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.

Richard III Act IV Study Guide

Character Analysis: (personalities, actions, and relationships)

Buckingham

• Personalities: mischievous, determined, smart
• Actions: he refuses to help Richard kill the princes and then he flees when Richard refuses to give him his Earlship anymore and turns against him because he won’t kill the boys
• Relationships: he is Richard’s right hand man and confidant, he help Richard rise to power but is thrown aside for not agreeing to murder the princes himself

Duchess of York

• Personalities: strong, independant, bold
• Actions: she fights with Richard and tries to protect Elizabeth and her children (who are her grandchildren); she curses Richard and his evil actions
• Relationships: widowed mother of Richard, Clarence, and King Edward IV; Elizabeth’s mother-in-law

Lady Anne

• Personalities: sad, trusting, gullible
• Actions: she marries Richard but quickly realizes that he will kill her and that the curse she put of the woman who would marry Richard is now upon her
• Relationships: the young widow of Prince Edward (the son of the former king, Henry VI); she is Richard’s new wife

Tyrrel  

• Personalities: ruthless, guiltless
• Actions: he is hired by Richard to kill the young princes in the Tower of London, and he does
• Relationships: the hitman Richard hires

Study Questions:

1. Explain Lord Stanley’s predicament. Why must he support Richard while he desires to help Richmond? How does Richard manipulate him?

• Lord Stanley’s predicament is that he desires to help Richmond, his stepson, but must support Richard because Richard has taken his son as hostage and threatens to kill him if Stanley does not support him as the rightful king.

2. How does Richard’s behavior change after he becomes king? Is he still having fun?

• After he becomes king Richard;s behavior changes because he is now feeling the weight of his position and Margaret’s curse is taking it’s toll.
• He is no longer having fun because he is consumed by his paranoia, he no longer trusts anyone, believing they are all out to get him, and can no longer distinguish friend from foe.

3. Give examples of Richard’s interactions with underlings.

• Examples of Richard’s interactions with underlings are when he asks Buckingham to kill the princes in the tower, Buckingham refuses, and then he turns to Tyrell and orders him to complete the task. Later he confronts Queen Elizabeth about having her daughter marry him.

Quotes: For each of the following quotes, indicate WHO said the quote, TO WHOM it was said, and the SIGNIFICANCE.

1. “Lo, ere I can repeat this curse again, Within so small a time, my woman’s heart, Grossly grew captive to his honey words.”

• Said by: Anne - Said to: Queen Elizabeth
• Significance: This describes how quickly after she met and cursed Richard for killing her husband and his father, she had fallen for him and his sweet and deceiving words and has been hoodwinked into marrying him.

2. “Oh thou well skilled in curses, stay awhile, And teach me how to curse mine enemies!”

• Said by: Queen Elizabeth - Said to: Queen Margaret  
• Significance: Queen Elizabeth is asking Queen Margaret to teach her to curse people because she wants to curse Richard, like Margaret did, for killing her sons.

3. “Bloody thou art, bloody will be thy end”

• Said by: Duchess of York - Said to: Richard
• Significance: This is foreshadowing that Richard will die violently because all of the violent ways he has killed people.  

4. “Richmond! When last I was at Exeter, The mayor in courtesy showed me the castle And called it Rougemont, at which name I started, Because a bard of Ireland told me once I should not live long after I saw Richmond.”

• Said by: Richard - Said to: Buckingham
• Significance: Richard recalls a prophesy that he would die not long after he saw Richmond, this foreshadows his death at the hands of Richmond.

5. “Though troublest me; I am not in the vein.”

• Said by: Richard - Said to: Buckingham
• Significance: This shows Richard’s patience growing thin with Buckingham now that he has done his job of getting Richard the throne, it foreshadows Richards refusal to give Buckingham his earlship because Buckingham won't kill the princes, and Buckingham’s eventual execution for this decision.

6. “O ill-dispersing wind of misery! O my accursed womb, the bed of death! A cockatrice hast thou hatched to the world, Whose unavoided eye is murderous.”

• Said by: Dutchess of York - Said to: Stanley, Lady Anne, and Queen Elizabeth
• Significance: She is commenting about how Richard, who she birthed, has been nothing but evil since he was born and has caused nothing but misery.

Richard III Act III Study Guide

Character Analysis: (personalities, actions, and relationships)

Buckingham (Duke)

• Personalities: mischievous, determined, smart
• Actions: helps Richard’s rise to power; helps convince the Lord Mayor that Richard is a pied man and deserves to be king
• Relationships: he is Richard’s right hand man and confidant, he help Richard rise to power

Hastings (William, Lord Hastings, Lord Chamberlain)

• Personalities: honorable, unweilding
• Actions: he doesn’t go along with Richard’s plans to take the crown from the Prince so Richard has him killed
• Relationships: doesn’t support Richard; Richard kills him by accusing Hasting’s mistress of witchcraft and ordering his execution

Stanley (Lord)

• Personalities: able to play the two sides of the war; deceiving
• Actions: has a warning dream about Richard’s downfall; secretly helps Richmond, although he cannot escape Richard’s watchful gaze
• Relationships: the stepfather of Richmond; Earl of Derby

Catesby

• Personalities: shady, untrustworthy
• Actions: he is sent to find out if Hastings will support Richards rise to throne
• Relationships: he supports Richard and helps him rise to power

Lord Mayor (of London)

• Personalities: gullible, trusting
• Actions: Hastings and Richard set up a scene for the Lord Mayor after they strike out with the commoners, seeing Richard’s pies side he decides to support his rise to King
• Relationships: supports Richard’s kingship after he is hoodwinked by Buckingham and Richard

Prince Edward

• Personalities: trustworthy, young
• Actions: is put up in the Tower of London by Richard for his “safety,” later executed with his brother and their supporters
• Relationships: brother of the Duke of York; Richard’s nephew; son of King Edward IV, rightful heir to the throne

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.

2. Act III scene v lines 1-96

• How Richard convinces others of his good intentions: Firstly, in order to legitimize executing Hastings to the Mayor of London, Richard and Buckingham stage an uprising and blame it on Hastings. Then, to get the public on his side to help smooth his transition to the throne, Richard sends Buckingham to persuade Londoners that the crown should be given to Richard instead of Prince Edward, the heir of Edward IV. Richard instructs Buckingham to question Edward IV’s legitimacy and make the conclusion that therefore Richard is the truly legitimate heir. By having Buckingham make this bold claim, instead of himself, Richard is able to convince others that he did not want to become the king but that if there is truly no one else fit to take the throne that he will become king out of the goodness of his pious heart.

Study Questions:

1. What foreshadowing does Hastings experience before he is beheaded?

• Before he is beheaded Hastings experiences foreshadowing and remembers Stanley’s warning dream and Margaret’s curse.

2. What role does irony play in Hastings’ execution?

• The role irony plays in Hastings’ execution is that he regretted having bragged to the messenger about how he was in good standing with Richard, and now Richard is the one who has orchestrated his execution.

3. Why is it important that Richard is seen with a prayer book and two priests? How does this relate to modern day US politics?

• It is important that Richard is seen with a prayer book and two priests because it sets him up as a pious man and a man who is fit to be king.
• This relates to modern day US politics because politicians are always using religion as a way to set them up as a good candidate and in general use deception to get people to support and get them elected.

4. In what way does Richard tell Buckingham to slander Edward?

• Richard tells Buckingham to slander Edward by bringing into question his legitimacy and his right to the throne, by supposing that his parents were unfaithful and surmising that therefore he is not the rightful heir to the throne because he does not have royal blood.

5. What are the two major reasons Richard states for not wanting to become king?

• The two major reasons Richard states for not wanting to become king are that even if it was truly his birthright that he would rather hide from his greatness than be smothered by the greatness of being king and that there are many other options in the royal tree to be king and that therefore there is no need for him to take the position.

Quotes: For each of the following quotes, indicate WHO said the quote, TO WHOM it was said, and the SIGNIFICANCE.

1. “Those uncles which you want were dangerous...God keep you from such false friends.”

• Said by: Richard - Said to: Prince Edward
• Significance: It is ironic because Richard is the untrustworthy uncle that the prince should be wary of, because Richard is the false friend who will eventually order his death.”

2. “So wise so young, they say, do never live long.”

• Said by: Richard - Said to: himself (it’s an aside)
• Significance: Foreshadows his plan to kill the prince and take his throne.

3. “I’ll have this crown of mine cut from shoulders before I’ll see the crown so foul misplac’d.”

• Said by: Hastings - Said to: Catesby
• Significance: It is ironic because Hastings is beheaded by Richard after Catesby reports back that Hastings will not support Richard’s rise to king.

4. “ ‘Tis a vile thing to die, my gracious lord, when men are underprepared and look not for it.”

• Said by: Catesby - Said to: Hastings
• Significance: It is ironic because Catesby will report back to Richard that Hastings will not support his run for the throne, and Hastings will be unaware and surprised when Richard sentences him to death.

5. “You may jest on, but, by the Holy Rood, I do not like these several councils, I.”

• Said by: Stanley - Said to: Hastings
• Significance: It highlights that Stanley doesn;t like these separate meetings because he is afraid that Richard might think that he is conspirating against him and kill his son because of it.

6. “They for their truth, might better wear their heads than some that have accused them wear their hats.”

• Said by: Lord Stanley - Said to: Hastings
• Significance: He is basically saying that people deserves to be alive more than other people deserve the positions they hold, this is referencing the fact that Hastings will die in order for Richard to cement his position as king.

7. “I think there’s never a man in Christendom can lesser hide his love or hate than he, for by his face straight shall you know his heart.”

• Said by: Hastings - Said to: Ely and Stanley
• Significance: It is ironic because Hastings is explaining how he thinks Richard wears his feelings on his sleeves and that he can always tell how he is feeling and what he is thinking, when he can’t predict that Richard is about to have him executed.

8. “If? Thou protector of this damned strumpet, talk’st thou to me of “ifs”? Thou art a traitor.”

• Said by: Richard - Said to: Hastings
• Significance: This is when Richard shows his trey cards and reveals to Hastings that he knows that Hastings is not in support of him becoming king, this is right before Richard sends Hastings to his death.