From the very opening of the play when Richard III enters "solus", the
protagonist's isolation is made clear. Richard's isolation progresses as he
separates himself from the other characters and breaks the natural bonds between
Man and nature through his efforts to gain power. The first scene of the play
begins with a soliloquy, which emphasizes Richard's physical isolation as he
appears alone as he speaks to the audience. This idea of physical isolation is
heightened by his references to his deformity, such as "rudely stamp'd...Cheated
of feature by Dissembling Nature, deformed, unfinished. This deformity would be
an outward indication to the audience of the disharmony from Nature and
viciousness of his spirit. As he hates "the idle pleasures of these
days" and speaks of his plots to set one brother against another, Richard
seems socially apart from the figures around him, and perhaps regarded as an
outsider or ostracized because of his deformity. His separation from is family
is emphasized when he says "Dive, thought's down to my soul" when he
sees his brother approaching. He is unable to share his thought with his own
family as he is plotting against them. Thus, we are given hints of his physical,
social and spiritual isolation which is developed throughout the play. But
despite these hints, he still refers to himself as part of the House of York,
shown in the repeated use of "Our". The concept of Richard's physical
isolation is reinforced in his dealings with Anne in Act I scene ii. She calls
him "thou lump of foul deformity" and "fouler toad" during
their exchange. Despite these insults, she still makes time to talk to Richard,
and by the end of their exchange, she has taken his ring and been "woo'd"
by him. After Richard has successfully gained the throne, he isolates himself
when he asks the crowd to "stand all apart" in Act IV scene ii. And
later, when Richard dreams, he is completely alone. Physical isolation in
Richard's deformity wins sympathy from the audience as we pity his condition.
But Richard uses his deformity as a tool against the other characters, to
portray them as victimizing Richard. Thus the sense of tragedy is lessened by
his own actions, even though his isolation may become greater as the play
progresses. Richard's psychological isolation is conveyed through his lack of
conscience in his murderous acts. Nowhere does he feel remorse for his murders,
until Act V scene iii when he exclaims "Have mercy Jesu!" and "O
coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!". In this turning point,
Richard's division from his own self is made clear from "I and I", and
"Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am!" He has conflicting views of
himself and realizes that "no creature" loves him, not even himself.
We also never the "real" mind of Richard, for he is always playing a
role, of a loving brother to Clarence, a lover to Anne or a victim to the
others. We feel sympathy for Richard as he awakes in a vulnerable position and
for the first time acknowledges the evil that he has done. But as he only
reveals his feelings of guilt in the last act of the play, we do not see him in
internal turmoil and thus the sense of psychological tragedy cannot be built
upon. Socially, Richard is isolated from both the upper and lower classes of
society. In Act I scene iii, Richard sarcastically calls Elizabeth
"sister", and she contemptuously calls him "Brother of
Gloucester" making a mockery of familial bonds. Margaret calls him
"cacodemon" and "devil", and any unity that the characters
have on stage is temporary and superficial. In act III, the citizens are said to
be "mum" and "deadly pale", which gives a sense of quiet
opposition to Richard's activities. Richard is thus separated from all around
him. Temporarily, we see Richard and Buckingham share a kind of bond, as Richard
calls him "My other self", "My Oracle" and "My
prophet". But they part when Buckingham hesitates to kill the young princes
when Richard says "I wish the bastards dead". This is the only time
the audience sees Richard act with any other man, but we realize that it is for
purely political purposes and that the union exists only while Buckingham
remains useful to him. Our sympathy for Richard is limited as we see that he has
no true friendships, and does not genuinely care for his family or friends. Thus
even in his increasing isolation the sense of tragedy upon his death is not
really saddening to the audience as there is no real sense of waste at his loss.
Richard isolates himself from God, as he claims to be above God's law and only
uses religion as a tool to appear holy before he is King. But ironically,
although he breaks the bonds between man and Nature, he is a tool of Divine
Justice as he kill those who were sinners, for example Clarence who recalls his
horrible dream and realizes his guilt early in the play. As the murders
accumulate so does his separation from God, and the need for his death
increases. But being closer to his death brings him closer and closer to being
with God. Thus although Richard may not realize it, he is never too far from
God. But Richard does not increasingly isolate himself from the audience. From
our omniscient position, we share in Richard's wit, sarcasm, and the dramatic
irony brought about when other characters are not fully aware of the implication
of his words. Richard also shares his feelings with us, although he is not
always truthful. But the fact that he enjoys his villainy to such a great
extent, and feels no remorse for his murders reduces him to a figure of Vice,
and is not really seen to be a tragic figure of great proportions. In his
killing, we see the guilt of Clarence, King Edward, Rivers, Hastings Buckingham
and Lady Anne exposed before their deaths, along with all those who die. Thus
their deaths are necessary and the audience remembers that. Also, the deaths
appear off-stage, which lessens the impact of their deaths. The most poignant
part of the play occurs in seeing the young princes talk happily and innocently
to their uncle and "Lord Protector". York says "I shall not sleep
quiet in the Tower", and we pity them, as they are young and afraid, and
are forced to go there because, as the Prince says, "My Lord Protector
needs will have it so". The children had appeared happy , and the Prince
had shown wit and intelligence in his conversation with his uncle. This appears
to be the greatest tragic loss in the play, which is heightened because of their
youth and innocence. The tragedy of the protagonist is felt because of his
attractiveness as a villain and as someone who is not constrained by the rules
of society. However, the audience never forgets that he is wicked and therefore
we cannot feel a sense of great loss of potential or waste in his death. Many
literary techniques are used to emphasize the theme of the Shakespearean play
"King Lear." The dramas' theme is blindness, both mentally and
physically, to the truth. In King Lear, the techniques of imagery,
foreshadowing, and irony help to reinforce the drama's theme that people are
blind to the truth. Imagery is used frequently and helps to create a vivid image
for the audience. "Now all the plagues that in the pendulous air hang fated
over men's faults lights on thy daughters." This quote uses imagery because
part of the quote is "lights on thy daughters" which shows how Lear's
daughters don't love him except for Cordelia, who does. Another example of
imagery, is when Cornwall stomps out Gloucester's eyes. When Gloucester realizes
his mental and figurative blindness, Cornwall physically blinds him. At the end
of the play, everyone betrays everyone else. This is an example of imagery
because the characters are also betrayed mentally by one another. Foreshadowing
also enhances the idea of figurative blindness because the character's actions
are hinted at before they actually occur. "I've escaped the pursuit
therefore to survive I'll disguise myself as a crazy, dirty, beggar."
Edgar, by dressing so poorly, is foreshadowing that he will have to do a
"dirty" deed, which is killing his brother, Edmund, at the end of the
play. In act 2, scene 4 the fool is telling Lear that poor fathers treat their
children badly, when rich fathers make their children happy, but Lear's children
were still unhappy and wrong, even if he was rich. The fool was trying to tell
King Lear that there was trouble amongst his daughters. This is an example of
foreshadowing because the trouble the fool was telling Lear about could and did
turn into something much more serious. "Never! I was king, but I gave away
my kingdom. The storm is my master now." This quote demonstrates
foreshadowing because the way Lear is babbling, and talking about the storm, can
mean that he is going crazy. A third literary technique, irony, underscores the
theme of the play. "ÉYou'll say they are Persian; but let them be
changed." This is a comment made about Edgar's messy, old clothes in act 3,
scene 6. The comment is ironic because the word Persian usually refers to
something beautiful and colorful. "Away and let me die." This quote
was made by Gloucester in act 4, scene 6. He was speaking to Edgar who had led
him to a hill to jump from, but Gloucester expected to jump from a cliff. The
quote is an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows that Gloucester
is only jumping from a small hill, but since he is blind, he thinks he is
jumping from a mighty cliff. In act 1, scene 1 Lear says, "ÉGive me the
map there. Know that we have divided in three our kingdomÉto shake all cares
and business from our age conferring them on younger strengthsÉ" This is
another example of dramatic irony because the audience knows that giving his
kingdom to his daughters is a bad idea on King Lear's part. They know that
Goneril and Reagan will betray Lear, but Lear is not yet aware of this fact. The
use of imagery, foreshadowing, and irony significantly develop the play's
central theme of physical and figurative blindness.