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Richard III Opening Monologue with annotated glosses
The Tragedy of Richard the Third
Act I, scene 1
Enter Richard, Duke of Gloucester, solus
1 Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York;
And all the clouds that lowr'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
5 Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths,
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments,
Our stern alarums chang'd to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grim-visag'd War hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;
10 And now, in stead of mounting barbed steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
But I, that am not shap'd for sportive tricks,
15 Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
I, that am rudely stamp'd and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
20 Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them-
Why I, (in this weak piping time of peace)
25 Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to see my shadow in the sun
And descant on my own deformity.
And therefore since I cannot prove a lover
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
30 I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasure of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams
To set my brother Clarence and the King
35 In deadly hate, the one against the other.
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up
About a prophecy, which says that 'G'
Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be.
40 Dive thoughts, down to my soul, here Clarence comes.
Stage Direction note: The Folio version of 1623 does not identify the speaker of the soliloquy as Richard.
Stage Direction note: solus: alone (Latin). Some contemporary directors of Richard III choose to ignore the stage direction that Richard appears alone onstage for the opening soliloquy (see Performance History).
1. winter of our discontent: most likely a reference to the War of the Roses from 1455-1487.
2. son of York: a pun on "sun." King Edward IV, whose emblem was the sun badge -see 3HenryVI, II, i, 25-40 (Evans 712). I would argue that Richard here could also possibly be referring to himself, who has brought peace to England through victory in battle.
3. lowr'd: The Cambridge edition uses an interesting variant: loured. lour(v): to look dark and threatening (OED 2). However, in keeping with contemporary spelling, I have used the spelling from the Folio version of 1623.
6. arms: armor metaphorical. Shakespeare begins to personify an image of war as a body with limbs. See also: "grim-visaged war" in line 9. and "He capers nimbly" in line 12.
7. alarums: calls to arms.
9. grim-visaged war: Here Shakespeare begins to personify war,
with a stern face. (see also ln. 12: "He capers nimbly"
9. wrinkled front: forehead
10. barbed steeds: war horses, dressed with armor
12. He capers nimbly: Further personification of war dancing, and enjoying the pleasures of peacetime. Here Richard could also be referring to his brother Edward IV, and Richard may be expressing jealousy of his brother's sexual relationship. (see also: notes for lines 14 and 28).
14. But I…: It is ironic that while he is not so vain "to court an amorous looking glass," Richard does not recognize his own excessive pride and vanity in his own speech. There are 14 uses of "I" or "my" within Richard's first forty lines. Also, the repeated use of "I" serves to separate Richard from the rest of the court, setting him apart as a loner, and possibly a melancholic. Critics such as Shupe and Pearlman have written on Richard's psychological state, and its significance within the play.
14. But I: (performance note) In the McKellen film version, Richard delivers lines 1-13 of the text to the court, lavishing praise on his brother Edward for his victory in war. Beginning with line 14, however, we see Richard alone in the men's room, where he speaks directly to the audience, in a conspiratorial tone of voice. This helped to highlight the two-faced and darker nature of Richard to the audience.
14. sportive: (adj. OED 2): not earnest or serious. Possibly referring to games, or lighter entertainments. Highlighting his propensity and desire for war. Possibly also has sexual connotation. See note below.
14. tricks: Possibly a reference to sexual activity. This may suggest that Richard here is slyly and wittily admitting his own sexual dysfunction related to his deformity. He may be separating himself from those who caper "nimbly in a lady's chamber" Also, see line 28.
14-23…why I that am not shap'd…unfashionable-: These physical descriptions which Shakespeare attributes to Richard first appear in Sir Thomas More's The History of Richard III. Scholars believe these physical descriptions to be historically inaccurate. (see Garber 132).
16. want: lack.
18. curtail'd: imagery suggests Richard's compares himself to a deformed dog, or other tailed animal, such as a lion.
19. dissembling: deceiving, disguising. Dissemble (v): pass over, neglect, ignore (OED)
20. nature: suggests his heritary characteristics
20. before my time: Suggests More's description that Richard was ripped from his mothers womb. This is alluded to in 3Henry VI: V.vi.44-56. This also appears in More's version of Richard III.
23. dogs bark: dogs have often been known to bark when then sense danger or are frightened
23. halt (OED v1) to walk lame, limp. The extent of Richard's limp is open to interpretation. The most extreme example of this was Antony Sher, in the 1984 RSC production, who played Richard on cruches, extremely deformed and a stance "suggesting a polio victim" (Lull 35).
24-25. Why I…to pass away the time: Some scholars and artists
have suggested that Richard is depressed, or possibly suffering from Post
Traumatic Stress disorder from his wartime experiences. This was the interpretation
in 1953 Glen Byam production at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in
Canada. Post traumatic stress is often associated with flashbacks and
dreams (which Richard experiences in V.iii) (see Feldman 518). Although
this condition would not have been known to Shakespeare, it is interesting
to speculate that he may be diagnosed and analyzed that way by a contemporary
critics and audiences.
24. time of peace: This may further suggest something about his
psychological state, and personality, that Richard prefers the chaos of
war.
28. prove: 1. to give demonstration or proof of by action. 2. To know by experience, to have experience of (OED) Neither the Cambridge, nor the Riverside edition gloss this word. I would argue, similar to ln. 14, this might further suggest sexual dysfunction, or his lack of experience and comfort with women which is a result of his deformity. see also line 30.
29. determined: 1. decided or resolved upon. 2. appointed, ordained;fixed beforehand. This raises the issue of predetermination and free will in the play. Is Richard evil by nature, or does he choose freely to act a certain way. In this passage, Richard suggests both free will and determinism.
30. prove: see note for line 28
38. mewed up: caged (like a hawk).
39. murderer: Folio and Riverside use a variant spelling: murtherer
39-40. about a prophesy…shall be: This prophesy appears in the Holinshed Chronicle (see Nicoll 138).