FREE ESSAY ON RICHARD III

RICHARD III

Richard III - Tragedy in Isolation
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.