Shakespeare: literature … or propaganda?

Richard the Third is one of the archetypal bad guys of English drama. At least as Shakespeare wrote him. But how accurate is that portrayal? Historical research suggests that the actual person might have been the victim of extremely bad press. The following is from Andrew Woolner, who directed an original adaptation of Richard III which presents the king as a misunderstood hero.

The Reformation of Richard III

Richard III wasn’t such a bad guy, really. So why does he have such a terrible reputation? It’s pretty much Shakespeare’s fault.

Okay, well, it didn’t begin with Shakespeare. It began with the Tudors. The Earl of Richmond, a.k.a. Henry Tudor, who defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field to become King Henry VII, was the first king of the Tudor dynasty (which included Henry VIII and Elizabeth I). This is important. We’ll come back to it.

Thomas More. Not just a name: a fascinating guy who got his head chopped off. Look him up sometime. Among other things, Mr. More was a writer of history. In the early 1500s, he wrote a history of Richard III portraying him as a slavering, power-hungry villain. His motives for doing this may be that he lived a very public life under the rule of Henry VIII, and thus was heavily invested in the Tudor regime. Some scholars have suggested that it was actually a sly attack on Henry VII, who had persecuted More’s father (he couldn’t likewise slander the father of the current monarch), or possibly it was a meditation on power and corruption. He and other Tudor-era writers portrayed Richard as physically deformed, because for them it was a symbol of an evil character. (Renaissance histories step back and forth across the lines between fact, literature, and propaganda, much more so than Medieval chronicles.)

This history, written by More and long considered definitive, was drawn upon heavily by Shakespeare while the latter was composing his play Richard III. Shakespeare was also writing in the time of Elizabeth (Henry’s granddaughter), so there was no choice – Richard had to be a villain. Unfortunately for poor Richard’s legacy, he thus became one of the greatest and most memorable villains in literature.

It wasn’t until the 20^th Century that scholars began to wonder if Richard III’s terrible reputation was either false or at least exaggerated by Tudor-period writers. Since then, several books have been written on the subject, bringing to light evidence that seems to clear Richard of the most grievous of the slander against him: the murder of the two princes.

After defeating Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field, King Henry VII, in order to justify his deposition of a legal, reigning monarch, passed a “Bill of Attainder” through Parliament, summarizing Richard’s (alleged) criminal acts before and after taking the throne. Interestingly, this document makes no mention of the murder of the princes in the Tower. You can bet Henry would have included this accusation if there had been any suspicion of it at all, since it would have certainly lent even more credibility to his actions. That the Bill of Attainder didn’t even mention princes suggests strongly that they may even have still been alive at the time of Richard’s death.

So perhaps poor Richard’s reputation is undeserved … And maybe it’s time for a play that shows a more human side to that famous villain.

Thank you, Andrew.

Richard the Third essentially wraps up Shakespeare’s history cycle of the civil war known to us as the War of the Roses, beginning with Richard the Second, through the Henry plays, culminating now. Short version: Henry the Fourth of the Lancaster family, by deposing Richard the Second, broke the rules by which the next king should be the eldest son of the previous king. Years later the York family insisted they should be the Royal family instead, again for rules relating to their ancestors. As the play begins, Richard’s eldest brother Edward is king, but of course everyone else in the royal family has a different idea about who should wear the crown.

That much is in agreement with history. Very little else is. For example, Richard almost certainly was not a hunchback, as he is often portrayed, nor did he have a limp. By all accounts he was one of the finest soldiers of his day, which would scarcely be possible for someone physically deformed. Anne was never married to Henry’s son, only engaged, and by the time this play begins, she and Richard had already been married more than ten years.

Regardless of the existence of a prophesy involving the letter G, Edward had a very good reason for locking up his brother George (Shakespeare calls him by his title, the Duke of Clarence, and so to make it easier, for the rest of this essay I’m going to call him Clarence) – namely, he had joined the Lancastrian forces to depose Edward and put Henry the Sixth back on the throne. Boy, things must have been awkward at their next family reunion. According to legend, Clarence was drowned in a vat of Malmsey wine, but it’s more likely that this was just a reference to his excessive drinking. Another theory is that, in the ages before embalming techniques, his corpse was stored in wine to preserve it during an interval between his death and his funeral.

There’s almost no reason for us to believe today that Richard was involved in the death of the princes, or Clarence. James Tyrrel is traditionally blamed for the princes’ deaths, but only because he confessed, under torture, years later while being interrogated for a completely unrelated incident.

In general, Shakespeare compresses events from several decades into one play. (That’s not so unusual – it’s very common to take dramatic license this way.) For example, even though the period covered in this play is 1483-1485, Henry the Sixth and his son died in 1471, Richard’s brother Clarence died in 1478, Queen Margaret died in France in 1482 … you get the idea.

Scattered throughout the play are references to Mistress Shore, possibly the most-discussed character in all of Shakespeare who doesn’t actually appear on stage. Historically, Richard III prosecuted her for her interference in political affairs; the fictional Richard goes further, accusing her of witchcraft and outright treason, in conjunction with Elizabeth, Edward’s queen.

Elizabeth “Jane” Shore (c. 1445 – c. 1527) was in her lifetime and Shakespeare’s a national joke, a living punchline; yet she got her revenge by far outliving everyone else in this entire tragic tale. She was the lover of no fewer than three of the nobles in this play: King Edward, Lord Hastings and the Marquess of Dorset. It’s hard to name a contemporary figure who evokes the same combination of bawdy humor with political intrigue, unless you imagine Monica Lewinsky, Mata Hari and Eva Peron, all rolled into one.

Margaret makes two predictions in Act 1 scene 3: that Buckingham will regret his friendship with Richard, and that Elizabeth will beg her for lessons in how to curse him. Both of these predictions come true by Act 5.

Summary

ACT 1

scene 1

In one of the most famous monologues in English literature, Richard the Duke of Gloucester reflects how the War of the Roses is over (for now), that his eldest brother rules, and that he plans to play the two sides against each other to gain power for himself. Since he is very ugly and misshapen, he decides to act the part and give himself over to evil.

Richard encounters his older brother George, the Duke of Clarence. Their older brother King Edward had Clarence arrested on the basis of a prophecy that someone whose name begins with G would kill the royal family. (Richard suggests it was Queen Elizabeth who spread the rumor, but actually Richard did it himself.)

scene 2

Richard stops the funeral of Henry VI, whom Richard slew on the battlefield. In attendance is Lady Anne his daughter-in-law, now a widow because Richard also slew her husband the Crown Prince Edward. In possibly the greatest seduction scene of all time, Richard convinces Anne that he only killed them because he loves her, and actually wins the love of a woman who only moments before had hated him above all other men.

scene 3

Richard’s faction argues with the Queen and her kinsmen, both accusing the other of telling lies to the King. The argument is joined by former Queen Margaret of Anjou, widow of the late King Henry. Afterward Richard boasts to the audience that although he started the argument, he convinces his friends that he tried to keep the peace.

Richard hires two murderers to kill Clarence.

scene 4

Clarence convinces one of the two murderers to let him live, but the other stabs him, then dumps the body into a vat of wine.

ACT 2

scene 1

King Edward forces the two warring sides to bury their differences. Richard pretends to join in the peacemaking, but sets the two sides at odds again by announcing that Clarence is dead. The news is too much for his brother Edward, already sick, and he collapses.

scene 2

Clarence’s mother the Duchess of York laments his death, but hides it from his children, pretending that she’s just worried about the king. The queen announces that Edward has died, so together they mourn the loss of both Edward and Clarence.

Richard also pretends to grieve, and his supporter Buckingham suggests that the crown prince, still a boy, be brought to the castle so he can be crowned. He also suggests that very few knights accompany him on the journey, in case a large procession causes more jealousy and animosity to break out.

The Duchess reveals that she sees through Richard’s lies, and can’t believe one of her sons could be so deceitful.

scene 3

Citizens discuss the latest news.

scene 4

The Queen and Duchess await the arrival of the crown prince. They learn that Richard had arrested Elizabeth’s relatives Rivers and Grey.

ACT 3

scene 1

The prince meets with Richard and Buckingham, and Edward’s younger brother York comes to join them. The prince is sad at the death of Clarence and Edward, but both boys think Richard is their loving uncle, even when he locks them up in the Tower of London, supposedly for their protection.

Buckingham and Richard tell Catesby to ask Hastings if he would support Richard as king, rather than the young prince.

scene 2

Hastings refuses to support Richard as king, but doesn’t suspect any treachery because he has been a loyal friend. He’s pleased to learn that Richard’s enemies Rivers, Grey and Vaughn are to be executed at Pomfret Castle.

scene 3

Rivers, Vaughan and Grey go bravely to their deaths.

scene 4

In a conference as to when to crown the new king, Richard suddenly turns on Hastings, accusing him of witchcraft to make his body weak, and sentences him to death. Too late, Hastings realizes he should never have trusted Richard.

scene 5

Richard and Buckingham convince the Mayor that Hastings had been a traitor. Richard tells Buckingham to spread gossip that the late King Edward had been illegitimate, that his children were too, and that he had otherwise been a bad king.

scene 6

A scrivener muses that in the short time it took to write the accusations against Hastings to read out in public, Hastings had been put to death.

scene 7

Even after Buckingham lists all his accusations against the late King Edward, including his prior marriages which would have made his marriage to Elizabeth invalid (and hence his children bastards), the townspeople refuse to accept Richard as their new king.

Catesby and Buckingham put on an elaborate masquerade for the townspeople; they pretend that Richard, hard at prayer, doesn’t want to be king, and must be talked into it. Needless to say, Richard at last agrees to become king.

ACT 4

scene 1 

Elizabeth and the Duchess arrive at the Tower, but are not allowed to visit the princes. Anne learns that Richard, now her husband, is to be crowned king, but she’s actually horrified to hear the news. The Duchess regrets giving birth to such an evil man, and Elizabeth tells her son Dorset to join Richmond in France.

scene 2

Richard, now the king, asks Buckingham to kill Edward’s children, and is outraged that he refuses. Instead he finds an ambitious knight named Tyrrel who agrees to take care of them. Buckingham realizes he’s lost the king’s favor, and flees to join Richmond too.

Richard also plots to get rid of his wife Anne so he can marry one of Edward’s daughters, to keep Richmond from marrying her, thus improving his claim on the throne.

scene 3

Tyrell reports that the princes are dead. Richard prepares to raise an army to fight Richmond.

scene 4

Elizabeth and the Duchess lament over their many dead relatives. Margaret joins them, and together they curse Richard.

They intercept Richard with his army. His mother the Duchess predicts his bloody end. Richard asks Elizabeth for her daughter’s hand in marriage, and in a stunning encore of his seduction of Anne, she agrees.

Richard gives orders for the fight with Richmond, but he’s easily distracted, and forgets what he was saying. He accuses Stanley, a loyal friend, of plotting to betray him, and demands Stanley’s son as a hostage.

scene 5

Two soldiers discuss Richmond’s growing army.

ACT 5

scene 1

Buckingham is captured. On the way to his execution, he repents of the evil he has done helping Richard.

scene 2

Richmond lands in England, and draws more support as he marches to battle.

scene 3 

Richard and Richmond set up camp on opposite sides of the stage. Even though Richmond is greatly outnumbered, his forces are much more optimistic about the coming battle than are Richard’s. Both men fall asleep. The ghosts of all of Richards’s victims visit their dreams, all cursing Richard and promising great victory to Richmond.

Richard awakes from the dreams, trembling and incoherent, but Richmond is refreshed and cheerful. Both give rallying speeches to their armies, and the battle begins.

scene 4

“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”

scene 5

Richmond defeats Richard in single combat, and announces a new age of peace and happiness in England. He will marry Elizabeth’s daughter, thus uniting the houses of York and Lancaster, and even unite the red and white roses of the two rivals into one, the Tudor rose.