Richard III Justice Quotes Page 4

Buckingham is distinct from many of the others who have met their fate at Richard's desertion. Rather than curse Richard at his death, Buckingham owns up to the fact that he's been an awful guy, and that actually he pretty much deserves this fate. Buckingham sees that justice has been served, and while he's still angry at Richard, he accepts his own complicity in his fate.

Richmond sees himself and his men as agents of God's justice, almost like God's army. He's careful to keep saying that the praise for any victory will belong to God, but there's something paradoxical in the anointing of oneself as God's messenger. Two things on this: it fits the paradigm of Richard in contrast to Richmond; if Richard is clearly an agent of the devil, then Richmond should be an agent of God. The second is the historical context of the play – in Shakespeare's time, God was seen as conferring legitimacy on royalty (though the Divine Right of Kings had yet to be codified). Since Shakespeare's patron, Elizabeth I, was a direct descendant of Richmond, it might be important for him to portray her line as rightfully carrying out God's work.

This is more than an absolutely beautiful and rousing speech from Richmond – it speaks to justice as something greater than an abstract concept. If Richmond's side should prevail, it's not just the royal line and God's will that will be honored. The men here are fighting for personal justice too – for their wives and children and their own honor as citizens. It kind of puts in perspective the fact that the men aren't just pawns of royal relations that have nothing to do with them – they're intimately invested in the outcome of putting down this tyrant.