Essay 1: Passage B Richard

In Richard’s monologue, there are many instances of hate, violent imagery and masterful

manipulation. Richard is deciding that he will go after the crown of England, and murder those

who get in his way. He is angry at his mistreatment by others and has no hesitation in the idea of

killing his family to achieve his goals.

Richard shows in this monologue a deep hatred of women. In lines 9-11 he expounds

upon that blaming his mother for his disfigurement: “Why, love forswore me in my mother’s

womb”. He continues by using strong accusations against females “she did corrupt frail nature

with some bribe”. Nature is often associated with women (i.e. Mother Nature) as well as babies

being born; we come from nature. In Christianity, it is believed that God created the world and

the therefore the humans on it. Humans due to their nature want to have families and continue

their lines and hence come from nature. Richard believes in this section that nature has been

corrupted, and translates that misfortune to the women (whom he believes responsible). He

struggles to believe any woman could love him. In fact, the idea of having a woman is

something he claims to have no interest in. “I’ll make my heaven in a lady’s lap…O miserable

thought! and more unlikely than to accomplish twenty golden crowns”. He sarcastically

insinuates that in this time of peace he will find comfort in women, and then juxtaposes it by

stating what a terrible thought it is, and he could win a throne twenty times before a woman

would be interested in him.

Along with hating women, Passage B clearly shows that Richard hates himself. He

continuously harps on his appearance (lines 12-16) using language that contains a lot of anger.

“To shrink mine arm up like a wither’d shrub;…Where sits deformity to mock my body;…to

disproportion me in every part”. Using words like mocked implies a certain amount of long
lasting self-esteem issues masked by anger. His bother Edward was known to be extremely

handsome, and while he might say he has no interest in women, their scorning him for so many

years would have taken a toll. In Richard III, Richard continues to obsessively mention his

appearance showing that it is a point of insecurity for him. Although arguably a terrible person

and murderer, Richard is a classic bully; made from hurting others before they can hurt/reject

him.

In continuing with his abundance of anger, this passage is riddled with violent imagery.

In lines 26 and 37-38, Richard paints gruesome pictures in the reader’s mind: “Or hew my way

out with a bloody axe./Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smiles”. Richard’s easy

acceptance and arguably enjoyment of murder (he will be smiling) shows his lack of compassion

that directly contradicts what we view as a fixed norm; murder is wrong. The violent descriptive

words he uses to create that imagery chafes against those fixed norms we believe to be true and

leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable.

Lastly if nothing else, this passage shows just how manipulative Richard can and will be.

In the last lines of the monologue Richard finishes telling of his violent plan to be king, and talks

about how he will do it without anyone being the wiser. “And wet my cheeks with artificial

tears, /And frame my face to all occasions”. Richard is not only going to commit the heinous

murder of his family, but is going to do it all with a smile on his face, and fake tears in his eyes.

By “framing his face to all occasions”, Richard is saying that he will be play whatever part he

needs to achieve his goals. If he needs to act sad to get close to someone he will, if he needs to

pretend to care and be a confidant he will; he has no morals. These last lines of Richard’s

monologue provide an insight into the manipulative person he truly is and how that theme will

continue into Richard III.

Essay 2: Question A Courtship, wooing and seduction

Love and the steps taken to win someone’s love is a main theme of Shakespeare’s plays.

Although the comedies tend to have much lighter versions of love, the tragedies and histories

also place a heavy importance on marriage and who is sleeping with who etc. Merchant of

Venice and Richard III both show the importance of marriage in their respective plays, but have

very different approaches.

As Richard III focuses on the English royal family, the idea of love and marriage is based

in power and social mobility. Richard wants to become king and uses women to obtain that goal.

His marriage to Lady Anne is one of convenience for him rather than love, and once she stops

being useful to him, he has her killed. In Merchant of Venice, Bassanio is hopelessly in love

with Portia and desperately wants to marry her; their love is true. Although seemingly opposites,

themes of power hungry marriages are present in Merchant of Venice. Portia’s casket test and

the multitude of suitors which come to participate show that along with her beauty, marrying her

would give her husband a title of power (something that could be even more desirable). The test

is designed to hopefully weed out some suitors only there for the money and power.

A glaring difference between the plays is the motives behind the characters in the way

they woo their intendeds. While both spout flowery language detailing their woman’s beauty

and love, Richard’s wooing of Lady Anne is purely manipulative. He takes advantage of her

grief-stricken state and preys upon that to convince her that not only he is in love with her, but it

is partly her fault Richard killed her husband and father-in-law. He blames her beauty as his

motivation for the murders and uses her vulnerability and now slight guilt to make her think she

deserves nothing better than Richard as her husband. The main men in Merchant of Venice love

their women and in Bassnio’s case, he is willing to risk it all to be with Portia. Knowing that
failure of the casket test would mean he could never marry again, Bassanio chooses to partake

anyway because all he wants is Portia.

Richard is a man who takes from women while Bassanio is a man who gives to be with a

woman. Richard uses women, and makes sure that he always remains the dominant power in the

relationship. His manipulation of Lady Anne ensures that he will remain the one pulling the

strings in the relationships and makes her give her all. In Merchant of Venice, Bassanio willingly

gives his all to the woman he loves; his money, his bachelorhood, and the possibility of children.

He in some ways submits to Portia’s intelligence and tests, and allows her to be the dominant

power in the relationship. Although he remains in societal eyes the “man”, it is clear throughout

the story that Portia wears the “pants” behind closed doors.

Overall, regardless of long-term goals, both Richard and Bassanio are successful in

obtaining their intendeds. The difference however is in the dynamics between the couples and

the purity of the love present. Richard III, and Merchant of Venice show the importance of

courtship and marriage in character development, as well as the difference ways in which those

characters achieve their goals.