King Richard III by William Shakespeare
King Richard III by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s
King Richard III
(1592)
is the last historical play of his tetralogy including the three parts of
King Henry VI
.
T he plays depict the collapse of English control over parts of
France and the bitter and fierce internal struggles between the Houses of Lancaster and York in the fight to gain the crown of England.
King Richard III is regarded
(Hume 202) as a piece of prop aganda support ing the Tudor monarchs who succeeded Richard after he was killed in battle
. This essay examine s how the theme of conscience is evidenced in Shakespeare’s play, and how the issues addressed are reflected in my daily life.
(100 words)
One prominent theme in the drama is the theme of conscience.
Throughout the drama, Richard,
Duke of Gloucester, murders and betrays to gain the English crown. His conscience
,
however, is evident. In
Act I scene iii,
Margaret, an exiled former queen
,
has a special curse for Richard
,
who kille d her husband and her son
(lines 224
-
9)
:
The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul.
Thy friends suspect for traitors while thou liv’st,
And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends.
No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine,
Unless it be while some tormenting dream
Affrights thee with a hell of ugly devils.
Most of Margaret’s curses are fulfilled during the play. Richard struggles with his heavy conscience. In Act IV scene I Lady An ne , his wife is distressed to learn that she is to be crowned his queen, and speaks of her unhappiness and his guilty conscience:
For never yet one hour in his bed
Have I enjoy'd the golden dew of sleep,
But have been waked by his timorous dreams.
Spec
tacularly, in the scene before the battle at Bosworth, King Richard is visited by the ghosts of h i s victims .
His
soliloquy in
Act V scene iii suggests that he is overcome by a ‘coward conscience’ (lines 191
-
6)
:
O coward
Shakespeare’s
King Richard III
(1592)
is the last historical play of his tetralogy including the three parts of
King Henry VI
.
T he plays depict the collapse of English control over parts of
France and the bitter and fierce internal struggles between the Houses of Lancaster and York in the fight to gain the crown of England.
King Richard III is regarded
(Hume 202) as a piece of prop aganda support ing the Tudor monarchs who succeeded Richard after he was killed in battle
. This essay examine s how the theme of conscience is evidenced in Shakespeare’s play, and how the issues addressed are reflected in my daily life.
(100 words)
One prominent theme in the drama is the theme of conscience.
Throughout the drama, Richard,
Duke of Gloucester, murders and betrays to gain the English crown. His conscience
,
however, is evident. In
Act I scene iii,
Margaret, an exiled former queen
,
has a special curse for Richard
,
who kille d her husband and her son
(lines 224
-
9)
:
The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul.
Thy friends suspect for traitors while thou liv’st,
And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends.
No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine,
Unless it be while some tormenting dream
Affrights thee with a hell of ugly devils.
Most of Margaret’s curses are fulfilled during the play. Richard struggles with his heavy conscience. In Act IV scene I Lady An ne , his wife is distressed to learn that she is to be crowned his queen, and speaks of her unhappiness and his guilty conscience:
For never yet one hour in his bed
Have I enjoy'd the golden dew of sleep,
But have been waked by his timorous dreams.
Spec
tacularly, in the scene before the battle at Bosworth, King Richard is visited by the ghosts of h i s victims .
His
soliloquy in
Act V scene iii suggests that he is overcome by a ‘coward conscience’ (lines 191
-
6)
:
O coward