Richard III Read Online Free PDF Page A

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.
    Lines 148–165: Richard fears that Edward will die before Clarence has been executed. He plans to see that Clarence is “packed with post-horse up to heaven” by stirring up Edward’s hatred. Once Clarence and Edward are dead, he will “bustle in.” He reveals his plan to marry Lady Anne Neville. Although the specific reasons for this remain a “secret close intent,” it is clearly a political move. Despite acknowledging that he killed both Anne’s husband and Henry VI (her father-in-law), Richard seems confident that he will achieve this, suggesting a confidence with the opposite sex that his earlier speech denied and illustrating the complexities of his characterization.
ACT 1 SCENE 2
    Lines 1–233: The guarded coffin of Henry VI is brought on, attended by Anne. She laments the fall of the House of Lancaster and the death of Henry, and curses Richard. She wishes him a worse fate than “spiders” and “toads,” reinforcing the animal imagery introduced in the previous scene. She instructs the men carrying Henry’s coffin to carry him to Chertsey Monastery. Richard enters and commands the men to put the coffin down. Anne compares his entrance to that of a “fiend” conjured up by a “black magician,” introducing a series of images associating Richard with hell. She uncovers Henry’s body and invites everyone look at “dead Henry’s wounds,” calling on God to revenge his death. Richard appeals to be allowed to explain. He describes Anne as an angel and “divine perfection,” which aims at flattery but also contrasts with the hellish images she uses for him, establishing them as opposing representatives of good and evil. The balance of imagery is reflected in the stichomythic structure of their argument. Initially, Anne seems to be a worthy opponent in what Richard calls their “keen encounter of … wits.” Richard’s mastery over language and ability to manipulate become evident, however, as he overcomes Anne’s anger. He claims that he killed Anne’s husband because he loves her. He praises her beauty and offers her his sword, saying that if her “vengeful heart cannot forgive” she must kill him. She cannot, and, despite fearing that both Richard’s tongue and heart are false, she softens. He places a ring on her finger, claiming his heart is hers, and begs to be allowed to take Henry’s body to Chertsey so that he may “wet his grave” with “repentant tears.” Pleased that he has “become so penitent,” she agrees.
    Lines 234–272: Richard instructs the men to take Henry to White-friars, not Chertsey. Any vicarious belief the audience may have had in his sincerity is destroyed as he marvels at his ability to manipulate Anne (and, perhaps, us) and comments that he has her, but “will not keep her long.” He appears surprised that Anne finds him “a marv’llous proper man,” despite his physical appearance, and resolves to employ “a score or two of tailors / To study fashions to adorn my body.” The clothing imagery reinforces the obsession with appearance and identity, as do repeated references to looking glasses.
ACT 1 SCENE 3
    Lines 1–109: Lord Rivers and Lord Grey try to reassure Queen Elizabeth, who worries about what will “betide” her after Edward’s death. They remind her that her son, Prince Edward, will be her “comforter,” but she is concerned that his youth means that he will be under the protection of Richard. Derby and Buckingham report that the king wishes to make peace between Richard and the queen’s brothers, and between the queen’s brothers and Hastings, and has summoned them all. Richard arrives with Hastings and Dorset, complaining that people have been telling the king “dissentiousrumours” about him. He argues,