Compare the Presentation of Potential Successors to the Throne in 1 Henry Lv and Richard Lll

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Like Hal, Richard’s opening soliloquy reveals a deception, inviting the audience inside his warped mind. Shakespeare employs doubles to illustrate Richard’s private and public persona, the private voice enchanting the audience with his comic asides ‘I moralise two meanings in one word.’ Richard compares himself to the comic ‘Vice’ the medieval representation of evil, Asquith (3) believes Vice ‘like Richard both horrified and delighted his audience.’ Richard does not want to be a hero ‘I am determined to prove a villain.’ When he comments on Edward’s heroic qualities ‘young, valiant, wise,’ he reminds the audience that he recognises chivalric values but is driven by his ambition to rule and his enjoyment of disorder, ’Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous.’ Asquith believes Richard is ’a startling portrait…of the unpopular public persona of Robert Cecil’ the Queens Secretary. Asquith compares Richard’s public voice to Cecil’s that of ‘selfless public servant.’ ‘Cannot a plain man live and think no harm.’ Richard often uses the language of innocence ‘I am too childish-foolish for this world’ to disguise his subterfuge. Richard, like Prince Hal is an actor, an essential quality of a leader. Richard uses monologues to manipulate the audience whilst pretending to those on stage he is misjudged. Although Hal manipulates people, the audience would understand that he is selflessly dedicating himself to the future of his country.

Although not heroic, leaders must be able to persuade and influence those around them; Richard displays these traits when he proves himself an able lover by wooing Lady Anne during her husband’s funeral procession. Despite believing Richard a ‘villain’ and ’foul devil’ in the face of his eloquence ’your beauty was the cause of that effect’ she is persuaded to marry him ‘I would I knew thy heart’. When given the opportunity to revenge her husband’s murder ‘though I wish thy death, I will not be thy executioner’ she instead allows herself to accept Richard’s proposal. At the beginning of the scene Shakespeare uses a pattern of language to create a comedic effect for the audience but with a serious undertone. ‘Sweet saint, for charity, be not so curst. Foul devil, for God’s sake hence, and trouble us not.’ This would have caused the audience to laugh uncomfortably at the sheer audaciousness of Richard’s plot, he has no affection for Lady Anne he manipulates her to be accepted as a rightful King ‘I’ll have her, but I will not keep her long.’ Anne knows his murderous intent but in the face of his charm disregards her own welfare. Prince Hal also manipulates Falstaff but for less selfish ends, his genuine affection for Falstaff is revealed when he believes him dead on the battlefield ’I could have better spared a better man’ highlighting the ethical division he feels, knowing he loves Falstaff, the reprobate, more than he should.

Asquith uses ‘Richard’s unlikely prowess as a womaniser’ as a further indication that Richard was based upon Cecil a lame, hunchback. Shakespeare’s Richard lll highlighted to the Queen the Elizabethan people’s anxiety about the successor to the throne; drawing a comparison between Richard and the plotting of Cecil. Believing in the divine right of Kings the 16th century audience would be horrified that a deformed and corrupt individual could manipulate the will of God and influence the successor the throne.

The difference in the three potential leaders approach to removing rivals is clear. Hal and Hotspur heroically challenge their rivals in the sun, on the battlefield whilst Richard skulks in the shadows employing others to commit his crimes in secret. Hotspur dismisses Hal as a rival ‘that same sword-and-buckler Prince of Wales’ believing him only capable of using the weapons of the lower classes, heir only to Falstaff whose court is the tavern. Vernon reports ‘I saw young Harry with his beaver on.’ A Hal, no longer Hal, but young Harry, the transformation of Hal from wastrel to warrior complete. Shakespeare’s powerful imagery ‘rise from the ground like feathered Mercury’ compares Harry to Mercury the Greek god and implies Harry has a divine right to be King with the support of the gods for his quest. ‘And vaulted with such ease into his seat’ suggests he has easily shrugged off his previous persona and the throne is his rightful seat. ‘As if an angel dropped down from the clouds,’ likening Harry to an angel the audience are reminded that Harry is pure, a man of God on Earth. ‘To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus’ the reference to the mythical horse associates Harry with the hero’s journey to heaven and encourages the audience to believe he is anointed by God. Until this point references to horsemanship illustrated Hotspur’s heroic qualities now Harry has equalled his horsemanship he has acquired the qualities Henry valued in Hotspur, making good his promise.

Hotspur and Prince Harry are both heroes whilst Richard is a self-proclaimed villain. The ability to keep the throne in times of civil and political unrest requires a combination of heroism and leadership skills. Shakespeare shaped Prince Harry with the combination of honour, bravery, intelligence, chivalry political understanding, and self-awareness to emerge as hero, leader and King.

(1) M. Garber, Shakespeare After All. (2005)

(2) A. D. Nuttall, Shakespeare the Thinker. (2008)

(3) C.Asquith, Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare. (2006)

(1999 words)