Richard III

by William Shakespeare

Tomorrow’s vengeance on the head of Richard.

  Enter Ratcliffe

  RATCLIFFE    My lord?

  RICHARD    Who’s there?

  RATCLIFFE    Ratcliffe, my lord, ’tis I. The early village cock

  Hath twice done salutation to the morn.

  Your friends are up and buckle on their armour.

  RICHARD    O Ratcliffe, I fear, I fear—

  RATCLIFFE    Nay, good my lord, be not afraid of shadows.217

  RICHARD    By the apostle Paul, shadows tonight

  Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard

  Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers

  Armèd in proof221, and led by shallow Richmond.

  ’Tis not yet near day. Come, go with me:

  Under our tents I’ll play the eavesdropper,

  To hear if any mean to shrink from224 me.

  Exeunt Richard and Ratcliffe

  Enter the Lords to Richmond, sitting in his tent

  LORDS    Good morrow, Richmond!

  RICHMOND    Cry mercy, lords and watchful226 gentlemen,

  That you have ta’en227 a tardy sluggard here.

  LORDS    How have you slept, my lord?

  RICHMOND    The sweetest sleep, and fairest-boding dreams

  That ever entered in a drowsy head,

  Have I since your departure had, my lords.

  Methought their souls, whose bodies Richard murdered,

  Came to my tent and cried on233 victory:

  I promise you my heart is very jocund234

  In the remembrance of so fair a dream.

  How far into the morning is it, lords?

  LORDS    Upon the stroke of four.

  RICHMOND    Why, then ’tis time to arm and give direction.—

  His oration to his Soldiers

  More than I have said239, loving countrymen,

  The leisure and enforcement240 of the time

  Forbids to dwell upon. Yet remember this:

  God and our good cause fight upon our side,

  The prayers of holy saints and wrongèd souls,

  Like high-reared bulwarks244, stand before our faces,

  Richard except245, those whom we fight against

  Had rather have us win than him they follow:

  For what is he they follow? Truly, gentlemen,

  A bloody tyrant and a homicide:

  One raised in blood, and one in blood established249;

  One that made means250 to come by what he hath,

  And slaughtered those that were the means to help him:

  A base foul stone, made precious by the foil252

  Of England’s chair, where he is falsely253 set:

  One that hath ever been God’s enemy.

  Then if you fight against God’s enemy,

  God will in justice ward256 you as his soldiers:

  If you do swear to put a tyrant down,

  You sleep in peace, the tyrant being slain:

  If you do fight against your country’s foes,

  Your country’s fat shall pay your pains the hire260:

  If you do fight in safeguard of your wives,

  Your wives shall welcome home the conquerors:

  If you do free your children from the sword,

  Your children’s children quits it in your age.264

  Then, in the name of God and all these rights,

  Advance your standards266, draw your willing swords.

  For me, the ransom of my bold attempt267

  Shall be this cold corpse on the earth’s cold face:

  But if I thrive269, the gain of my attempt

  The least of you shall share his part thereof.

  Sound drums and trumpets boldly and cheerfully.

  God and Saint George272, Richmond and victory!

  [Exeunt]

  Enter King Richard, Ratcliffe and Catesby [with Attendants and Soldiers]

  RICHARD    What said Northumberland as touching273 Richmond?

  RATCLIFFE    That he was never trainèd up in arms.

  RICHARD    He said the truth: and what said Surrey then?

  RATCLIFFE    He smiled and said, ‘The better for our purpose.’

  RICHARD    He was in the right, and so indeed it is.

  Clock strikes

  Tell the clock there. Give me a calendar.278

  Who saw the sun today?

  RATCLIFFE    Not I, my lord.

  RICHARD    Then he disdains to shine, for by the book281

  He should have braved the east282 an hour ago

  A black283 day will it be to somebody. Ratcliffe!

  RATCLIFFE    My lord?

  RICHARD    The sun will not be seen today:

  The sky doth frown and lour286 upon our army.

  I would these dewy tears were from287 the ground.

  Not shine today? Why, what is that to me

  More than to Richmond? For the selfsame heaven

  That frowns on me looks sadly290 upon him.

  Enter Norfolk

  NORFOLK    Arm, arm, my lord: the foe vaunts291 in the field.

  He arms

  RICHARD    Come, bustle, bustle. Caparison292 my horse.

  Call up Lord Stanley, bid him bring his power.

  I will lead forth my soldiers to the plain,

  And thus my battle shall be orderèd:

  My foreward shall be drawn296 in length,

  Consisting equally of horse and foot297:

  Our archers shall be placèd in the midst;

  John Duke of Norfolk, Thomas Earl of Surrey,

  Shall have the leading of the foot and horse.

  They thus directed301, we will follow

  In the main battle, whose puissance302 on either side

  Shall be well wingèd with our chiefest303 horse.

  This, and Saint George to boot!304 What think’st thou, Norfolk?

  NORFOLK    A good direction, warlike sovereign.

  Shows a paper

  This found I on my tent this morning:

  Reads

  ‘Jockey307 of Norfolk, be not so bold,

  For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.308’

  RICHARD    A thing devisèd by the enemy.

  Go, gentleman, every man to his charge

  Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls:

  For conscience is a word that cowards use,

  Devised at first to keep the strong in awe.

  Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.

  March on, join bravely, let us to’t pell-mell315:

  If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.—

  His oration to his army

  What shall I say more than I have inferred?317

  Remember whom you are to cope318 withal:

  A sort319 of vagabonds, rascals and runaways,

  A scum of Bretons and base lackey peasants,

  Whom their o’er-cloyèd321 country vomits forth

  To desperate adventures and assured destruction.

  You sleeping safe, they bring you to unrest:

  You having lands, and blest with beauteous wives,

  They would restrain the one, distain325 the other.

  And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow326,

  Long kept in Bretagne at our mother’s327 cost?

  A milksop328, one that never in his life

  Felt so much cold as over-shoes in snow?329

  Let’s whip these stragglers330 o’er the seas again,

  Lash hence these overweening rags331 of France,

  These famished beggars, weary of their lives,

  Who, but for dreaming on this fond exploit333,

  For want334 of means, poor rats, had hanged themselves.

  If we be conquered, let men conquer us,

  And not these bastard Bretons, whom our fathers

  Have in
their own land beaten, bobbed and thumped337,

  And on record, left them the heirs of shame.338

  Shall these enjoy our lands? Lie339 with our wives?

  Ravish340 our daughters?

  Drum afar off

                           Hark! I hear their drum.

  Fight, gentlemen of England! Fight boldly, yeomen!341

  Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head!

  Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood343:

  Amaze the welkin with your broken344 staves!

  Enter a Messenger

  What says Lord Stanley? Will he bring his power?

  MESSENGER    My lord, he doth deny346 to come.

  RICHARD    Off with his son George’s head!

  NORFOLK    My lord, the enemy is past the marsh348

  After the battle let George Stanley die.

  RICHARD    A thousand hearts are great350 within my bosom.

  Advance our standards, set upon our foes.

  Our ancient word of courage352, fair Saint George,

  Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!353

  Upon them! Victory sits on our helms.

  [Exeunt]

  Alarum, excursions. Enter Catesby

  CATESBY    Rescue, my lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!

  The king enacts more wonders than a man356,

  Daring an opposite357 to every danger:

  His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,

  Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.

  Alarums. Enter Richard

  Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!

  RICHARD    A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

  CATESBY    Withdraw, my lord: I’ll help you to a horse.

  RICHARD    Slave, I have set my life upon a cast363,

  And I will stand the hazard of the die.364

  I think there be six Richmonds365 in the field:

  Five have I slain today instead of him.

  A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

  [Exeunt]

  Alarum. Enter Richard and Richmond: they fight. Richard is slain. Retreat and flourish. Enter Richmond, Derby bearing the crown, with divers other Lords

  RICHMOND    God and your arms be praised, victorious friends!

  The day is ours, the bloody dog is dead.

  DERBY    Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee.370

  Lo, here, these long-usurpèd royalties371

  From the dead temples of this bloody wretch

  Have I plucked off, to grace thy brows withal:

  Wear it and make much of it.

  RICHMOND    Great God of heaven, say ‘Amen’ to all!

  But, tell me, is young George Stanley living?

  DERBY    He is, my lord, and safe in Leicester town,

  Whither, if you please, we may withdraw us.

  RICHMOND    What men of name379 are slain on either side?

  DERBY    John Duke of Norfolk, Walter Lord Ferris,

  Sir Robert Brackenbury, and Sir William Brandon.

  RICHMOND    Inter their bodies as become their births382:

  Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled

  That in submission will return to us:

  And then, as we have ta’en the sacrament385,

  We will unite the white rose and the red.386

  Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction387,

  That long have frowned upon their enmity!

  What traitor hears me and says not ‘Amen’?

  England hath long been mad, and scarred herself;

  The brother blindly shed the brother’s blood,

  The father rashly slaughtered his own son,

  The son, compelled, been butcher to the sire393:

  All this divided York and Lancaster,

  Divided in their dire division.

  O, now let Richmond and Elizabeth,

  The true succeeders397 of each royal house,

  By God’s fair ordinance398 conjoin together.

  And let thy heirs — God, if thy will be so —

  Enrich the time to come with smooth-faced peace,

  With smiling plenty and fair prosperous days!

  Abate the edge402 of traitors, gracious Lord,

  That would reduce403 these bloody days again,

  And make poor England weep in streams of blood;

  Let them not live to taste this land’s increase405

  That would with treason wound this fair land’s peace.

  Now civil wounds are stopped407, peace lives again:

  That she may long live here, God say ‘Amen’!

  Exeunt

  TEXTUAL NOTES

  Q = First Quarto text of 1597

  F = First Folio text of 1623

  F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632

  Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor

  SD = stage direction

  SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)

  List of parts = Ed

  1.1.1 SH RICHARD = Ed. Not in F 77 was … his = Q. F = was, for her

  1.2.210 SH RICHARD = Q. F assigns line to Lady Anne

  1.3.6 If … me? accidentally printed twice in F 17 come the lords = Q. F = comes the Lord 158 of spelled off in F 305 on = Q. F = an 310 SH QUEEN ELIZABETH = Q. F = Mar. 343 SH FIRST MURDERER = Ed. F = Vil. (for Villain)

  2.1.108 at = Q. F = and

  2.2.1 SH BOY = Q. F = Edw. 3 you = Q. Not in F 47 I = Q. Not in F 83 weep = Q. F = weepes 84–5 and … they = Q. F = so do not they (i.e. one line omitted due to eyeskip) 87 Pour spelled Power in F 121 Ludlow = Q. F = London 146 God’s = Q. F = God 153 Ludlow = Q. F = London

  3.1.124 as = Q. F = as, as,

  3.4.26 cue spelled Q in F

  3.5.104 Penker = Ed. F = Pevker

  4.1.16 SH BRACKENBURY = Ed. F = Lieu.

  Act 4 Scene 4 = Ed. F = Scena Tertia 36 seniory = Q. F = signeurie 44 holp’st spelled hop’st in F 289 this is not = Q. F2. F = this not 370 Harp … past mistakenly printed after the following line in F 442 SD Exit [Queen Elizabeth] = Ed. F = Exit (directly after her last speech) 457 Ratcliffe = Ed. F = Catesby 519 SH SECOND = Ed. Not in F 522 SH THIRD = Ed. Not in F 535 SH FOURTH = Ed. Not in F 538 Breton spelled Brittaine in F 544 Brittany spelled Brittaine in F

  Act 4 Scene 5 = Ed. F = Scena Quarta 10 Ha’rfordwest = Ed. F = Hertford West

  5.2.11 centre = Q. F = Centry

  5.3.29 you = F2. F = your 122 SH GHOST OF PRINCE EDWARD = Ed. F = Gh 128 SH GHOST OF KING HENRY VI = Ed. F = Ghost 135 SH GHOST OF CLARENCE = Ed. F = Ghost 143 SH GHOST OF RIVERS = Ed. F = Riu 145 SH GHOST OF GREY = Ed. F = Grey. 146 SH GHOST OF VAUGHAN = Ed. F = Vaugh. 150 SH GHOST OF HASTINGS = Ed. F = Gho. 155 SH GHOSTS OF PRINCES = Ed. F = Ghosts. 158 souls bid = Q. F = soule bids 163 SH GHOST OF ANNE = Ed. F = Ghost 171 SH GHOST OF BUCKINGHAM = Ed. F = Ghost 225 SH LORDS = Q. F = Richm. 317 SD his … army = Q. Not in F 341 Fight = Q. F = Right 354 helms = Q. F = helpes

  QUARTO PASSAGES THAT DO

  NOT APPEAR IN THE FOLIO

  Lines are numbered continuously, for ease of reference.

  Following 4.2.103:

  BUCKINGHAM My lord!

  RICHARD How chance the prophet2 could not at that time

  Have told me, I being by, that I should kill him3?

  BUCKINGHAM My lord, your promise for the earldom,—

  RICHARD Richmond! When last I was at Exeter5,

  The mayor in courtesy showed me the castle,

  And called it Rougemont7: at which name I started,

  Because a bard8 of Ireland told me once

  I should not live long after I saw Richmond.

  BUCKINGHAM My lord!

  RICHARD Ay, what’s o’clock?

  BUCKINGHAM I am thus bold to put your grace in mind

  Of what you promised me.

  RICH
ARD Well, but what’s o’clock?

  BUCKINGHAM Upon the stroke of ten.

  RICHARD Well, let it strike.

  BUCKINGHAM Why let it strike?

  RICHARD Because that, like a Jack, thou keep’st the stroke18

  Betwixt thy begging and my meditation19.

  I am not in the giving vein today.

  Following 5.3.212:

  RICHARD O Ratcliffe, I have dreamed a fearful dream!

  What thinkest thou, will our friends prove all true?22

  RATCLIFFE No doubt, my lord.

  SCENE-BY-SCENE ANALYSIS

  ACT 1 SCENE 1

  Lines 1–41: The play opens with a soliloquy by Richard, revealing his skillful use of language. He outlines recent history, emphasizing that the action of this play is part of a wider series of events. The civil war between the royal Houses of York and Lancaster has ended, and Yorkist Edward IV is king, creating a “glorious summer” of peace in contrast to the previous “winter” of “discontent.” Richard’s speech moves away from matters of state toward himself, creating links and tensions between political and personal. Richard describes how men who were soldiers are now lovers. He claims that his own physical deformities prevent him from courting, describing himself bitterly as “Deformed” and “unfinished.” His apparent preoccupation with his looks establishes the play’s interest in appearance and identity (genuine and feigned). He declares that since he “cannot prove a lover” he will “prove a villain” and outlines his plans against his brothers, the king and the Duke of Clarence. He has set abroad rumors of a prophecy, “which says that ‘G’ / Of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be,” the first in a series of references to prophecies, dreams, and omens. Richard sees Clarence being led in, guarded, and cuts short his soliloquy, urging his thoughts to “Dive” down to his “soul,” emphasizing his ability to conceal his true self and the disparity between appearance and reality.

  Lines 42–147: Richard asks why Clarence is being taken to the Tower. Clarence reveals that it is because his name “is George,” showing that Richard’s false prophecy has had effect on Edward, who “hearkens after prophesies and dreams” (although, ironically, being Duke of Gloucester, Richard himself is also “G”). Richard feigns sympathy and suggests that Clarence’s downfall is the result of the influence of the queen. Various political undercurrents are revealed: we also learn that the Lord Chamberlain, Hastings, has been freed from the Tower, apparently due to the influence of the king’s mistress, Jane Shore. Lord Brackenbury claims that he has been charged with ensuring that “no man shall have private conference” with Clarence, but Richard argues that they are discussing “no treason” and assures Clarence that he will speak to the king. Clarence is led away as Hastings arrives, vowing revenge on the “kites and buzzards” who have had him arrested, establishing the animal imagery that recurs through the play. Hastings reports that the king is “sickly, weak and melancholy.” Richard feigns sadness, saying that he will follow Hastings to see the king.