home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- English - Shakespeare
- Richard III
-
- 1. "The tragedy of Richard III lies in the progressive isolation of
- its protagonist". Discuss.
-
- From the very opening of the play when Richard III enters "solus",
- the protagonist's isolation is made clear. Richard's isolation progresses
- as he separates himself from the other characters and breaks the natural
- bonds between Man and nature through his efforts to gain power.
-
- The first scene of the play begins with a soliloquy, which
- emphasizes Richard's physical isolation as he appears alone as he speaks to
- the audience. This idea of physical isolation is heightened by his
- references to his deformity, such as "rudely stamp'd...Cheated of feature
- by Dissembling Nature, deformed, unfinished. This deformity would be an
- outward indication to the audience of the disharmony from Nature and
- viciousness of his spirit. As he hates "the idle pleasures of these days"
- and speaks of his plots to set one brother against another, Richard seems
- socially apart from the figures around him, and perhaps regarded as an
- outsider or ostracized because of his deformity. His separation from is
- family is emphasized when he says "Dive, thought's down to my soul" when he
- sees his brother approaching. He is unable to share his thought with his
- own family as he is plotting against them. Thus, we are given hints of his
- physical, social and spiritual isolation which is developed throughout the
- play. But despite these hints, he still refers to himself as part of the
- House of York, shown in the repeated use of "Our".
-
- The concept of Richard's physical isolation is reinforced in his
- dealings with Anne in Act I scene ii. She calls him "thou lump of foul
- deformity" and "fouler toad" during their exchange. Despite these insults,
- she still makes time to talk to Richard, and by the end of their exchange,
- she has taken his ring and been "woo'd" by him. After Richard has
- successfully gained the throne, he isolates himself when he asks the crowd
- to "stand all apart" in Act IV scene ii. And later, when Richard dreams,
- he is completely alone. Physical isolation in Richard's deformity wins
- sympathy from the audience as we pity his condition. But Richard uses his
- deformity as a tool against the other characters, to portray them as
- victimizing Richard. Thus the sense of tragedy is lessened by his own
- actions, even though his isolation may become greater as the play
- progresses.
-
- Richard's psychological isolation is conveyed through his lack of
- conscience in his murderous acts. Nowhere does he feel remorse for his
- murders, until Act V scene iii when he exclaims "Have mercy Jesu!" and "O
- coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!". In this turning point,
- Richard's division from his own self is made clear from "I and I", and "Is
- there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am!" He has conflicting views of himself
- and realizes that "no creature" loves him, not even himself. We also never
- the "real" mind of Richard, for he is always playing a role, of a loving
- brother to Clarence, a lover to Anne or a victim to the others. We feel
- sympathy for Richard as he awakes in a vulnerable position and for the
- first time acknowledges the evil that he has done. But as he only reveals
- his feelings of guilt in the last act of the play, we do not see him in
- internal turmoil and thus the sense of psychological tragedy cannot be
- built upon.
-
- Socially, Richard is isolated from both the upper and lower classes
- of society. In Act I scene iii, Richard sarcastically calls Elizabeth
- "sister", and she contemptuously calls him "Brother of Gloucester" making
- a mockery of familial bonds. Margaret calls him "cacodemon" and "devil",
- and any unity that the characters have on stage is temporary and
- superficial. In act III, the citizens are said to be "mum" and "deadly
- pale", which gives a sense of quiet opposition to Richard's activities.
- Richard is thus separated from all around him. Temporarily, we see Richard
- and Buckingham share a kind of bond, as Richard calls him "My other self",
- "My Oracle" and "My prophet". But they part when Buckingham hesitates to
- kill the young princes when Richard says "I wish the bastards dead". This
- is the only time the audience sees Richard act with any other man, but we
- realize that it is for purely political purposes and that the union exists
- only while Buckingham remains useful to him. Our sympathy for Richard is
- limited as we see that he has no true friendships, and does not genuinely
- care for his family or friends. Thus even in his increasing isolation the
- sense of tragedy upon his death is not really saddening to the audience as
- there is no real sense of waste at his loss.
-
- Richard isolates himself from God, as he claims to be above God's
- law and only uses religion as a tool to appear holy before he is King. But
- ironically, although he breaks the bonds between man and Nature, he is a
- tool of Divine Justice as he kill those who were sinners, for example
- Clarence who recalls his horrible dream and realizes his guilt early in the
- play. As the murders accumulate so does his separation from God, and the
- need for his death increases. But being closer to his death brings him
- closer and closer to being with God. Thus although Richard may not realize
- it, he is never too far from God.
-
- But Richard does not increasingly isolate himself from the
- audience. From our omniscient position, we share in Richard's wit,
- sarcasm, and the dramatic irony brought about when other characters are not
- fully aware of the implication of his words. Richard also shares his
- feelings with us, although he is not always truthful. But the fact that
- he enjoys his villainy to such a great extent, and feels no remorse for his
- murders reduces him to a figure of Vice, and is not really seen to be a
- tragic figure of great proportions.
-
- In his killing, we see the guilt of Clarence, King Edward, Rivers,
- Hastings Buckingham and Lady Anne exposed before their deaths, along with
- all those who die. Thus their deaths are necessary and the audience
- remembers that. Also, the deaths appear off-stage, which lessens the
- impact of their deaths.
-
- The most poignant part of the play occurs in seeing the young
- princes talk happily and innocently to their uncle and "Lord Protector".
- York says "I shall not sleep quiet in the Tower", and we pity them, as they
- are young and afraid, and are forced to go there because, as the Prince
- says, "My Lord Protector needs will have it so". The children had appeared
- happy , and the Prince had shown wit and intelligence in his conversation
- with his uncle. This appears to be the greatest tragic loss in the play,
- which is heightened because of their youth and innocence. The tragedy of
- the protagonist is felt because of his attractiveness as a villain and as
- someone who is not constrained by the rules of society. However, the
- audience never forgets that he is wicked and therefore we cannot feel a
- sense of great loss of potential or waste in his death.
-
-
-
-