Richard III Act V Study Guide

How have the following characters changed and what is their ultimate fate?

Buckingham

• How they have changed: he started as Richard’s right hand man, being essential in his rise to king, and then when he wouldn’t kill the princes he is discarded by Richard and flees
• Their ultimate fate: he is executed

Richmond

• How they have changed: he began as a member of a branch of the Lancaster royal family and ends up as the King after his forces defeat Richard’s, and he kills Richard
• Their ultimate fate: he kills Richard and becomes the new king

Richard III

• How they have changed: he begins as a man who is self conscious of himself because of his deformity and is bored because they are in a time of peace and he ends as a king who is encompassed in paranoia
• Their ultimate fate: he is killed by Richmond

Stanley

• How they have changed: he starts by supporting Richard but as Richard rises to power and becomes more evil (Richard even kidnaps his son to try to keep him loyal), he secretly helps Richmond and ends up fully supporting Richmond in the final battle
• Their ultimate fate: when Richmond kills Richard, and becomes king, he and his son are safe

HONORS ONLY:

Literary Analysis: Read the following scenes closely. Study the persuasive strategy that Richard employs to win Anne over (what arguments work on her?) Also, identify at least five examples of figurative language in the text (alliteration, simile, irony, etc.). For each of these scenes also consider how Richard convinces others of his good intentions. For each passage, write a 6-7 sentence analysis explaining what you discover.

Richard and Richmond and their supporters prepare for battle. Asleep, Richard and Richmond are each visited by the ghosts of those whom Richard has killed or has had killed; the ghosts curse Richard and cheer Richmond. In the morning Richmond and Richard address their troops before battle.

1. Act V scene iii lines 251-285

• This is Richmond’s pre-battle speech to his soldiers. In this speech he starts out by explaining that because Richard is evil that God is on their side because He too wants Richard’s corrupt reign to end. He continues by explaining that because of they are fighting for what God wants to happen that He will protect them and ward you as His soldiers. He then explains how by winning they will be protecting their wives and children and helping to take down a tyrant. He continues by talking about how by defeating Richard they will be making the entire kingdom a better place, for with a new ruler (him) the kingdom will go into a time or peace and prosperity. Overall this speech has a very positive and uplifting tone, by exciting his soldiers with the idea that they are meant to win and that God supports them, Richard gets his soldiers pumped and ready for battle.

2. Act V scene iii lines 332-364

• This is Richard’s pre-battle speech to his army. Richard begins by describing the opposition, calling Richmond’s soldiers names such as, “a scum of Bretons and base lackey peasants.” Then he goes on to describe what these soldiers would do to their families and homes if they were to lose, scaring his army by describing Richmonds’ soldiers raping their wives and daughters if they win. He continues by saying that if they should be beaten that they should be beaten by men, not by Richmond's soldiers (implying that they are less than men and inhuman). Overall Richard’s speech has a very negative tone, by scaring his army with what will happen if they lose, Richard does a poor job of getting them ready for battle because they already have the image of them losing in their minds.  

3. Act V scene v lines 15-41

• This is the final monologue of the play, spoken by Richmond. In this final monologue Richmond summarizes all of the evil that has preempted his rise to power. He speaks of Richards wrongdoings and the horror he inflicted on others, namely the young princes. He finishes by explaining how he will finally unite these the York and Lancaster families, who have been at war for so long, and how his marriage to Elizabeth will cement the union of the families and will mark the beginning of a period of peace and prosperity for the kingdom.

Study Questions:

1. How did Stanley’s decision to switch allegiances affect the characters around him?  Does his plan succeed in the end?

• Stanley’s decision to switch allegiances affect the characters around him by giving Richmond the leg up in his battle against Richard.
• In the end Stanley’s plan succeeds because Richmond wins the battle and slays Richard, and Richard did not kill Stanley’s son before he died so Stanley and his son are both alive in the end.

2. Name all the ghosts that visit Richard and Richmond and summarize the message given to Richard and Richmond.

• Ghosts: Edward, Henry, Clarence, Rivers, Grey, Vaughan, Princes, Hastings, Anne, Buckingham
• Summary of the Messages Given to Richard: Each ghosts recall how Richard had screwed them and betrayed them while they were alive, they express how much they hate him and are awaiting his downfall and death, and they all end their messages to him by saying, “despair, and die!”
• Summary of the Messages Given to Richmond: They introduce themselves and give a brief reference to how Richard betrayed and killed them, and then they pledge their support to him and wish him good fortune, explaining that they gleefully await his ride to power by his destruction of Richard.

3. Does Richard ever feel real guilt? Support your answer.

• No Richard never feels real guilt, he dies never admitting that what he did was wrong or evil, with no repentance on all of the death and pain he caused to attain and maintain his position as king.

4. What are the two conflicting forces in Stanley’s decision regarding his allegiance?

• The two conflicting forces in Stanley’s decision regarding his allegiance are that he is Richmond’s stepfather and wants Richmond to be king but he is under the watchful eye of Richard who has taken his son hostage and threatens to kill him if Stanley’s allegiance waves.

5. How does Shakespeare contrast the characters and leadership styles of Richmond and Richard, particularly in Act V?

• Shakespeare contrasts the characters and leadership styles of Richmond and Richard with their pre-battle speeches to their soldiers. Richmond pumps up his soldiers by giving them a positive sides to fight for, how that by beating Richard they will be getting rid of a corrupt king and creating a better kingdom, while Richard focuses on the negatives, by scaring his soldiers with the idea of what Richmond’s men will do to their wives and daughters if they lose.

6. Who is Richmond in real English history? What is he known for?

• In real English history Richmond is King Henry VII, known for marrying Elizabeth of York, marking the end of the Wars of the Roses and the beginning of a time of “smooth-faced pease.”

Quotes: For each of the following quotes, indicate WHO said the quote and its SIGNIFICANCE.

1. “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”

• Said by: Richard
• Significance: Richard falls from his horde, marking his downfall, the tide turning in the battle, and it foreshadows Richard’s defeat and death.

2. “We will unite the white rose and the red.”

• Said by: Richmond
• Significance: Richmond has just won the battle and slain Richard, victorious he declares that he will make good on his promise and will unite the York and Lancaster families by marrying Elizabeth.

3. “I shall despair, There is no creature loves me, and if I die no soul will pity me. And wherefore should they, since that I myself find in me no pity to myself?”

• Said by: Richard
• Significance: It highlights the idea that Richard is all alone and that no one truly loves or supports him, realizing how could they if he doesn't even love or pity himself, that they are all just awaiting his downfall and death.

4. “By the apostle Paul, shadows tonight have stuck more terror to the soul of Richard than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers armed in proof and led by shallow Richmond.”

• Said by: Richard
• Significance: This is Richard’s reaction to having ghosts visiting him in his dreams, he says that these ghosts have struck more fear into him than tens of thousands of Richmond’s soldiers could.

5. “Now civil wounds are stopped, peace lives again. That she may long live here, God say amen.”

• Said by: Richmond
• Significance: These are the final words of the play, where Richmond exclaims that now that Richard's army had been defeated and he has been slain, that England has been saved and will live long and be prosperous under his rule.

6. “That high All-seer which I dallied with Hath turned my feigned prayer on my ear And given in earnest what I begged in jest.”

• Said by: Buckingham
• Significance: Buckingham is about to be executed, on order of Richard; he looks back at how he had once wished that he would be killed if he betrayed King Edward;s children and his wife’s allies and now that he helped Richard rise to power he is getting his just deserts.

7. “In God’s name, cheerly on, courageous friends, To reap the harvest of perpetual peace By this one bloody trial of sharp war.”

• Said by: Richmond
• Significance: This exemplifies Richmonds hope for the product of this war, he hopes to create everlasting peace from this single violent war. He uses this line and his pre-battle speech to give courage and hope to his army, giving them a mission and something noble to fight for.