Richard III - Tragedy in Isolation
Richard III - Tragedy in Isolation"The tragedy of Richard III lies in the progressive isolation of its
protagonist". Discuss.
From the very opening of the play when Richard III enters
"solus", the protagonist's isolation is made clear. Richard's
isolation progresses as he separates himself from the other characters
and breaks the natural bonds between Man and nature through his
efforts to gain power.
The first scene of the play begins with a soliloquy, which
emphasizes Richard's physical isolation as he appears alone as he
speaks to the audience. This idea of physical isolation is heightened
by his references to his deformity, such as "rudely stamp'd...Cheated
of feature by Dissembling Nature, deformed, unfinished. This deformity
would be an outward indication to the audience of the disharmony from
Nature and viciousness of his spirit. As he hates "the idle pleasures
of these days" and speaks of his plots to set one brother against
another, Richard seems socially apart from the figures around him, and
perhaps regarded as an outsider or ostracized because of his
deformity. His separation from is family is emphasized when he says
"Dive, thought's down to my soul" when he sees his brother
approaching. He is unable to share his thought with his own family as
he is plotting against them. Thus, we are given hints of his physical,
social and spiritual isolation which is developed throughout the
play. But despite these hints, he still refers to himself as part of
the House of York, shown in the repeated use of "Our".
The concept of Richard's physical isolation is reinforced in his
dealings with Anne in Act I scene ii. She calls him "thou lump of
foul deformity" and "fouler toad" during their exchange. Despite these
insults, she still makes time to talk to Richard, and by the end of
their exchange, she has taken his ring and been "woo'd" by him. After
Richard has successfully gained the throne, he isolates himself when
he asks the crowd to "stand all apart" in Act IV scene ii. And later,
when Richard dreams, he is completely alone. Physical isolation in
Richard's deformity wins sympathy from the audience as we pity his
condition. But Richard uses his deformity as a tool against the other
characters, to portray them as victimizing Richard. Thus the sense of
tragedy is lessened by his own actions, even though his isolation may
become greater as the play progresses.
Richard's psychological isolation is conveyed through his lack
of conscience in his murderous acts. Nowhere does he feel remorse for
his murders, until Act V scene iii when he exclaims "Have mercy Jesu!"
and "O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!". In this turning
point, Richard's division from his own self is made clear from "I and
I", and "Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am!" He has conflicting
views of himself and realizes that "no creature" loves him, not even...
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