In attempting to understand Richard III, I have found that there is a fundamental question that must be answered: What is the nature of the conflict and how is that conflict treated in the work? Richard is such a dominating character that in some ways the play seems to be a one-character play, and in the work that I have been unable to find any other single character that can oppose him. In looking for such a character and failing to find one I came to understand that the conflict is not between Richard and any other single character but between himself and his society. The play concerns itself with the tension between the individual and society by exploring and exposing the instability of its foundation: communication.
Richard’s opening monologue introduces the conflict and two metaphors that will help to illustrate the nature of that conflict. The predominant pronoun in the first 13 lines is our, of which Richard is clearly a part, but the pronoun shifts suddenly in line 14 to I, immediately drawing attention to the division between Richard and society. As Richard makes the transition from discussing the nature of his society and the changes in it to analyzing his own nature he introduces the reflexive metaphor of the mirror: “But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks / Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass…” (I.i.14, 15). The introduction of the mirror directs attention to the idea of image, specifically that which Richard presents. When he looks upon himself inside the framework of the society around him, as in the looking-glass, he sees he is not made for it, he is “rudely stamped.” However, Richard is acutely aware that his exterior image does not necessarily represent is interior nature. He may present one image into the mirror but there is also an image behind him, his shadow (I.ii.26, 27). While the mirror represents the image that Richard presents to society the shadow represents the unseen nature of the person presenting that image.
So we see that Richard is clearly cognizant of the fact that society is based on the interaction of the outward images of individuals rather than the interaction of the individuals themselves. In other words, society works on the unspoken principle that outward image should represent some approximation of the truth, or that our shared experience of the world is possible only through adherence to the agreed meanings of those we use to communicate. Our outward images are created through physical appearance, language, and action. Richard understands that although he cannot change his physical appearance he can through words and actions alter his image. Because the outward image is nothing more than a representation it need not be an accurate one. In other words, he can manipulate his image to present the appearance of an inner nature wholly unlike his true nature; he can lie. As the opening monologue comes to an end, Richard declares his intentions to “prove a villain…subtle false and treacherous…” (I.i.30-37). He chooses to utilize the inherent weaknesses in human communication to oppose the society that does not accept him because he was “Cheated of feature by dissembling nature…” (I.i.19).
Immediately after his monologue Richard begins to obscure his inner nature, convincing Clarence that he will labor to free him as soon as possible, though we know that he has helped to cause Clarence’s imprisonment. However, the most potent demonstration, both to the audience and himself, of the power that language holds over one’s image comes in Act I Scene 2. Richard turns each of Anne’s words to his own use, rhetorically playing on ambiguities and double meanings, eventually leading Anne to admit she does not know what to believe about him: “I would I knew thy heart.” (I.ii.180) Richard’s answer “’Tis figured in my tongue,” immediately reminds us of the game he has been playing, creating a false image through language. Anne has seen and despises Richard’s previous actions, but Richard is able to manipulate his image to the point that she accepts his advances.
Having achieved this feat, Richard is surprised at the extent of language’s power. His surprise leads him once again to muse on the relationship between himself and his society, returning to the mirror and the shadow (I.ii.215-250). “I do mistake my person all this while. / Upon my life she finds, although I cannot, / Myself to be a marv’lous proper man. / I’ll be at charges for a looking-glass…” (I.ii.239-242). He has successfully altered his outward image to the point that he finds it necessary to reexamine that image, though he knows that his inner nature has not changed. In the final two lines of the speech (“Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass, / That I may see my shadow as I pass”) Richard expresses his wish to examine the contrast between image and nature. The passage marries the metaphors of the mirror and the shadow, and illustrates Richard’s awe of the power language has to divorce what they represent.
However, Richard’s game has severe consequences for himself, ones he only discovers towards the end of the play as the possibility for words to affect the outcome decreases and the need for direct action increases. As my colleague Nick pointed out in our discussions of the play, language runs inversely to action in Richard III. In other words, as the play progresses Richard’s actions work against his words eventually turning his outward image back towards his inward nature. The pivotal moment seems to be when Richard becomes King, followed closely by his denial of Buckingham’s promised reward. From then on his rhetorical ability wanes and he shortly thereafter loses a battle of words with Elizabeth similar to the earlier scene with Anne. Because Elizabeth has seen his actions and is not so easily fooled by his attempts manipulate his image in her eyes, she is able to turn his words back on him, eventually transforming her own image. She appears to relent in the end, but it is clear that she does so only in appearance as we see in IV.v.17, 18. As the inverse courses of language and action plow on, Richard is forced toward a final reexamination of the relationship of individual and society, this time exploring the consequences rather than possibilities. The dream sequence (V.v.71-130) introduces the need for such reexamination as Richard undertakes in his responding speech (131-160). His conclusion is: “I shall despair. There is no creature loves me, / And if I die no soul will pity me. / Nay wherefore should they?—Since that I myself / Find in myself no pity to myself.” (154-157). The path he consciously choose led him to this moment and he has no recourse; he must finish the game he started.
In the end we see that Richard’s course has led him full circle, returning him to that which he was before the play began: a warrior. For all his attempts to make his outward appearance different than his nature, he could not change that nature. The division that Richard creates between his societal image and his innate nature made both valueless to himself and to those around him. His total opposition to society’s implied desire that an individual’s image should not contradict his nature led to his destruction. It is clear that however unstable the foundation of society may be, Richard’s choice to increase that instability did little more than bring the building do
Micah Krabill
Composed for the course "Shakespeare's Truth"
April 9, 1999