Richard III

“More pity that the eagles should be mewed,

Whiles kites and buzzards prey at liberty.”

Hastings, one of the noblemen at court, describes the corrupt and unnatural situation in England through a metaphor. Using a comparison between classes of people and birds, Hastings indicates that strong birds, such as the eagle, are shut away, while weaker carrion birds like kites and buzzards are allowed to fly free. This statement suggests that he is unhappy with the imprisonment of George, Duke of Clarence, a high-status warrior whom Hastings believes has been locked away by Queen Elizabeth’s opportunistic male relatives.

“But yet I run before my horse to market.

Clarence still breathes; Edward still lives and reigns.

When they are gone, then must I count my gains.”

After Richard experiences his first success, manipulating his brother into believing that he will help him, he cautions himself not to rejoice until he has destroyed his brothers. He uses the metaphor of bringing a horse to market where the seller must barter to get a good price, signifying that he is not yet sure if his plan will be profitable for him. This economic language shows how impersonal Richard’s scheme is: He is trying to kill his own brothers not due to resentment or frustration, but because he is seeking the best reward for his efforts.

“Poor key-cold figure of a holy king,

Pale ashes of the house of Lancaster,

Thou bloodless remnant of that royal blood.”

Lady Anne Neville speaks to the body of the former King Henry VI, who died in prison after being captured during a battle with the House of York. Her language captures the political and personal loss resulting from his death, alluding to The Violent Cycle of Civil Unrest in England. Being bloodless, for example, indicates the death of his mortal body, but also the death of his noble bloodline, the House of Lancaster. Anne is therefore mourning both the death of a man and the death of the faction that she supported in the Wars of the Roses (See: Background).

“What black magician conjures up this fiend

To stop devoted charitable deeds?”

When Richard appears before Anne at King Henry VI’s funeral procession, she exclaims as though he is a devil summoned by a magician. This is part of a pattern of language associating Richard with the demonic, often drawing a connection between his curved spine and supernatural creatures, which reflects the theme of Monstrosity and the Deformed Body. Her dehumanizing insult also sets up how unlikely it is that Richard will be able to seduce her, making his later success all the more impressive.

“Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass,

That I may see my shadow as I pass.”

After convincing Anne to take his ring, Richard gleefully delivers a final soliloquy to the audience. While he has previously described his physical appearance as so disgusting that dogs bark at him on the streets, he now asks for a mirror and strives to see his own shadow on the ground as he walks. This sudden shift to vanity denotes that Richard is gaining confidence as his plan to use The Dangers of Manipulation and Deceit to control the courtiers succeeds.

“I cannot tell. The world is grown so bad

That wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch.”

Richard mirrors Hastings’s language as he pretends to be distressed by the division between his brothers. He uses the metaphor of birds again, suggesting that powerful hunting birds such as eagles must now be so fearful that small harmless wrens can take their places. Through this metaphor, Richard implies that England’s political situation during the Wars of the Roses has allowed unworthy people to rise to high stations, while also destroying the highest elites who ought to be the country’s leaders.

“Have I a tongue to doom my brother’s death,

And shall that tongue give pardon to a slave?”

King Edward IV is distracted from his goal of making peace between the lords by news of his brother’s death in prison. He bitterly accuses the other lords of failing him, using a synecdoche that substitutes his tongue for his words in general. By focusing on the ability of his tongue to send his brother to death but also to save the life of a slave, King Edward IV emphasizes how even the powerful words of the king are unable to restore justice in England’s corrupt political system.

“Why grow the branches when the root is gone?

Why wither not the leaves that want their sap?”

In the wake of her husband’s death, Queen Elizabeth delivers a mournful speech questioning how her family can continue to survive without royal protection. She uses the metaphor of a tree to describe her bloodline, calling King Edward IV the “root” of the tree that sustained the “branches” like herself and her children. By asking why the leaves do not wither without sap, she suggests that it seems impossible for the whole family to survive without the sustenance of royal power.

“Though we have spent our harvest of this king,

We are to reap the harvest of his son.”

Buckingham attempts to comfort the king’s grieving family by reminding them that Prince Edward will be the next heir to the throne of England. His metaphorical language affiliates kings and fertility, suggesting that the heir to the throne will ripen and grow into a bountiful harvest later. However, this metaphor is undercut with irony, as Prince Edward will be killed before he grows to adulthood. Shakespeare plays on the double meaning of “reap” to imply both the harvest of crops and death.

“Were they to be ruled, and not to rule,

This sickly land might solace as before.”

The Third Citizen shares his wisdom with the other commoners in London, employing repetition and double meanings to make his point. He repeats the verb “rule,” meaning both to wield power as a king but also to be restrained by laws. This emphasizes the point that the problems in England are due to the sort of people who ought to be restrained by law having the power to make the laws, alluding to The Violent Cycle of Civil Unrest that has been plaguing the country for years.

“Marry, they say my uncle grew so fast       

That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old.”

The young Richard, Duke of York, talks with his grandmother about his uncle Richard’s childhood, emphasizing how Richard was both unnaturally premature, yet with an unnatural appetite. While the Duchess of York recalls Richard as being a small and weak baby, the young prince shares the rumor that Richard developed teeth and an appetite strong enough to eat bread prematurely as well, reflecting Monstrosity and the Deformed Body. This detail adds to Richard’s monstrosity, while also suggesting that Richard’s appetites exceed his other deficiencies, making him over-ambitious.

“I want more uncles here to welcome me.”

Prince Edward makes a quip that indicates awareness that the court might be divided and dangerous. While his uncle Richard is there to welcome him, by saying that he wants “more uncles,” the prince suggests that he knows of the unjust execution of his uncle George.

“I’ll have this crown of mine cut from my shoulders

Before I’ll see the crown so foul misplaced.”

Hastings rejects Catesby’s suggestion that Richard could become king instead of Prince Edward. He uses figurative language that juxtaposes the meaning of “crown,” denoting the top of the head, with the metonym of crown as a substitution for royal station. Hastings’s punning language foreshadows his eventual fate, when he is beheaded for going against Richard.

“So wise so young, they say, do never live long.”

Richard foreshadows his plan to murder the young princes, speaking as though he is saying a common proverb. His words use the repetition of “so” and the alliteration of “live” and “long” to create a poetic, whimsical sound, which Shakespeare contrasts with the dark and menacing subject matter.

“Short summers lightly have a forward spring.”

In another sentence that foreshadows Richard’s malevolent intentions toward the princes, Shakespeare uses the metaphor of the seasons (See: Symbols & Motifs) to describe a human lifespan. By stating that short summers have a forward spring, he means that those who die young are often very precocious and promising in their youth. The princes are still in their spring, and seem to show great qualities, but their summer will be cut short by Richard’s actions.

“Come, lead me to the block. Bear him my head.

They smile at me who shortly shall be dead.”

With a rhyming couplet, Hastings goes to his execution. He evokes the irony of noble status under Richard’s tyranny, warning the onlookers that those who are happy today at his fall might be the next that Richard turns against. The contrast between smiling and impending doom creates a jarring and menacing tone.

“O ill-dispersing wind of misery!

O my accursèd womb, the bed of death!

A cockatrice hast thou hatched to the world,

Whose unavoided eye is murderous.”

The Duchess of York uses an allusion to mythology, comparing her son Richard to a cockatrice, which has the power to kill with a single look. By calling her womb a “bed of death,” the Duchess ironically points out that wombs are usually meant to create life, but in creating the life of Richard, she has brought more death into the world. This pronouncement from Richard’s own mother affirms his monstrous nature.

“The tyrannous and bloody act is done,

The most arch deed of piteous massacre

That ever yet this land was guilty of.”

Tyrrel announces the murder of the young prince. Unlike with George’s murder, the princes are not killed on stage, indicating a greater level of respect for the tragedy. While Tyrrel arranged the murder, he nevertheless describes the act as horrific. He says that the murder is the worst deed that England has ever been guilty of, ascribing guilt to the whole nation rather than only to Richard. His language indicates that the entire land has been complicit in Richard’s tyranny due to The Violent Cycle of Civil Unrest.

“From forth the kennel of thy womb hath crept

A hellhound that doth hunt us all to death—”

Queen Margaret uses the metaphor of a dog kennel to degrade Richard and his family. By calling the womb of the Duchess a kennel for dogs, she suggests that Richard is not just an anomaly, but an extension of his family’s corruption. By describing him as a “hellhound,” she evokes both the demonic and the nonhuman. This contributes to the dehumanizing language that characterizes Richard as an unnatural monster, speaking to the theme of Monstrosity and the Deformed Body.

“Thus doth he force the swords of wicked men

To turn their own points in their masters’ bosoms.”

After Buckingham rebels against Richard, his attempt to raise an army in Wales fails and he is captured. Buckingham reflects on his choices, deciding that his own failure is a form of divine justice for the support he offered to Richard initially. By portraying his own sins as a sword pointed to his own heart, Buckingham conveys the idea that there is no real benefit in committing evil actions in the long run.

“True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings;

Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.”

As Richmond prepares for battle against Richard’s army, he meditates on the fleeting nature of hope. Using the metaphor of a flying bird, he suggests that hope might abandon him eventually and his ambitions of higher station might prove impossible. This demonstrates humility and a prudent disposition, setting up his worthiness for the throne.

“Besides, the King’s name is a tower of strength.”

Richard tries to rationalize why he will win the battle, despite the clear threat posed by Richmond. He uses meronymy in his language, connecting the word of a king to the strength of the army. The metaphor of a tower suggests that the royal authority he provides to the military cause is as good as a physical fortification.

“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”

During the battle, Richard’s horse is killed and he calls out to get another mount to continue fighting. His speech employs epanalepsis, a form of repetition where the repeated word is switched from the beginning to the end of a sentence, to indicate his panic. His desperation is evident as he offers to exchange his entire kingdom for a simple horse to ride in battle.