Richard of Glouster

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Kings are generally thought to be beautiful, God-like humans from a certain genealogy. They are placed at the throne due to whom they were born to and/or who they marry. Richard of
Glouster is born of the royal family but, he does not possess the qualities of a King to be legitimate according to Shakespeare’s
Richard III.
Richard and his brothers are all entitled to the throne if their father dies. By killing his two brothers, Richard is the only person in his immediate family entitled to the throne. Why must he kill his brothers so that he may gain the crown?
Shakespeare depicts Edward and Clarence as far more worthy of the crown. They possess traits of a King which Richard does not possess. Richard states in his opening speech “Unless to spy my shadow in the sun/And descant on mine own deformity./ And therefore since I cannot prove a lover'; (1.1.26-28). In this speech Richard admits he cannot be a lover because he is ugly with deformity. This imperfectness does not fit the perfect qualities known to Kings. His brothers, on the other hand, do possess the ability to love and both were married or betrothed.
Edward even had two women to love! Some may say that Edward was illegitimate because of his other lover, but, is it better and more respectable to not be able to have love or to have several loves? A King should be able to love to rule a Kingdom otherwise he may be a ruthless killer as Shakespeare demonstrates in the play. Gaining the hand of a woman not only makes a King look worthy to love but also is used for political gains. Richard himself demonstrates this as he ruthlessly goes after Ann after killing her lover and her Father. Through manipulation but not by his heart he gains Ann’s hand. So, he does gain a woman for political strength but he still does not fulfill the trait of a
King as a loving individual.
Why does Richard believe he should be King? He seems to possess only one quality which his brothers have: to be born of
Royalty. One other quality exists in his favor, but is questionable. Richard is a good leader. Yet, he leads through fear. For example, in Act 5 Richard demands that Stanley bring him an army or he will decapitate his son. He also leads through manipulation. For example he m...

... middle of paper ...

...ch other. By betraying them he cut off that loyalty. Also, by physically killing his brothers Richard has cut himself off of close family. He sees this as a means toward his gain but in reality he needs their brotherhood to remain in power.
An indication of Richard’s possible admittance to the illegitimacy of the crown may be when he looses his horse in battle and says twice in the closing battle “A horse! A horse!
My kingdom for a Horse!'; (5.4.7) He realizes that the Kingdom as he had gained it wasn’t worth much than a horse. If he had gained the crown through more legitimate means, the Kingdom would be worth more.
Shakespeare’s depiction of Richard III’s rise and fall from the throne clearly show that Richard’s claim to the throne is more solid than his brothers. Yet, taking a closer look reveals that Richard’s claim is illegitimate also. His illegitimacy is not bound by bastardliness but by the qualities he possesses.

Works Cited

1) Shakespeare, William. Richard III. In The Norton Shakespeare.
Edited by Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 1997.

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