How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the Norton edition.
Quote #7
Alarum. Enter [KING] RICHARD [at one door] and
[HENRY EARL OF] RICHMOND [at another]. They fight.
RICHARD is slain. [Exit RICHMOND.] Retreat and flourish. (Stage Direction, Act 5, Scene 8).
Is it just us, or does the moment of Richard's defeat on the battlefield seem kind of anti-climactic?
Brain Snack: King Henry VII (a.k.a. "Richmond") is the last English monarch to have won his crown during battle, which means Richard III is the last king in English history to lose his crown during battle.
Quote #8
KING HENRY VII
What men of name are slain on either side?
DERBY
John Duke of Norfolk, Walter Lord Ferrers,
Sir Robert Brakenbury, and Sir William Brandon.
KING HENRY VII
Inter their bodies as becomes their births:
Proclaim a pardon to the soldiers fled
That in submission will return to us (5.8.2)
After Richmond kills Richard on the battlefield and becomes King Henry VII, he again shows us what a good guy he is by promising to pardon the enemy soldiers who are willing to submit. This seems like a pretty good sign for England, don't you think? Henry is genuinely interested in restoring peace to the kingdom.
Quote #9
England hath long been mad, and scarr'd herself;
The brother blindly shed the brother's blood,
The father rashly slaughter'd his own son,
The son, compell'd, been butcher to the sire:
All this divided York and Lancaster,
Divided in their dire division, (5.8.3)
Gee, when Henry VII puts it that way, we're reminded that the Wars of the Roses have been a family tragedy more than anything else.