Context of Richard III

Richard III was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been one of his first works. It is thought to have been written in 1591. The play was probably being performed by 1597 as it has been found entered in that year on the ledger of Andrew Wise, Shakespeare's publisher. Shakespeare's source for Richard III was The Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland by Raphael Holinshed. He also referred to Edward Hall's work about the union of the Lancaster and York families and to Thomas More's The Historv of King Richard the Third. Contextually, Shakespeare's sources are important for two reasons. Firstly, More had spent time in the house of John Morton whilst growing up, and some historians actually believe that Morton wrote the original work and that More only embellished it. John Morton was the Bishop of Ely and had been imprisoned by Richard III, thus bore a great resentment towards him. He features in the play as the character from whom Richard is demanding strawberries from his Hoi born house, seen in the Third Act. The fact that Richard is clearly cast as a villain is directly accredited to this source. Secondly, Shakespeare's sources reveal his society's obsession with histories and historically based drama. In fact, audiences had already seen two versions of Richard III's reign on stage. The most popular histories were those that had directly influenced the current climate. Richard III easily falls into this category as it actually chronicles the rise of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who was the grandfather of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth the first.
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The Elizabethan Era was a peaceful time of great prosperity for the English people. Many of her subjects believed that the Queen was directly responsible for the peace and their growing wealth as a nation and thus they embraced and loved Elizabeth. When Elizabeth had come to power there had been many days of extravagant celebration and this had immediately endeared the Queen to her people. Queen Elizabeth ruled from 1558. Before she was queen she had been imprisoned in the Tower of London by her sister, Mary Tudor, as it was believed that she was plotting to gain the throne. Many other royals, like Lady Jane Grey, were placed in the Tower before their execution. Thus Elizabethans, who in general loved their queen, would understand the terrible injustice of placing royal rightful heirs in the Tower. Elizabeth's mother, Anne Boleyn, had herself been placed in the Tower before her execution for the unproven and probably false crimes of incest and adultery. Elizabeth had even experienced being briefly branded as illegitimate by King Henry VIII when he sought to ensure that his son could rightfully take the throne. Most Elizabethans would therefore find Richard's claims against his brother and nephews and his use of the Tower as chillingly familiar and absolutely reprehensible. Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, had desperately wanted a son, as previously only men had been recognised as monarchs on the English throne. The son who was finally born became Edward VI, but he was a weak and sick child who died at the age of 15. It is obvious that Elizabeth would have been a better choice than Edward for the throne. Besides Edward's obvious ill health and extreme youth, Elizabeth had been born before her half-brother and was renowned for both her intelligence and skill with languages. Her father was reportedly extremely proud of her many
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achievements. The fact that Henry used annulments, executions and divorces to change wives and try to legitimise his son instead of his daughters is evidence of a society that valued men over women. This was after all, a society in which girls could not attend school and in which women were not supposed to own property. Marriage in this environment was the only way a typical woman could gain status. Elizabeth never married and was known as the Virgin Queen. This was despite the fact that she had many suitors, and there is evidence that she had several lovers as well. By appearing to be chaste and virginal though, Elizabeth appeased the powerful Bishops who controlled the court by setting a good example of a pure religious woman. It is likely that she didn't marry because the man that she was reputed to love, Robert Dudley, was already married. She had also been the subject of scandal as a teenager over a reported affair with her stepmother's husband and probably wished to avoid any further scandals which might tarnish her reputation. Perhaps she had been traumatised by her father's many wives and thus avoided marriage. Whatever her reasons, by not marrying, the Queen effectively ensured that no man ever had the power to influence and control her. Elizabeth I was a protestant, and as such she did face opposition from Catholics who believed that they were not represented on the throne. The Queen's recent execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, the latest Catholic hopeful for the throne, was a sharp reminder to Shakespeare's audience of the tensions between Catholics and Protestants. Thus the audience would have a good understanding of the sort of political intrigues and rebellions that underscored Richard III. This division in their own society would help them to
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easily comprehend the division between the Lancasters and Yorks that led to the War of the Roses. There were other divisions in Elizabethan society. It had a fairly strict class system with peasants and servants in the lowest classes. The royals and the nobles were the highest class and due respect was usually paid to them in Shakespearean drama through the formal language and iambic pentameter they spoke in. Any servants who were represented spoke in course, crude prose. Audiences obviously accepted this representation as accurate as all classes loved the theatre and would attend performances. Briefly theatres had been banned from London due to the spread of the plague. There was also a movement of Puritans who sought to outlaw theatres, though they were not banned until the next century when James was King. But in general Elizabethans loved plays and companies and theatres thrived. The growth of the theatre was helped by the fact that Queen Elizabeth loved the art, and many plays were staged specifically for her and her court. There was even a company of actors termed the Queen's Men. The Puritan movement mentioned earlier had briefly flourished under Queen Elizabeth. Puritans were essentially severe Protestants and they had hope that the queen would promote their extreme views. After all, it was the influence of Elizabeth and her brother Edward that had really established the Protestant religion that their father had begun. Puritans believed that people were predestined for heaven and that little free will was involved. When Elizabeth condemned the public debates of the Puritans, she essentially encouraged people to dismiss their teachings. It is not surprising that many philosophers of the time then started to speculate about whether all events and circumstances were fate or God's will or whether an
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individual had a measure of free will and an influence over their own lives. Despite the power of the Church and the attraction towards religion, people of the Elizabethan Age were remarkably superstitious. They believed in witches and curses, and thought that the Devil had given special powers to people who had embraced him. They also believed in ghosts, and thus would think that the haunting of Richard before battle was a viable occurrence. Other superstitions they wholeheartedly embraced included the belief that the weather reflected the events that were occurring and that storms were bad omens. As with many English monarchs, there were many plots against Queen Elizabeth. Thus political intrigue was a theme that appeared in many historical dramas. People at this time believed in the Divine Right of Kings. This means that they believed that the monarch was placed on the throne by God and was supposed to be his representative on Earth. Any disruption to God's plans for the throne was thought to cause chaos in the world order. Audiences would therefore be suspicious of anyone who was manoeuvring to put themselves on the throne in contrast to God's wishes. A publication that had affected the way that learned people looked at those in power was "The Prince" written earlier that century by Niccolo Machiavelli. This work asserted that to survive and become powerful, rulers would have to eschew their morals and only operate in their own interests. Charisma and oratory skill were asserted as better virtues for leaders than strong morals and religious ideals. Audiences watching Shakespeare's portrayal of Richard III would see that he has created a Machiavellian leader.

This was, of course, not the only work that had affected Shakespeare's audience. The Renaissance had begun in the 14th Century and continued until the 17th Century. It was just reaching England in Shakespeare's time, and thus he along with Milton and Marlowe were seen as some of the great writers of the Renaissance. The Renaissance also encompassed great developments in art, education and philosophy. The philosophy of the Renaissance was essentially humanism. Humanists believed that men were important as they had developed the world that God had given them. They also thought that beauty of all forms was important as it represented worth, and could be a path to God. The Renaissance had also influenced the way that people viewed history, and a learning and reworking of classical sources became fashionable. It is important to remember that despite the divisions between religions and philosophies in Elizabethan England, the principles of the movements remained the same. Nearly all people believed in the Bible and what it taught, and thus their values were actually similar. Christian values included loyalty to God and the family, honesty, humility, fidelity and forgiveness. Thus Richard would clearly be seen as a villain by the standards of the original audience.

Activities
Find three events in the play that are echoed by events that occurred in Elizabethan England. Write a paragraph about Shakespeare's characterisation of Richard. You must include the phrase "Elizabethans would view Richard as evil because ... ". Ensure that you refer to specific contextual details in your answer.
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