Program Essay for "King Richard III"
Villainous Determination
by Thomas Canfield
King Richard III, Shakespeare’s second longest dramatic work, is also his most riveting and popular history play. From Richard’s glib opening soliloquy when he admits, “I am determined to prove a villain,” to his notorious battle cry of “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” in Act V, playgoers through the ages have been delighted and repulsed by the ruthless machinations of this cold-blooded stage scoundrel.
Shakespeare pulls out all the stops in depicting Richard’s unbridled ambition and sinister treachery, even if it means sacrificing historical accuracy for maximum theatrical impact. Elizabethan audiences would have been familiar with the rivalries of the previous century for the throne of England fought by the aristocratic houses of York and Lancaster–even if only through the dramatic representations they saw on the stage. Preceded by Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3, King Richard III is the climactic, final episode in Shakespeare’s four-play cycle chronicling the Wars of the Roses (1455-c.1485). This devastating series of civil conflicts culminated in Richard’s widely-popularized reign of terror.
King Richard III features an intricately-woven plot, brimming with elaborate intrigue, shifting political alliances, and an extensive cast of historical characters. The play encompasses five kings (with two Henrys and two Edwards) and four queens (two named Elizabeth). Following the trail of Richard’s relentless plotting, however, makes it possible to catalogue his black deeds and trace his grisly path to the throne. The action begins three months after the Battle of Tewkesbury, in which Richard, a member of the Yorkist faction, has slain Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir of the Lancastrian king Henry VI. After a period of imprisonment, Henry VI has also met an untimely death at Richard’s wicked hand.
When Henry VI’s funeral procession crosses the stage accompanied by Lady Anne, Prince Edward’s widow, Richard demonstrates his eloquence and persuasive finesse as a wooing murderer. Although physically misshapen, Richard is certainly not encumbered when it comes to rhetorical artistry, as illustrated when he initiates his diabolical plan to wed Lady Anne, who is merely a pawn in his quest to gain political clout. Soon thereafter, we meet Henry VI’s widowed queen, Margaret. Sentenced to banishment, Margaret prophetically utters a series of angry curses on the House of York–and Richard in particular–that are realized by the play’s conclusion.
With the House of York now at the helm of England, Richard–often referred to as “Gloucester” in the play–has been made a duke by his eldest brother, who wears the crown as Edward IV. Although the king suffers poor health and may not live much longer, several royal candidates stand in the way of Gloucester’s malevolent designs on the throne. Sowing the seeds of a cryptic omen concerning the letter “G,” Richard manipulates Edward IV into sentencing their brother George, the Duke of Clarence, to the Tower on false charges of treason. Clarence quickly comes to a violent, soggy end, the result of a rush execution order hastily carried out through Richard’s devices. When Clarence’s premature death is reported to a now-repentant Edward IV, the news proves unbearable for the ailing king.
Edward IV’s widow, Queen Elizabeth, has cause for concern upon her husband’s demise. Rivers, Grey and Vaughan, her kindred and court supporters, present obstacles to Richard’s ascendancy. Their expedient dispatch leaves the children of Edward IV and Elizabeth–the still-uncrowned Edward V and his younger brother, the Duke of York–at the mercy of their nefarious uncle Richard, who is now, ironically, their appointed “Protector.” With the aid of Buckingham, his unscrupulous tool, Richard discredits their legitimacy and manipulates public opinion in his favor. Unsatisfied with merely stealing the crown, however, Richard must ensure that there is no chance of Edward IV’s heirs ever challenging it.
Those who advance Richard’s power, willingly or not, are disposable once they are no longer politically useful. Richard plans to eliminate Lady Anne even before he weds her, and eventually plots to marry his own niece, Elizabeth, the young daughter of Edward IV. When Hastings, the Lord Chamberlain, balks at supporting Richard’s evil momentum, he is dealt with summarily as a traitor, and a similar fate befalls Buckingham, Richard’s conspirator and staunchest supporter. Even the Church proves powerless to impede Richard’s rise to power.
England’s ultimate savior is Richmond, commonly known in the history books as Henry VII. At the end of the play, Richmond returns from exile in France to engage Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, avenging the restless ghosts of Richard’s many victims and uniting England under Tudor rule. To some extent, King Richard III is both an enthralling drama and an astute piece of political propaganda. In it, Shakespeare validates the Tudor dynasty by extolling the historic rise of Henry VII, the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I, under whose rule he was writing.
