Richard III War Quotes

This is one of the most famous openings in all of Western drama. Richard uses the winter and summer seasons as a metaphor to suggest that King Edward IV's reign has turned everyone's winter-like sadness into a time of "glorious," summer-like celebration.  What's everyone been so bummed about?  The Wars of the Roses, a series of nasty civil wars that had the Lancasters and the Yorks (two branches of the Royal House of Plantagenet) vying for the English crown

This passage from Richard's opening speech is full of vivid imagery to describe England's transition from a war-torn country into a nation celebrating its newfound peace.  Richard speaks as though "war" is a person whose once "grim-visage" has been transformed into a smiling face because he's been spending all his time "caper[ing]" around in a "lady's" bedroom instead of duking it out on the battlefield.  Interestingly enough, Shakespeare will return to this same imagery at the very end of the play.  (See 5.8.3 below.)   

We also want to point out that, by his own admission, Richard has no good reason to steal his brother's throne, since England seems to be prospering under Edward's rule. 

Richard says here that he's just not cut out for peacetime because he's not good-looking enough to be a seductive ladies' man.  He reasons that because he was born "deformed, unfinished," and premature, he's better suited to times of war and conflict.

Once again, Richard insists that since he's not a "lover," he's committed to reigniting the civil war that's torn his family apart.  FYI – Shakespeare frequently associates wartime with a lack of sexual activity.  For example, in Henry IV Part 1 Hotspur insists that women (and sex) will only interfere with his duty as a soldier, so he tries to remain celibate before and during battle.

When Richard's horse is killed during the Battle of Bosworth Field, he continues to fight on foot and cries out in frustration.  There are a couple ways you could read this famous line. Richard could be saying, "Rats!  My horse is dead and I'd give anything (even my kingdom) for another one!" Or he could mean, "Dang! I'm about to lose my entire kingdom all because of a dead horse!"  Either way, Richard has lost all composure at this point and knows it's just a matter of time before he's taken down. 

Richmond has five guys dressed up like him in order to throw off the enemy during the battle. The trick works because Richard hasn't had any luck finding the real Richmond and has been killing Richmond lookalikes in a frenzy.

By the way, this was a pretty common military tactic. We see it in at least one other Shakespeare play: during the Battle at Shrewsbury in Henry IV Part 1, Sir Walter Blunt dresses like the king to help protect his monarch and gets stabbed in the guts for his trouble (5.3).

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. 

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. 

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.

By defeating Richard and marrying Young Elizabeth (a Yorkist), Henry VII (a Lancastrian) has put an end to 14 years of civil war. Hooray!

P.S. Did you notice how Henry uses the phrase "smooth-faced peace" to describe England's tranquility?  Remember how Richard used the same imagery in his opening speech back at 1.1.1.  Why do you think Shakespeare circles back to this idea?