Thy brother Edward; and thyself, the sea Glou. Think'st thou I am an executioner? > Glou. Thy son I kill'd for his presumption. K. Hen. Hadst thou been kill'd when first thou didst presume, 35 Thou hadst not liv'd to kill a son of mine. And many an orphan's water-standing eye- 40 The raven rook'd her on the chimney's top, And chattering pies in dismal discords sung. Thy mother felt more than a mother's pain, And yet brought forth less than a mother's hope, To wit, an indigested and deformed lump, To signify thou cam'st to bite the world; Glou. I'll hear no more; die, prophet, in thy speech. Stabs him. For this, amongst the rest, was I ordain'd. K. Hen. Ay, and for much more slaughter after this. O, God forgive my sins, and pardon thee! thither, If any spark of life be yet remaining, I came into the world with my legs forward. That I should snarl and bite and play the dog. Then, since the heavens have shap'd my body 80, 80 Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it. Be resident in men like one another Clarence, beware! Thou keep'st me from the light, 85 But I will sort a pitchy day for thee; [SCENE VII. London. The palace.] Flourish. KING EDWARD, [upon the throne;] QUEEN ELIZABETH, CLARENCE, GLOUCES TER, HASTINGS, a Nurse [with the young Prince,] and Attendants. Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy. 15 Went all afoot in summer's scalding heat, For yet I am not look'd on in the world. Work thou the way, and thou shalt execute. K. Edw. Clarence and Gloucester, love my lovely queen; 26 And kiss your princely nephew, brothers both. Clar. The duty that I owe unto your Majesty I seal upon the lips of this sweet babe. [Q. Eliz.] Thanks, noble Clarence; worthy brother, thanks. 30 Glou. And, that I love the tree from whence thou sprang'st, Witness the loving kiss I give the fruit. [Aside.] To say the truth, so Judas kiss'd his master, And cried, harm. All hail!" when as he meant all With stately triumphs, mirthful comic shows, THE TRAGEDY OF RICHARD THE THIRD THE only external evidence for the date of Richard III is the publication of the First Quarto in 1597. The marks of Shakespeare's early style, and especially of the influence of Marlowe, are, however, so pronounced as to have led to a general agreement that the play was composed some years before that date, probably about 1593. The Quarto of 1597 was reprinted in 1598, with the name of Shakespeare on the title-page, but without further change. Other quartos appeared in 1602, 1605, 1612, 1622, 1629, and 1634, but all derive ultimately from the text of 1597. The version in the First Folio is independent, and differs widely in detail from the text of the Quartos. The question of the comparative authority of these texts is exceedingly complicated. Each contains passages essential to the context but lacking in the other. The Folio has besides many additions quite apposite and in the manner of Shakespeare, though the corresponding place in the Quarto shows no lacuna. The difficulty is thus to determine which goes back to the earlier original, and whether Shakespeare himself is responsible for the variations. Opinions still differ widely on these points, but are for the most part agreed that the Folio is to be regarded as the more authentic version; and it is, accordingly, made the basis of the present text. A striking peculiarity of the case is that the variations are too numerous to be plausibly accounted for as mistakes of copyist or printer, and are often so slight in their effect on meaning or rhythm that it is hard to believe them the result of conscious revision. They are very frequently such differences as might be explained by lapse of memory; and it is probable that in the First Quarto we have an exceptionally correct short-hand writer's report of the play, the variations being largely due to the slips of the actors. The chief basis of the action is, as usual, Holinshed, who, in dealing with the events of Acts I, II, III, and part of IV, follows the history of the reigns of Edward V and Richard III ascribed to Sir Thomas More, as it had been transmitted in the Chronicles of Hardyng and Halle; and who, in the story corresponding to the rest of Act IV and to Act v, follows Halle. But before Shakespeare's there had been two, if not more, dramatic treatments of the theme. The Richardus Tertius of Dr. Legge is a Latin chronicle play written, perhaps as early as 1573, for performance at the University of Cambridge. The True Tragedie of Richard III is anonymous and of uncertain date, but was apparently a sequel to 3 Henry VI. Both of these contributed to the dramatic tradition of Richard, but whether they affected Shakespeare directly or through a lost intermediary remains to be proved. Details seem also to have been gathered from such narratives as those in The Mirror for Magistrates. But it was the Chronicles of Holinshed or Halle which supplied almost all the episodes and the outlines of most of the characters, especially the men. These outlines, however, are in every case filled in by Shakespeare, whose imagination caught up and vitalized the merest hints of character. Most of the famous speeches are purely the invention of the dramatist. The opening soliloquy, the wooing of Anne, the two great cursing scenes in which Margaret of Anjou plays the chief part, the dream and the murder scene of Clarence, and the exchange of repartee between Gloucester and the little Duke of York, are all without foundation in Holinshed. Gloucester's hypocritical pre-occupation with holy exercises on the occasion of the visit of the Mayor and Buckingham with the offer of the crown, is based on the parenthetical phrase, "with a bishop on every hand of him." The substance and tone of the addresses of the rival leaders to their armies in v. iii. are suggested by the Chronicle. The historical accuracy, in its main lines, of the portrait of Richard is still a matter of dispute among historians. But the falsification, if such there be, is only in a small degree due to Shakespeare; it had already occurred in the authorities from whom he drew the facts for which he supplied a plausible psychological explanation. Ghosts of those murdered by Richard III; Lords and other Attendants; a Pursuivant, Scrivener, Citizens, 25 30 Have no delight to pass away the time, comes. 35 40 |