Richard III Act 3 Scene 5 Essay

In these particular lines of act 3 scene 5 from Richard III by William Shakespeare, Richard orders Buckingham to spread rumours around Guildhall about the deceased King Edward. His intention is to convince the public that he is the rightful heir to the throne of England. There are four rumours that Richard tries to spread, including the illegitimacy of the princes, Edward’s wrongful murder of an innocent man, the unfaithfulness of the late king, and the incident that Edward himself is not of royal blood. In order to secure his position as next in line for the crown, Richard uses these lies to separate and hide the children of Edward and Clarence. Richard uses his deceiving public mask and clever manipulation, to acquire more power. By twisting around the actions of his brother’s corrupted ways, he exploits others, such as the general public and Buckingham. Appearances are not reality. The main themes in this
“Tell them when that my mother went with child/Of that insatiate Edward, noble York/My princely father then had wars in France” (86-88), tells of how Richard’s mother became pregnant with Edward when his father was fighting in France. The contrasting actions of the parents gives a dramatic effect. It makes the father seem more noble as the mother was unfaithful. “Which well appearèd in his lineaments,/Being nothing like the noble duke my father./Yet touch this sparingly, as ’twere far off,” (91-93) uses anaclasis to replace a long syllable with a short syllable. The word “‘twere” replaces “it were” to create uneasiness. By breaking up the rhythm of these lines, Richard warns that his mother is still alive. His mother’s affairs should only be hinted at, because things would not go well if everyone thought that his living mother was infidel. By saying that Edward is illegitimate, it would mean that the princes are illegitimate also. That way, Richard becomes the rightful heir to the