Richard III
Throughout the 16th century (during the reign of the Tudor monarchs in England) books on the history of England were published and they were very popular. Two important reasons for this could be that humanists held the study of history in a very high regard; and secondly, that the Tudor monarchs “used it to legitimise their rather dubious claim to the throne”2.This claim is called ‘dubious’ because the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, did not have the full right to be king. But, perhaps even more important, these histories of England were so popular because they portrayed the idealised English past, a past with stability, order and national triumph. In times of great changes in social, economic and political structures, this past could be very attractive.
These three reasons contributed to the appearance of the history play in the English popular theatre of the 1580s and 90s. Shakespeare played an important role in creating and developing this genre, because other than comedy and tragedy, the history play did not have its origins in antiquity. Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s history plays. These plays are all set in the history of England (roughly 1250-1500) and the actions and character of the king are central to these plays. Richard III was first performed in 1592 or 1593. From the start it was a very popular play.
A little bit of English history
Richard III was king from 1483 until 1485. From 1455 to 1485 there was a civil war going on in England, known as the Wars of the Roses. This civil war was caused by two rival families (houses); the house of York and the house of Lancaster (they both had a rose as their family symbols, hence the name of the civil war). Both families thought they had a rightful claim to the throne of England. From 1471 onward, Edward IV from the house of York, was king. Richard III was the brother of this King Edward IV. When Edward IV died in 1483, his son and heir to the throne, Edward V was too young to reign. Richard III had been appointed by his brother as the protector of the kingdom and the heir (Edward V) until the boy was old enough. When Edward V was declared as an unrightful heir, Richard III himself became king. In 1485 he died in the Battle of Bosworth field, where he was defeated by Henry Tudor (Henry VII) who then founded the Tudor-dynasty.An important source that Shakespeare used for this play was The History of King Richard the Third written by Thomas More around 1513. This is probably the main source upon which Shakespeare based his portrayal of Richard as a deformed, hunchbacked man.
What is very interesting in this play is the soliloquies of Richard. Soliloquies are parts in the play, where Richard is alone on the stage, or standing aside from the others players, and talking only to the audience. Through these soliloquies, the audience comes to know the inner thoughts and feelings of Richard. The play begins with one of Richard’s soliloquies. Here he tells us that his looks are not all that beautiful (he probably had a hunchback). Because he is this way, he decides to become good at being a villain, at being evil.
But I,—that am not shap'd for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;—
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun,
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore,—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.
Click here for the online text of Richard III
Click here for a summary of the play