Sunday, January 23, 2011

Richard III

In Act One of Richard III, there are multiple references to The Bible.  The most powerful one occurs in Act One, Scene Three, lines 344-358.  This is when Richard is alone before the murderers enter.  He first refers to Clarence, “whom I indeed have cast in darkness.”  This line (I.iii.347) is comparable to Matthew 8:12 “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  This verse means that the people of the kingdom (of earthly things), and not of God, will suffer great consequences.  Here, Richard believes that he has caused Clarence to suffer these same consequences.  Next, only a couple of lines later (I.iii.355), Richard again refers to scripture.  This time it is much more obvious because he states that he is using it to hide the fact that he is the villain.  He claims that he tries to follow scripture like Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  Richard’s plan here is to appear to others that he does not mean to do his enemies any harm, and better yet, that he loves them.  This is exactly like the devil citing scripture for his own purposes, and Richard even admits to this by saying “And seem a saint when most I play the devil” (I.iii.358).  These references to the bible and the way that he is manipulating people are truly showing Richard as the villain.  He is acting like the devil with what he says, and the audience can see the power of language.  Richard knows exactly what to say and this soliloquy adds dramatic irony to the play because the characters don’t realize how well Richard works with words.  Shakespeare is clearly familiar with The Bible, and Richard III uses this to manipulate the others into doing and believing what he wants.  This scene is only one example of where The Bible is referred to in this play, which brings up the question of whether or not Shakespeare was a Christian.  He obviously understood scripture very well, but one should not judge what characters say to be the beliefs of the author.

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