Key themes
Themes are the main ideas that keep appearing in a play. Here are some of the important themes in Richard III:
- leadership
- family and blood ties
- fate
Leadership
Exploring leadership as a theme in Shakespeare's Richard III
Some things suit us, other things don’t.
Here’s Richard, trying on a peaceful little number.
He doesn’t like it.
He misses the old days of constant warfare and battle.
He’s calling over the shop assistant.
Maybe something a little more ‘armoury?’
No. It’s the bloodstains that he likes.
Yes, that and the treachery and murder. That’s definitely him.
Edward IV has had enough of war.
He wants everyone to be friends. Sounds like a proper leader.
It’s a shame he dies.
No. That doesn’t suit him, does it?
To pull that off you’ll need leadership qualities:
such as honour and a respect for life and justice.
Maybe he’ll start being a good leader? No. It’s his usual style.
Ah. Here comes Richmond.
He says the crown suits him better.
He says it matches his love of peace, justice and mercy.
Oh. Bit of violence in the changing rooms.
Must be the January sales. Glad Richmond won.
In this play Shakespeare shows us that the
best leaders love peace and loyalty. Not war and treachery.
So, Richmond, what’s your first…
…oh, I was enjoying that.
Analysis of leadership in the play
Question
Is becoming king enough for Richard?
Richard reaches the ultimate pinnacle of power, but it was never the ambition to be king that drove him. Richard enjoys shedding blood and causing distress. Once he has become king, he looks for other distractions – child murder and incest.
Richard tells Buckingham:
RICHARD
am I King? ‘Tis so. But Edward lives
Act 4 Scene 2
Question
How is King Edward IV shown to be a good leader?
King Edward aims to restore harmony to his court before he dies. It makes sense for King Edward to bring peace to his court: he may be aware that his wife will no longer have his protection after his death. His son and heir is too young to rule without an adult guardian. He also has a responsibility to his country that it should be governed well. Moreover, as God’s chosen monarch he is about to face judgement from God - 'the supreme King of kings'.
He happily relates his business of the day to Richard:
KING EDWARD
we have done deeds of charity,
Made peace of enmity, fair love of hate,
Between these swelling wrong-incensèd peers.
Act 2 Scene 1
Question
What drives Prince Edward in his quest for leadership?
As Prince Edward looks forward to becoming king, he sees it as an opportunity for adventure. He hopes to conquer France as a warrior king, like a hero from a storybook. Ironically, he says that he will do this if he lives to be a man, but his royal blood is a curse and Richard has him murdered.
Prince Edward proudly tells Buckingham:
PRINCE EDWARD
if I live until I be a man,
I'll win our ancient right in France again,
Or die a soldier, as I lived a king…
Act 3 Scene 1
Question
How is Richmond shown to be a good leader?
Richmond aims to restore long-lasting peace to England and his speeches show that he will make a good leader. His private prayers show that he has the best intentions as the future king. His reasons for toppling Richard are unselfish and just. He faces his responsibility bravely for the sake of his country.
His rousing speech to his men calls upon them:
RICHMOND
To reap the harvest of perpetual peace,
By this one bloody trial of sharp war.
Act 5 Scene 2
You can find the theme of leadership in lots of Shakespeare’s plays:
- look for a leader who also lusts for power for the wrong reasons in Macbeth
- look for leaders who let power go to their heads in Julius Caesar
- look at a prince who learns to be a king in Henry V
Family and blood ties
Exploring family as a theme in Shakespeare's Richard III
You’re not just looking at a family tree here,
you’re looking at a family business.
The House of York. Their business? Ruling England.
Eldest males are in charge that’s why the Duchess of York isn’t.
So, that makes Edward King.
What if you want promotion in the family? Richard does.
It doesn’t matter that his brothers stand in the way.
Family means nothing to him.
First of all, Richard gets rid of Clarence.
Then, his eldest brother Edward dies. Saves Richard the trouble.
Richard becomes King.
What about them? The Princes. They could be King one day.
Richard won’t let that happen so he kills them too.
So, who’s left? He could marry his sister-in-law,
but she’s a bit too old.
He even suggests marrying her daughter instead.
Yes, that’s right. His niece.
His mother is so disgusted by him, she curses him!
Shakespeare’s Richard III is horrible! Absolutely vile!
His crimes are made all the more worse because
he destroys those that loved him the most: his own family.
Don’t worry. The real historical Richard III wasn’t as bad as that.
Shakespeare wrote this play to flatter the Tudors.
Henry the Seventh is up next.
And his son is that lovely, lovely family man, Henry the Eighth…
…oh dear.
One of the most shocking things about the play is Richard’s utter disregard for blood ties. He kills his brother with glee. He murders his nephews out of boredom. He has no second thoughts about marrying his own niece. His mother wishes she had strangled him at birth. If anyone needed family counselling, it is the Yorks.
Analysis of family and blood ties in the play
Question
What different attitudes to family loyalty do Richard and his brother Clarence have?
Clarence thinks that his family is close, but has no idea how low his brother has stooped. The royal family have been torn apart. Their father 'blessed' them, but their royal blood has cursed them. Clarence believes that he owes his brothers his loyalty, but blood ties mean nothing to Richard. His brothers are in his way on his path to the throne.
Clarence asks the murderers to remind Richard:
CLARENCE
our princely father York
Blessed his three sons with his victorious arm,
He little thought of this divided friendship.
Bid Gloucester think on this, and he will weep.
Act 1 Scene 4
Question
Why does Richard’s mother, the Duchess of York, hate him so much?
From the Duchess’ speech, it is hard to tell whether she has always hated Richard, or whether he has always been hateful. Her words, taken out of context, are most unlike those of a mother, but at the point of the play that she speaks these lines, her child is less human and more monster. He has had her grandchildren killed, as well as her other two sons.
She tells her son:
DUCHESS OF YORK
Oh, she that might have intercepted thee,
By strangling thee in her accursèd womb.
Act 4 Scene 4
Question
How does Shakespeare show that family blood ties mean nothing to Richard?
Richard has his nephews, the two young princes killed. For their mother, Elizabeth, this is not about politics. Her children have been murdered for their position in line to the throne and the grief is too terrible to bear. Although they are Richard’s nephews, blood ties mean nothing to him.
Elizabeth grieves the deaths of her children:
ELIZABETH
Ah, my poor princes! Ah, my tender babes!
Act 4 Scene 4
Question
How does Elizabeth try to protect her children?
Elizabeth has no one to rely on to protect her children from the danger they are in, just by being related to her – she does not have much power to do so. The final straw comes when Richard wants to marry her daughter, his niece. Thankfully, Richmond saves the day.
She tells her son, Dorset to leave the country because:
ELIZABETH
Thy mother’s name is ominous to children.
Act 4 Scene 1
You can find the theme of family and blood ties in lots of Shakespeare’s plays:
- look at Romeo and Juliet for families at war and parents that reject their children
- look at Much Ado About Nothing for a pair of princes at odds with each other
- look at The Tempest for deception and revenge between brothers
Fate
Exploring fate as a theme in Shakespeare's Richard III
Fate is the idea that the future is already decided.
If the future’s already planned out,
could we have a sneaky peek at those future plans?
In this play some characters seem to be able
to have a sneaky peek in their dreams.
Clarence has a dream in which
he’s pushed into the sea by his brother, Richard.
It certainly spooks him. But he finds it hard to believe
that his brother would want to kill him,
so he ignores his dream.
And that’s fair enough.
I had a dream about being chased by fish fingers.
You’d hardly expect me to pay attention to that.
But Clarence’s dream predicts the future.
He gets murdered. And dumped into a watery grave.
If he did pay attention, would it have changed anything?
What about curses?
Do you think a curse can change someone’s future?
Queen Margaret and the Duchess of York both curse Richard.
Do you think the curse worked? I mean, what if your mum told
you on the day of your driving test that you would fail,
how do you think you’d do?
Shakespeare gives us a villain who ignores every rule,
taboo and law there is.
But he hints that there’s a supernatural law
that can’t be cheated.
Some people really can’t avoid their fate.
Some people believe that there is a certain path that has already been set out for us, and nothing we do in life can change this. Some people believe that the choices you make shape your life. In Richard III, it seems that Shakespeare is exploring the idea that bad deeds lead to bad ends. Of course, Margaret predicts these bad ends and curses each of the characters that meet a sticky end, but they provided her with plenty of material for her curses to begin with.
Analysis of fate in the play
Question
How does Shakespeare use dreams in the play to highlight the theme of fate?
Clarence has a disturbing dream that foresees his brother’s disloyalty. His dream predicts the man behind his murder (Richard’s title is Duke of Gloucester at this point in the play) and the horrible manner of his death – he is stabbed and then drowned in a barrel of wine – but he ignores this warning. After all, dreams aren’t real and can’t foretell events…can they?
He tells the keeper in the Tower about his dream:
CLARENCE
Methought that Gloucester stumbled, and in falling
Struck me, that thought to stay him, overboard
Act 1 Scene 4
Question
What role does Margaret play in the fate of the other characters?
Margaret curses Edward’s court and these curses come back to haunt each of the characters. Her curses create a structure for the play. She predicts events with her curses and each character must face up to his guilty conscience as her curse comes true. These miserable moments represent the revenge she craved.
When Elizabeth’s sons are murdered, she reminds Margaret:
ELIZABETH
Oh, thou didst prophesy the time would come
That I should wish for thee to help me curse
That bottled spider, that foul bunch-backed toad.
Act 4 Scene 4
Question
How does Shakespeare use fate to create comedy with the characters Lord Stanley and Hastings?
Lord Stanley’s dream warns Hastings of the danger he is in, but Hastings chooses to ignore the omen. Hastings in some ways is a comic character. His mention of Stanley’s dream creates suspense. The audience know that Hastings is about to face his doom. He is the only one who doesn’t seem to realise that his death is imminent until the very last moment.
As he is led off to his execution, Hastings wishes he had paid attention to his friend’s dream:
HASTINGS
Stanley did dream the boar did rouse our helms,
And I did scorn it and disdain to fly.
Act 3 Scene 4
Question
What does the scene where the ghosts visit Richard and Richmond in their tents before the big battle show?
The ghosts that visit the villain and the hero whilst they sleep emphasise the guilt of the villain and the heroism of the hero. Richard denies his conscience, whereas Richmond is at peace with his after the ghosts visit both of them in a dream. From the ghosts’ comments in the dream, we know without doubt whom to hiss and boo at, and whom to cheer for.
On waking from his terrifying dream, Richard says:
RICHARD
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me?
Act 4 Scene 1
Shakespeare explores the theme of fate in many of his plays:
- look at Romeo and Juliet for a fate that cannot be escaped
- look at Macbeth who tries to cheat fate and for more predictions, curses and nightmares
- look at Julius Caesar for dreams that predict horrible events
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