"The tragedy of Richard III lies in the progressive isolation of its
protagonist". Discuss. 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.