed %etrayal. *e says that *astin$s turned out to %e a traitor,
plottin$ to kill him and "ichard. "ichard tells the lord mayor that *astin$s confessed everythin$
%efore his death. The mayor, who is either very $ulli%le or ea$er to $o alon$ with the claims of
people in power, says he %elieves "ichard and (uckin$ham )ust as if he has heard *astin$s-s
confession himself. *e says that he will $o and tell all the people of /ondon what a dan$erous
traitor *astin$s was, and that "ichard was ri$ht to have him killed.
After the mayor departs, "ichard, very pleased with their pro$ress, tells (uckin$ham the net
part of the plan5 (uckin$ham is to make speeches to the people of /ondon in which he will try to
stir up %ad feelin$ a$ainst the dead &in$ Edward I' and the youn$ princes, implyin$ that the
princes aren-t even Edward-s le$itimate heirs. The $oal is to make the people turn a$ainst the
princes and demand that "ichard %e crowned kin$ instead. ,hile (uckin$ham is on this errand,
"ichard sends his other henchmen to $ather some more allies, and he himself makes
arran$ements to $et rid of .larence-s children and to ensure that no one can visit the youn$
princes imprisoned in the tower.
Summary5 Act III, scene vi
4n the streets of /ondon, a scrivener (someone who writes and copies letters and documents for
a livin$! says that he has )ust finished his last assi$nment, which was to copy the paper that will
%e read aloud to all of /ondon later that day. The paper says that *astin$s was a traitor. The
scrivener condemns the hypocrisy of the world, for he, like every%ody else, can see that the
claim in the paper is a lie invented %y "ichard to )ustify killin$ his political rival.
Summary5 Act III, scene vii
(uckin$ham returns to "ichard, and reports that his speech to the /ondoners was received very
%adly. (uckin$ham says that he tried to stir up %ad feelin$s a%out &in$ Edward and his sons and
then proposed that "ichard should %e kin$ instead. (ut, instead of cheerin$, the crowd )ust stared
at him in terrified silence. 4nly a few of (uckin$ham-s own men, at the %ack of the crowd, threw
their hats into the air and cheered for the idea of &in$ "ichard, and (uckin$ham had to end his
speech Cuickly and leave.
"ichard is furious to hear that the people do not like him, %ut he and (uckin$ham decide to $o
ahead with their plan anyway. Their strate$y is to press the su$$esti%le lord mayor to ask "ichard
to %e kin$, pretendin$ that this reCuest would represent the will of the people. "ichard, instead of
seemin$ to desire the crown, will pretend to have to %e %e$$ed %efore he will finally accept it.
They successfully carry out this trick, with various clever em%ellishments. "ichard shuts himself
up with two priests %efore (uckin$ham leads the lord mayor to him to $ive the impression that
he spends a $reat deal of time in prayer. In a lon$ and ela%orately structured speech, (uckin$ham
makes a show of pleadin$ with "ichard to %ecome kin$, and "ichard finally accepts.
(uckin$ham su$$ests that "ichard %e crowned the very net day, to which "ichard consents.
Analysis, Act III, scenes v<vii
The kin$-makin$ strate$y that "ichard and (uckin$ham carefully lay out and then implement is
a %rilliant eample of political maneuverin$ and manipulation. (ut the plot is also likely to drive
us wild with frustration, as we o%serve the transparent hypocrisy with which unscrupulous
politicians can sway the course of nations. 4n the other hand, the scenes are also clever and
convincin$ deconstructions of political hypocrisy on a massive scale, in which audiences are
likely to reco$ni0e reflections of their own time and nation.
The lord mayor of /ondon, with his easy su$$esti%ility, provides an eample of a citi0en who
%elieves everythin$ he is told %y politicians and is all too happy to overlook the holes in a story.
"ichard and (uckin$ham are not called to account for the eecution of the well-liked /ord
*astin$s. Instead, they simply use "ichard-s strate$y of takin$ the offensive with a %old lie. (y
tellin$ the lord mayor that *astin$s was discovered to %e 7a su%tle traitor: who was plottin$
murder and pretendin$ to %e shocked and $rieved at the discovery, "ichard and (uckin$ham
prevent the lord mayor from havin$ a chance to consider that perhaps, instead, they themselves
plotted a$ainst *astin$s (III.v.BG!.
The lord mayor is also happy to accept their suspicious story that the 7lovin$ haste: of their men
accidentally has caused *astin$s to %e eecuted %efore the mayor could hear his confession2a
confession that the innocent *astin$s, of course, would never make (III.v.G@!. (y anticipatin$
any potential disa$reement and %rin$in$ up opposin$ ar$uments %efore anyone else can, "ichard
forestalls anta$onism. ,hen he epresses concern that the citi0ens 7haply may 8 +isconster us in
him >*astin$s?, and wail his death,: the /ord +ayor assures him that 7my $ood lord, your
$races- words shall serve 8 As well as I had seen and heard him speak,: and that he will tell all
the citi0ens so (III.v.GA<H=!. Dor the kin$-makin$ spectacle of Act III, scene vii, (uckin$ham and
"ichard use this tactic a$ain, as well as %rin$in$ in several other clever ways of manipulatin$ the
people-s opinions. "ichard himself %rin$s up ar$uments as to why he should not %e kin$, %ut
(uckin$ham effectively counters these ar$uments, makin$ it seem as if "ichard is %ein$
unwillin$ly pressured into acceptin$ the crown.
"ichard-s refusal to accept the crown at first makes him seem even more hesitant2and,
accordin$ to the principles of reverse psycholo$y, makes it seem more desira%le that he should
%e prevailed upon to accept. This tactic is reminiscent of one that the "oman $eneral Pulius
.aesar employed. Accordin$ to le$end (and as Shakespeare recounts in the play Pulius .aesar!,
.aesar was offered the crown three times. *e refused it twice, %ut accepted it the third time, to
the )oy of the people, who had of course %een whipped into a fren0y of ecitement %y the
tantali0in$ delay. (uckin$ham uses a rather crude analo$y for the tactic, which nonetheless
conveys the visceral sense of tantali0in$ ecitement that lies at the %ottom of the strate$y. *is
advice to "ichard is that he 73lay the maid-s part5 still answer Mnay-2and take it,: meanin$ that
"ichard should keep sayin$ no, %ut accept anyway (III.vii.G;!.
The %rief interlude with the scrivener, in Act III, scene vi, is another so-called window scene.
/ike Queen Eli0a%eth-s kinsmen )ust %efore their deaths, the scrivener reflects on how transitory
earthly happiness is5 7within these five hours, *astin$s lived, 8 Qntainted, uneamined, free, at
li%erty: (III.vi.A<J!. *e also comments on the o%vious falsehood of the manufactured accusation
a$ainst *astin$s, and thus shows us, as the citi0ens do in Act II, scene iii, that the common
people can see throu$h "ichard-s act well enou$h to %e dis$usted and fri$htened %y him. 7,ho
is so $ross 8 That cannot see this palpa%le deviceF: asks the scrivener, showin$ that he clearly
can perceive "ichard-s hypocrisy. 76et who so %old %ut says he sees it notF: he ponders further,
meanin$ that no%ody is %rave enou$h to say out loud that "ichard is lyin$ (III.vi.;K<;@!. /ike
the citi0ens of Act II, scene iii, he perceives the direction that thin$s are takin$ and is afraid of
what will happen to En$land under "ichard-s rei$n.
Act I', scenes i<iii
Summary5 Act I', scene i
4utisde the Tower of /ondon, Eli0a%eth, her son Iorset, and the duchess of 6ork meet /ady
Anne (who is now "ichard-s wife! and .larence-s youn$ dau$hter. /ady Anne tells Eli0a%eth
that they have come to visit the princes who are imprisoned in the tower, and Eli0a%eth says that
her $roup is there for the same reason. (ut the women learn from the $uardian of the tower that
"ichard has for%idden anyone to see the princes.
Stanley, earl of Ier%y, suddenly arrives with the news that "ichard is a%out to %e crowned kin$,
so Anne must $o to the coronation to %e crowned as his Cueen. The horrified Anne fears that
"ichard-s coronation will mean ruin for En$land, and says that she should have resisted marryin$
"ichard2after all, she herself has cursed him (in Act I, scene ii! for killin$ her first hus%and. *er
curses have come true. As his wife, she has no peace, and "ichard is continually haunted %y %ad
dreams. The duchess of 6ork instructs Iorset to flee to Drance and )oin the forces of the earl of
"ichmond, a no%leman with a claim to the royal throne.
Summary5 Act I', scene ii
(ack in the palace, the $loatin$ "ichard2who has now %een crowned kin$ of En$land2enters
in triumph with (uckin$ham and .ates%y. (ut "ichard says that he does not yet feel secure in
his position of power. *e tells (uckin$ham that he wants the two youn$ princes, the ri$htful
heirs to the throne, to %e murdered in the tower. Dor the first time, (uckin$ham does not o%ey
"ichard immediately, sayin$ that he needs more time to think a%out the reCuest. "ichard
murmurs to himself that (uckin$ham is too weak to continue to %e his ri$ht-hand man and
summons a lowlife named Tyrrell who is willin$ to accept the mission. In almost the same
%reath, "ichard instructs .ates%y to spread a rumor that Queen Anne is sick and likely to die, and
$ives orders to keep the Cueen confined. *e then announces his intention to marry the late &in$
Edward-s dau$hter, Eli0a%eth of 6ork. The implication is that he plans to murder Queen Anne.
(uckin$ham, uneasy a%out his future, asks "ichard to $ive him what "ichard promised him
earlier5 the earldom of *ereford. (ut "ichard an$rily re)ects (uckin$ham-s demands and walks
out on him. (uckin$ham, left alone, reali0es that he has fallen out of "ichard-s favor and decides
to flee to his family home in ,ales %efore he meets the fate of "ichard-s other enemies.
Summary5 Act I', scene iii
Tyrrell returns to the palace and tells "ichard that the princes are dead. *e says that he has %een
deeply shaken %y the deed and that the two men he commissioned to perform the murders are
also full of re$rets after smotherin$ the two children to death in their sleep. (ut "ichard is
deli$hted to hear the news, and offers Tyrrell a rich reward. After Tyrrell leaves, "ichard eplains
the development of his various plots to $et rid of everyone who mi$ht threaten his $rasp on
power. The two youn$ princes are now dead. "ichard has married off .larence-s dau$hter to an
unimportant man and has locked up .larence-s son (who is not very smart and does not present a
threat!. +oreover, "ichard $loats that Queen Anne is now dead2we can assume "ichard has had
her murdered2and he announces once a$ain that his net step will %e to woo and marry youn$
Eli0a%eth, the dau$hter of the former &in$ Edward and Queen Eli0a%eth. *e %elieves that this
alliance with her family will cement his hold on the throne.
"atcliffe enters suddenly with the %ad news that some of "ichard-s no%lemen are fleein$ to )oin
"ichmond in Drance, and that (uckin$ham has returned to ,ales and is now leadin$ a lar$e
army a$ainst "ichard. "ichard, startled out of his contemplation, decides that it is time to $ather
his own army and head out to face %attle.
Analysis
1ow that "ichard has attained the throne, it is more difficult to sympathi0e with him than it was
%efore. *e %e$ins the play as a %rilliant, driven underdo$2a %rutal and possi%ly psychopathic
one, al%eit, %ut an underdo$ nonetheless. After attainin$ his $oal, however, "ichard directs his
actions toward securin$ and maintainin$ his power. ,e no lon$er feel any sense of suspense
a%out when and how he will sei0e the throne. *e has reached the pinnacle of success and must
scram%le to keep his pri0e in the face of all his opponents. Instead of usin$ his skills at deception
and manipulation to achieve clearly defined, difficult-to-achieve $oals, he has started killin$
everyone in si$ht. As he notes, his $oal is to 7stop all hopes whose $rowth may dama$e me:2
which amounts to killin$ every%ody who could possi%ly %e a threat (I'.ii.H;!. This new
campai$n of %lood makes it much harder to find "ichard attractive2even in the mor%id, sli$htly
perverse way in which we may %e attracted to him earlier in the play.
This shift in "ichard-s personality2from self-assured confidence into paranoia2causes him to
alienate (uckin$ham. Althou$h (uckin$ham is the loyal ri$ht-hand man who has %een with
"ichard since nearly the %e$innin$ of "ichard-s rise to power, "ichard-s wish to kill the children
in the tower is somethin$ that repels even (uckin$ham. ,hether (uckin$ham would have
a$reed to help "ichard in the end, we cannot know, since "ichard privately decides to drop
(uckin$ham the moment he first hears him hesitate. This crack in the unity of his men is a
turnin$ point in the play2the start of a downward slide for "ichard-s fortunes. It seems that
+ar$aret-s earlier curses upon "ichard (7>t?hy friends suspect for traitors while thou liv-st, 8 And
take deep traitors for thy dearest friends: >I.iii.@@K<@@;?! are startin$ to come true.
"ichard is determined not to let anythin$ sway him from the course he is set on. As he ponders
the idea of tryin$ to coerce Eli0a%eth-s youn$ dau$hter into a marria$e that will help secure his
-tenuous hold on the crown, he says to himself, 7+urder her %rothers, and then marry herF 8
Qncertain way of $ain, %ut I am in 8 So far in %lood that sin will pluck on sin. 8 Tear-fallin$ pity
dwells not in this eye: (I'.ii.H=<HE!. These words contrast intri$uin$ly with the Tyrrell-s speech
in Act I', scene iii, which demonstrates that even a hardened murderer can have pan$s of
conscience. "ichard-s understandin$ of himself, however, leaves no room for such pan$s2he
sees himself as an em%odiment of a%solute evil and amorality.
"ichard-s complicated maneuverin$s accelerate in pace durin$ the first part of Act I', as he
works to $et rid of anyone with a le$itimate claim to the throne. *e has en$ineered the deaths of
youn$ 3rince Edward and the youn$ duke of 6ork, the princes in the tower, since they are the
sons of the late &in$ Edward I' and thus the true heirs to the throne. *e has already had his
%rother .larence killed. 1ow, he has disposed of .larence-s two children %y lockin$ up the dim-
witted %oy and marryin$ off the $irl to a lower-class man, to keep her from marryin$ a no%leman
who mi$ht %e a%le to use his wife-s linea$e to )ustify an attempt to sei0e the throne. Similar
reasonin$ drives "ichard to want to marry Eli0a%eth-s dau$hter, youn$ Eli0a%eth. Since she is
the dau$hter of Edward I', the last kin$, "ichard intends to use her linea$e to cement his own
claims to power. (Dor similar reasons, it should %e noted, youn$ Eli0a%eth mi$ht also %e a
desira%le %ride for "ichmond, the challen$er from overseas and a relative of *enry 'I who
claims the throne %y virtue of that relationship.! "ichard muses that 7I must %e married to my
%rother-s dau$hter, 8 4r else my kin$dom stands on %rittle $lass: (I'.ii.H@<HB!. 3erverse as it
may seem for him to marry his niece, prevailin$ "enaissance ideas a%out linea$e and royalty
validate such an action.
Act I', scenes iv<v
Think that thy %a%es were sweeter than they were,
And he that slew them fouler than he is.
(See Important Quotations Eplained!
Summary5 Act I', scene iv
Eli0a%eth and the duchess of 6ork lament the deaths of the youn$ princes. Suddenly, old Queen
+ar$aret enters, and tells the duchess that the duchess is the mother of a monster. "ichard, she
says, will not stop his campai$n of terror until they are all dead. +ar$aret re)oices in this fact
%ecause she is very $lad to see her curses a$ainst the 6ork and ,oodeville families come true.
She is still as %itter as she has %een throu$hout the play a%out the deaths of her hus%and, *enry
'I, and her son, 3rince Edward, and she says that the 6ork deaths are fair payment.
The $rief-weary Eli0a%eth asks +ar$aret to teach her how to curse, and +ar$aret advises her to
eperience as much %itterness and pain as +ar$aret herself has. +ar$aret then departs for
Drance. ,hen "ichard enters with his no%lemen and the commanders of his army, the duchess
%e$ins to curse him, condemnin$ him for the %loody murder of his etended family and tellin$
him that she re$rets havin$ $iven %irth to him. The enra$ed "ichard orders his men to strike up
loud music to try to drown out the women-s curses, %ut it does not work, and the duchess curses
him to die %loodily.
Althou$h shaken %y this ver%al assault, "ichard recovers and, speakin$ with Eli0a%eth in private,
%roaches his proposal to her5 he wants to marry her dau$hter, the youn$ Eli0a%eth. The former
Cueen is horrified, and sarcastically su$$ests to "ichard that he simply send her dau$hter the
%loody hearts of her two little %rothers as a $ift, to win her love. "ichard, usin$ all his $ifts of
persuasion and insistence, pursues Eli0a%eth, insistin$ that this way he can make amends to what
remains of her family for all he has done %efore. *e ar$ues that the marria$e is also the only way
the kin$dom can avoid civil war. Eli0a%eth seems to %e swayed %y his words at last and tells him
she will speak with her dau$hter a%out it. As soon as Eli0a%eth leaves the sta$e, "ichard
scornfully calls her a foolish and weak-willed woman.
"ichard-s soldiers and army commanders start to %rin$ him reports a%out "ichmond-s invasion,
and as %ad news piles up, "ichard %e$ins to panic for the first time. "ichmond is reported to %e
approachin$ En$land with a fleet of ships9 "ichard-s allies are half-hearted and unwillin$ to fi$ht
the invader. All over (ritain, no%lemen have taken up arms a$ainst "ichard. The only $ood news
that "ichard hears is that his forces have dispersed (uckin$ham-s army, and that (uckin$ham
has %een captured. "ichard then learns that "ichmond has landed with a mi$hty force, and he
decides it is time to fi$ht. *e leads out his army to meet "ichmond in %attle.
Summary5 Act I', scene v
Elsewhere, Stanley, earl of Ier%y, meets a lord from "ichmond-s forces for a secret
conversation. The suspicious "ichard has insisted that Stanley $ive his son, youn$ #eor$e
Stanley, to him as a hosta$e, to prevent Stanley-s desertin$ "ichard-s side. Stanley eplains that
this situation is all that prevents him from )oinin$ "ichmond. (ut he sends his re$ards to the
re%el leader, as well as the messa$e that the former Queen Eli0a%eth has a$reed that "ichmond
should marry her dau$hter, youn$ Eli0a%eth. The other no%leman $ives Stanley information
a%out the wherea%outs of "ichmond (who is in ,ales! and a%out the vast num%er of En$lish
no%lemen who have flocked to his side. All are marchin$ toward /ondon, to en$a$e "ichard in
%attle.
Analysis5 Act I', scenes iv<v
Act I', scene iv presents the fulfillment of predictions made in Act I, scene iii. The main female
characters of the play2Eli0a%eth, the duchess, and +ar$aret2are to$ether a$ain. This time,
thou$h, they are all in the same situation. All of the women have suffered loss, defeat, and the
death of their children and hus%ands. The $leeful +ar$aret seems to feel that a kind of cosmic
)ustice has %een attained. To her, the death of Eli0a%eth-s children seems a fair return for the
murder of her own hus%and, *enry, and son, Edward. She tells the duchess, 7(ear with me. I am
hun$ry for reven$e, 8 And now I cloy me with %eholdin$ it: (I'.iv.H;<H@!. +ar$aret sees )ust
retri%ution in the fact that nearly everyone who has died since her hus%and and son was either a
participant or a %ystander durin$ the murders of her hus%and and son. ,e cannot help %ut see the
irony in this vision of )ustice, as we see the recurrence of a few common names within the royal
family. Thus, for eample, the dead Edwards of the 6ork family %ecome clearly symmetrical
with +ar$aret-s dead Edward, from the /ancaster family.
The idea of divine )ustice comes to the forefront in this scene, as +ar$aret-s curses have come
true. Eli0a%eth, whom +ar$aret views as a usurper and an accomplice to murder, is now )ust as
misera%le as +ar$aret earlier hoped she would %e (7Iie, neither mother, wife, nor En$land-s
Cueen: >I.iii.@KH?!. In Act I', scene iv, +ar$aret announces the fulfillment of her curse, and her
accuracy as a prophetess5 7Thus hath the course of )ustice whirled a%out 8 And left thee
>Eli0a%eth? %ut a very prey to time: (I'.iv.;KG<;KH!. Pustice has caused +ar$aret-s curses to
come true, and now +ar$aret can metaphorically lift off her 7%urdened yoke: of sorrows,
slippin$ it onto Eli0a%eth-s neck even as +ar$aret herself departs (I'.iv.;;;<;;B!.
.onvinced of +ar$aret-s power, Eli0a%eth and the duchess ask her to teach them how to curse,
and the duchess applies the lesson only a moment later, as "ichard enters with his accomplices
and no%lemen. "ichard-s sound cursin$-out %y his mother can %e seen as markin$ another step in
the downward slide of his fortunes2as well as his control over his situation. "ichard is as calm
as possi%le when +ar$aret curses him in Act I, scene iii, %ut under the assault of his mother he is
clearly em%arrassed, awkward, and enra$ed. ,hen his mother demands of him, 7Thou toad, thou
toad, where is thy %rother .larenceF: "ichard desperately calls for his musicians to sound a
noise of drums and trumpets (I'.iv.;=G!. Qna%le to answer the accusations, he can only drown
out their words.
(ut, of course, "ichard-s ploy is not successful for lon$. The duchess has no patience left for her
son, nor any love. She seems to a$ree with +ar$aret-s statement that 7>f?rom forth the kennel of
thy wom% hath crept 8 A hell-hound that doth hunt us all to death: (I'.iv.=E<=A!. The duchess
tells "ichard $rimly that he has her 7most heavy curse,: which, she prays, will wear him down
on his day of %attle, while the souls of the children he has murdered will $ive his enemies
stren$th (I'.iv.;AA!.
"ichard recovers from this rather devastatin$ attack, %ut the events that follow foreshadow his
downfall. In the very lon$ discussion with Eli0a%eth that follows, "ichard-s rhetoric is
impressive. *e uses tactics from $entleness to ra$e to ur$e Eli0a%eth to let him marry her
dau$hter. It seems as if "ichard may %e successful, as Eli0a%eth departs with a promise to let
"ichard know her dau$hter-s decision. Pust as when he convinces the $rievin$ Anne to marry
him in Act I, scene ii, "ichard seems here to have won over a hostile woman. (ut when we learn
in Act I', scene v that Eli0a%eth has, in fact, promised her dau$hter to "ichard-s enemy, the earl
of "ichmond, we reali0e that "ichard has failed to win over Eli0a%eth9 instead, Eli0a%eth has
deceived "ichard. As we watch "ichard turn frantically from one lord to another at the end of
Act I', scene iv, for$ettin$ what he has )ust said and chan$in$ his mind, we sense that the
situation is rapidly slippin$ out of his control.
Act ', scenes i<ii
Summary5 Act ', scene i
The captured (uckin$ham is led to his eecution %y an armed sheriff. (uckin$ham asks to speak
to &in$ "ichard, %ut the sheriff denies his reCuest, leavin$ him time to ponder %efore his head is
cut off. Qpon discoverin$ that it is All-Souls Iay, (uckin$ham-s thou$hts turn to repentance and
)ud$ment, and he recalls the promises he made to &in$ Edward I' that he would always stand %y
Edward-s children and his wife-s family. *e also recalls his own certainty that "ichard, whom he
trusted, would never %etray him and seems to %e recallin$ +ar$aret-s prophecy5 7>"?emem%er
this another day, 8 ,hen he >"ichard? shall split thy very heart with sorrow: (I.iii.@JE<@JA!.
(uckin$ham concludes that +ar$aret was ri$ht, and that, moreover, he deserves to suffer for his
own wron$doin$2for %reakin$ his vows, for %ein$ an accomplice to foul play and murder, and
for his folly in trustin$ "ichard, who has indeed %roken his heart. *e tells the officers to %rin$
him to 7the %lock of shame,: and he is led away to die ('.i.@A!.
Summary5 Act ', scene ii
At the camp of "ichmond-s army, which is marchin$ throu$h En$land to challen$e "ichard,
"ichmond tells his men that he has )ust received a letter from his relative Stanley, informin$ him
a%out "ichard-s camp and movements. "ichard-s army, it seems, is only a day-s march away. The
men recall the crimes that "ichard has perpetrated and the darkness he has %rou$ht to the land. A
no%leman points out that none of "ichard-s allies is with him %ecause they %elieve in his cause2
they stay with him only out of fear and will flee when "ichard most needs them. Ea$er for the
%attle, "ichmond and his men march onward toward "ichard-s camp.
Analysis5 Act ', scenes i<ii
The action accelerates in the scenes leadin$ up to the %attle. Shakespeare paces the scene so that
events happen and news arrives in Cuick succession, leavin$ little time for contemplation on the
parts of the main characters. At the same time, these scenes reflect %ack on important scenes
earlier in the play, revealin$ the conseCuences of past actions and the fulfillment of past
prophecies. Pust as Eli0a%eth, +ar$aret, and the duchess-s reconsideration of earlier times in Act
I', scene iv prepares the $round for their etraordinary moral transformation in learnin$ to curse,
(uckin$ham-s memory of +ar$aret-s curse here prepares him for an eCually si$nificant
transformation2his sudden desire to repent and accept his fate. +ar$aret-s curse, written off as
an eccentricity when it is first delivered, is now revealed to %e an accurate instrument of
prophecy, and thus assumes its full importance as an instrument of foreshadowin$ in the play.
The re-emer$ence of the prophetic curse naturally carries with it an overtone of supernatural
oversi$ht, implyin$ that #od or fate controls the action of the play. In this li$ht, (uckin$ham-s
declaration that his eecution is due to the )ustice of #od, who, he feels, is punishin$ him for
havin$ ali$ned himself with evil, %rin$s the notion of moral )ustice into full focus in the play.
This focus on moral )ustice anticipates the dissolution of "ichard-s un)ust rei$n %y redirectin$ the
narrative toward the idea of )ust outcomes overseen %y the will of #od. (uckin$ham underscores
this point when he declares, 7Thus doth he force the swords of wicked men 8 To turn their own
points in their masters- %osoms: ('.i.@B<@=!. In other words, the )ustice of #od reCuires that evil
men will %e undone throu$h their own wickedness. (uckin$ham intends this point to refer solely
to himself, %ut Shakespeare frames it as a moral $enerali0ation that points clearly toward
"ichard.
The sense of impendin$ )ustice that Shakespeare introduces throu$h the eecution of
(uckin$ham is carried over into Act ', scene ii, in which "ichmond and his advisors- complaints
a%out "ichard-s %ehavior amount to a moral indictment, a list of all the reasons why "ichard-s
removal from power is the outcome that )ustice demands. The sense of )ustice, stren$th, coura$e,
and optimism inherent in the frank and determined conversation of the re%els stands in direct
contrast to the sense of corruption, death, and impendin$ doom that clin$s to "ichard-s court.
"ichmond-s advisors employ lan$ua$e of defiance and resolution that takes "ichard-s crimes as
the impetus for the action that the re%els must take. Dor eample, 4ford declares, 7Every man-s
conscience is a thousand swords 8 To fi$ht a$ainst this $uilty homicide: ('.ii.;E<;A!. /ike
4ford-s, each of the short speeches made %y the men here revolves around the idea that "ichard
has %een a murderous and oppressive kin$ who deserves to %e overthrown and that, as a result,
"ichmond-s army is morally unwaverin$ in its Cuest to overthrow him. ,hereas the lust for
power characteri0ed "ichard-s rise to the throne, the principle of )ustice now directs "ichmond
and his army to challen$e "ichard-s wron$ful rule.
Act ', scenes iii<vi
Summary5 Act ', scene iii
In his camp, &in$ "ichard orders his men to pitch their tents for the ni$ht. *e says that they will
en$a$e in their $reat %attle in the -mornin$. "ichard talks to his no%lemen, tryin$ to stir up some
enthusiasm, %ut they are all su%dued. "ichard, however, says he has learned that "ichmond has
only one-third as many fi$htin$ men as he himself does, and he is confident that he can easily
win.
Summary5 Act ', scene iv
+eanwhile, in "ichmond-s camp, "ichmond tells a messen$er to deliver a secret letter to his
stepfather, /ord Stanley, who is in an outlyin$ camp. Stanley is forced to fi$ht upon "ichard-s
side, %ut "ichmond hopes to $et some help from him nonetheless.
Summary5 Act ', scene v
It is now dead midni$ht.
.old fearful drops stand on my trem%lin$ flesh.
,hat do I fearF +yselfF
(See Important Quotations Eplained!
(ack in &in$ "ichard-s tent, "ichard issues commands to his lieutenants. (ecause "ichard
knows of Stanley-s relationship with "ichmond, he is suspicious of Stanley, and is holdin$
Stanley-s youn$ son, #eor$e, hosta$e. *e has an order sent to /ord Stanley tellin$ him to %rin$
his troops to the main camp %efore dawn, or else he will kill #eor$e. Ieclarin$ that he will eat
no supper that ni$ht, "ichard then prepares to $o to sleep for the ni$ht.
Stanley comes secretly to visit "ichmond in his tent. *e eplains the situation, %ut promises to
help "ichmond however he can. "ichmond thanks him and then prepares for sleep.
As %oth leaders sleep, they %e$in to dream. A parade of $hosts2the spirits of everyone whom
"ichard has murdered2comes across the sta$e. Dirst, each $host stops to speak to "ichard. Each
condemns him %itterly for his or her death, tells him that he will %e killed in %attle the net
mornin$, and orders him to despair and die. The $hosts then move away and speak to the
sleepin$ "ichmond, tellin$ him that they are on "ichmond-s side and that "ichmond will rule
En$land and %e the father of a race of kin$s. In a similar manner, eleven $hosts move across the
sta$e5 3rince Edward, the dead son of *enry 'I9 &in$ *enry 'I himself9 "ichard-s %rother
.larence9 "ivers, #ray, and 'au$han9 the two youn$ princes, whom "ichard had murdered in the
tower9 *astin$s9 /ady Anne, "ichard-s former wife9 and, finally, (uckin$ham.
Terrified, "ichard wakes out of his sleep, sweatin$ and $aspin$. In an impassioned soliloCuy, he
searches his soul to try to find the cause of such a terri%le dream. "eali0in$ that he is a murderer,
"ichard tries to fi$ure out what he fears. *e asks himself whether he is afraid of himself or
whether he loves himself. *e reali0es that he doesn-t have any reason to love himself and asks
whether he doesn-t hate himself, instead. Dor the first time, "ichard is truly terrified.
"atcliffe comes to "ichard-s tent to let him know that the rooster has crowed and that it is time to
prepare for %attle. The shaken "ichard tells "atcliffe of his terrifyin$ dream, %ut "atcliffe
dismisses it, tellin$ "ichard not to %e afraid of shadows and superstition.
In his camp, "ichmond also wakes and tells his advisers a%out his dream, which was full of $ood
omens5 the $hosts of all of "ichard-s victims have told him that he will have victory. "ichmond
$ives a stirrin$ pre-%attle oration to his soldiers, remindin$ them that they are defendin$ their
native country from a fearsome tyrant and murderer. "ichmond-s men cheer and head off to
%attle.
Summary5 Act ', scene vi
In "ichard-s camp, "ichard $ives his %attle speech to his army, focusin$ on the ra$$edness of the
re%el forces and their opposition to himself, the alle$edly ri$htful kin$. A messen$er then %rin$s
the %ad news that Stanley has mutinied and refuses to %rin$ his army. There is not enou$h time
even to eecute youn$ Stanley, for the enemy is already upon them. "ichard and his forces head
out to war.
Analysis5 Act ', scenes iii<vi
These scenes are the psycholo$ical hi$h point of the play, and the turnin$ point at which
"ichard-s downfall %ecomes certain. The play vividly dramati0es the contrast %etween "ichard-s
character and "ichmond-s character, shiftin$ its perspective %ack and forth %etween them si
times. The leaders, in their respective camps, make almost identical preparations as they ready
for the net day-s %attle, %ut the difference %etween them can %e seen in the way they $o a%out
their %usiness. "ichard speaks %rusCuely to his lords, and, as we can see, essentially is isolated
from all human contact. As a result of his malicious nature, he kills anyone who %ecomes close
to him, $radually destroyin$ all his close human relationships. *e is in power, %ut he is alone5 his
%rothers, nephews, and even his own wife are all dead at his hand, his mother has cursed and
a%andoned him, and even the person who was once his closest friend2(uckin$ham2has %een
sent to eecution.
"ichmond, on the other hand, is $racious and friendly to %oth his no%lemen and his soldiers. The
%attle speeches of the two leaders clearly show their different styles5 "ichmond asks his men to
remem%er the %eauty of the land that they are protectin$ from a tyrant, and the wives and
children whom they will %e makin$ free. *e reminds his men that he himself will die in %attle if
he cannot win, and that, if he does succeed, all his soldiers will %e rewarded. In contrast, "ichard
simply mocks the enemy soldiers, callin$ them 7a scum of (retons and %ase lackey peasants:
('.vi.=E!. As "ichard says to his no%lemen %efore his speech, he %elieves that mi$ht makes ri$ht,
and that 7>c?onscience is %ut a word that cowards use, 8 Ievised at first to keep the stron$ in
awe: ('.vi.BJ<=K!. 'ery much "ichard-s opposite, "ichmond claims to fi$ht for honor,
compassion, and loyalty2in effect, he fi$hts on the side of conscience.
The effect of the $hosts- procession is somethin$ like havin$ eleven %itter curses (7Iespair and
dieL:! cast upon "ichard in seCuence. ,hen "ichard wakes, he is shaken %y a %out of self-dou%t
and soul-searchin$ that is unparalleled in the play, and that many readers think is one of
Shakespeare-s $reatest moments of insi$ht into human psycholo$y. "ichard2the two-
dimensional villain, the %loody 7hell-hound:2is forced to look into his soul, and is terrified %y
what he finds there (I'.iv.=A!. *is uncertainty as to what he finds within himself, more than the
$hosts- curses, shakes him to the core.
Sweatin$ and terrified, "ichard asks desperately, 7,hat do I fearF +yselfF There-s none else
%y. 8 "ichard loves "ichard9 that is, I am I. 8 Is there a murderer hereF 1o. 6es, I am: ('.v.;BH<
;BA!. ,ith this sudden, horri%le revelation that there is a murderer in the room, and that he is it,
"ichard is suddenly uncertain of whether to %e afraid even of himself. *is lines dramati0e the
reali0ation that the $hosts have inspired2that he is a dramatically different person than he has
ima$ined himself to %e. *e suddenly reco$ni0es that he is a murderer. *is statement 7I am I: can
%e read as an effort to assert his own self-identity. After "ichard reali0es that he has %ecome
somethin$ that scares even himself, the divide %etween who he once was and who he has %ecome
is astonishin$ly clear. This divide threatens even his eistence. 4nce he reali0es that he is afraid
of himself and that he is a murderer, his immediate Cuestion is whether or not he will kill
himself. *is answer is conflicted. Althou$h he avoids this possi%ility %y claimin$ that he loves
himself and therefore would not kill himself, he reali0es moments later, 7I rather hate myself 8
Dor hateful deeds committed %y myself: ('.v.;BH<;==!. In this scene it is very clear that "ichard
has moved %eyond a simple, flat version of the medieval character, 'ice, and eperiences the
deeply divided emotions that characteri0e real human %ein$s.
In a stran$e, hauntin$, and even movin$ conclusion, "ichard unepectedly turns to thou$hts of
others, and $rieves for his isolation5 7I shall despair. There is no creature loves me, 8 And if I die
no soul will pity me. 8 1ay, wherefore should theyF2Since that I myself 8 Dind in myself no pity
to myselfF: ('.v.;G=<;GE!. ,ith these words he reali0es, an$ry and desperate, that he doesn-t
even sympathi0e with himself. Even after he mana$es to put aside his terror and resumes the
sem%lance of his old arro$ance, this sensation does not fade. .learly, for "ichard, the end is near.
Act ', scenes vii<viii
Summary5 Act ', scene vii
The two armies fi$ht a pitched %attle. .ates%y appears on sta$e and calls to "ichard-s ally
1orfolk, askin$ for help for "ichard. .ates%y reports that the kin$-s horse has %een killed and
that the kin$ is fi$htin$ like a madman on foot, challen$in$ everyone he sees in the field as he
attempts to track down "ichmond himself.
"ichard himself now appears, callin$ out for a horse. (ut he refuses .ates%y-s offer of help,
sayin$ that he has prepared himself to face the fortunes of %attle and will not run from them now.
*e also says that "ichmond seems to have filled the field with decoys2that is, common soldiers
dressed like "ichmond2of whom "ichard has already killed five. *e departs, seekin$
"ichmond.
Summary5 Act ', scene viii
Dinally, "ichmond appears, and "ichard returns. They face each other at last and fi$ht a %loody
duel. "ichmond wins, and kills &in$ "ichard with his sword. "ichmond runs %ack into %attle.
The noise of %attle dies down, and "ichmond returns, accompanied %y his no%lemen. ,e learn
that "ichmond-s side has won the %attle. This revelation is hardly surprisin$, since "ichard is
dead. Stanley, swearin$ his loyalty to the new kin$, presents "ichmond with the crown, which
has %een taken from "ichard-s %ody. "ichmond accepts the crown and puts it on.
"elatively few no%lemen have %een killed, and Stanley-s youn$ son, #eor$e, is still safe.
"ichmond, now &in$ *enry 'II, orders that the %odies of the dead %e %uried, and that "ichard-s
soldiers2who have fled the field2should all %e $iven amnesty. *e then announces his intention
to marry youn$ Eli0a%eth, dau$hter of the former Queen Eli0a%eth and of the late &in$ Edward
I'. The houses of /ancaster and 6ork will %e united at last, and the lon$ %loodshed will %e over.
The new kin$ asks for #od-s %lessin$ on En$land and the marria$e, and for a lastin$ peace. The
no%les leave the sta$e.
Analysis5 Act ', scenes vii<viii
"ichard-s death is conveyed only in sta$e directions in the tet2uncharacteristically,
Shakespeare does not even $ive him a dyin$ speech. "ichard-s death comes as no surprise,
however. *is final scenes only enact the outcome that the play has already esta%lished as
inevita%le, %oth in terms of narrative shape and in terms of moral resolution. In %road terms, the
first part of the play shows a $radual rise in "ichard-s fortunes and power. These fortunes peak
and then decline dramatically. (uckin$ham-s hesitation to help "ichard kill the youn$ princes in
Act I', scene ii, moments after "ichard-s coronation, marks the %e$innin$ of "ichard-s decline
into paranoia and his $radual loss of control of the events around him. The duchess of 6ork-s
curses and Eli0a%eth-s deception of "ichard in Act I', scene iv confirm this downward slide,
which reaches its low with "ichard-s ni$htmare2and su%seCuent self-Cuestionin$2in Act ',
scene v. After all of these events, it is clear that "ichard-s death, which has %een predicted and
prophesied many times %y many people, is only a matter of time.
"ichard-s final scenes do illustrate somethin$ of the fren0ied selfishness of his mind.
Shakespeare depicts the $radual devolution of his %old and reckless fi$htin$ on the %attlefield, as
he $oes from fi$htin$ to protect his power and his kin$dom to fi$htin$ simply to protect his
neck. "ichard lacks the sense of hi$her purpose with which "ichmond has %een endowed, and
thus he lacks the a%ility to die no%ly. In the end, "ichard is o%sessed with his own self-
preservation, as indicated %y his cry of 7>a? horseL A horseL +y kin$dom for a horseL: ('.vii.E,
;B!. In this moment, "ichard clearly reveals his priorities. *e would trade everythin$ for a horse
on which to improve his chances of survivin$ the %attle rather than die honora%ly for his cause.
"ichmond-s final speech primarily serves a narrative purpose, showin$ that "ichard, the villain
of the play, has %een definitively vanCuished, althou$h his death has occurred offsta$e.
"ichmond-s simple, )ud$mental declaration that 7>T?he %loody do$ is dead: indicates the relief
and ehaustion that he (and everyone else! feels after "ichard-s lon$ campai$n of cruelty
('.viii.@!. +any dead kin$s, even wicked ones, are remem%ered kindly %y their enemies after
they die, %ut "ichard is so universally hated that he is spoken of merely as a 7%loody do$.:
Sym%olically, then, "ichard-s death and "ichmond-s ascension to the throne su$$est that the
conflicts that have pla$ued En$land for so lon$ are at an end. 7En$land hath lon$ %een mad, and
scarred herself,: says "ichmond, referrin$ to the wars amon$ the royalty ('.viii.@B!. "ichmond-s
intention to claim the kin$dom-s 7lon$ usurpRd royalty,: as Stanley puts it, heralds the sym%olic
end not )ust of the particular conflict with "ichard %ut of the ,ars of the "oses in $eneral
('.viii.=!. +oreover, with his marria$e to youn$ Eli0a%eth, "ichmond will meld the houses of
6ork and /ancaster in a fertile and peaceful union, unitin$ 7the white rose and the red:2the
sym%ols of the houses of 6ork and /ancaster, respectively ('.viii.;J!. "ichard-s lon$ rei$n of
terror has come to an end as the play closes with the promise of a marria$e, and with the new
&in$ *enry-s fervent prayer for 7this fair land-s peace: ('.viii.BJ!. The play, then, ends tra$ically
for "ichard %ut happily for En$land.