Richard III

Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Written: c 1592-1594
Editor: John Jowett
Publisher: Oxford University Press (2008 Reissue)
Bought from: Book Depository


Introduction

Shakespeare wrote his most important English history plays in two tetralogies (sequences of four plays). The first series, written near the start of his career (roughly 1589–1594), consists of 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III, and covers the period between about 1422 and 1485. The second series, written at the height of Shakespeare’s career (roughly 1595–1599), covers the period from around 1398 to 1420 and consists of Richard II, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV and Henry V.

The eight works form a linked series and deal with the rise and fall of the House of Lancaster, established by Henry IV in 1399. They chronicle the War of the Roses (455 – 1485) between the Lancaster (whose heraldic symbol was a red rose) and the York, a rival branch of the Plantagenet family (whose symbol was a white rose).

There are two other, less-celebrated history plays: King John, whose title figure ruled from 1199 to 1216, and All Is Well, about the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) as its subject.

Before the events depicted in Richard III, the House of York had overthrown the House of Lancaster. The Lancaster king, Henry IV, was captured and later killed in the Tower of London. Henry IV’s widow Margaret of Anjou survived. His son, Edward, Prince of Wales, was killed in the Battle of Tewkesbury. Edward’s widow Lady Anne Neville also survived and would later marry Richard III.

Power switched to the House of York, specifically the sons of the late Richard, Duke of York. His wife Cecily Neville, Duchess of York survived him.

Richard and Cecily’s oldest surviving son became King Edward IV. His queen consort was Elizabeth, born Elizabeth Woodville. Edward IV and Elizabeth had at least three children, viz. Edward, Prince of Wales and later King Edward V, Richard, Duke of York and Elizabeth of York.

(Elizabeth Woodville had two sons from her first marriage to Sir John Grey, viz. Thomas Grey, 1st Marquis of Dorset, and Richard Grey, Earl or Lord Grey. She had a brother Anthony Woodville, Lord Rivers.)

Edward IV had two surviving brothers, George, Duke of Clarence; and the eponymous Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard would be Protector during the short reign of his young nephew Edward V and later monarch himself. King Richard III ruled from 1483 to 1485 when he was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field, marking the end of the War of the Roses and the House of York.

Richard’s main supporters were William Hastings, Lord Chamberlain; Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham; Sir Richard Ratcliffe; and Sir William Catesby.

Last but not least, there was Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. He was descended on his mother’s side from the Lancaster king, Edward III. He would later marry Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, uniting the Houses of Lancaster and York and establishing the Tudor dynasty (1485 – 1603). Queen Elizabeth, who ruled England during Shakespeare’s life, was a granddaughter of Henry Tudor and the last monarch of the House of Tudor.


What is it about?

The play begins after Edward has seized the throne. Richard his brother vows to depose him. He appears to be driven by jealousy, bitterly describing his deformity and declaring:

… 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
(1.1.28-31)

He then proceeds to have relatives (brother Clarence and nephews Edward and Richard) and former allies (Anthony Woodville, Richard Grey, William Hastings and Henry Stafford) killed. He seduces, marries and possibly murders Lady Anne Neville, whose husband Prince Edward he had killed. He also plans to marry his own niece Elizabeth of York to strengthen his claim on the throne. Richard III is truly one of the greatest villains in literature.

He is so evil his own mother curses him in her last lines:

Either thou wilt die by God’s just ordinance
Ere from this war thou turn a conqueror,
Or I with grief and extreme age shall perish,
And never look upon thy face again.
Therefore take with thee my most heavy curse,
Which in the day of battle tire thee more
Than all the complete armour that thou wear’st.
My prayers on the adverse party fight,
And there the little souls of Edward’s children
Whisper the spirits of thine enemies,
And promise them success and victory.
Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end.
Shame serves thy life and doth thy death attend.
(4.4.173-185)

Richard’s first and last lines in this play are well-known and often quoted (sometimes wrongly):

Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York (1.1.1-2)
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse! (5.6.13)

How is the book?

This is a volume in The Oxford Shakespeare line of the larger Oxford World’s Classics series. Each book in this series comes with a detailed introduction and on-page commentary and notes. There is also an appendix, which compares certain passages in the play against Shakespeare’s sources. I feel the introduction is too long and some of the footnotes too detailed for the general reader.


Finally ...

Good read.