The Boar in Richard III

            Richard III is referred to through out the play as a boar. Historically, Richard’s royal symbol was a boar. Unlike his brother Edward whose symbol was the sun, which reflects the royalty view that they are godly. Richard’s symbol represents a fierce and hideous creature. Just like the boar that destroys the obstacles in his path, so does Richard by killing the people who cared for him and crushing the dreams of the citizens of England.

            In Elizabethan time, the boar was a popular animal to hunt due to its aggressive nature. But some laws Privatized certain land and animals for hunting only for royalty. The boar was one of the creatures that only royalty could hunt. In the play, Richmond is the one who kills Richard because only a man who is equally royal could kill the boar.

            The Elizabethan period also enforced a natural hierarchical order. On top was God then royalty and higher society, then peasants, and at the bottom were animals. Richard’s symbol is placed on the lowest tier of the order, which makes it strange that he is made king and corrupting the system. It only makes sense that to restore order in England, Richard must be removed from the throne to replace order in society.

            However, Richard’s character is even lower then a raging boar because he lacks all humanity. Richard and Anne have a discussion about even how beasts have pity. Richard claims he has no pity meaning that he is not a beast or human. The audience can come to the conclusion that Richard is far worse then any beast, he is an unnatural creature. Through out the play Richard refers to himself as ugly and unnatural looking and so do other characters. Margaret mentions that Richard was born with teeth. This might indicate that he is something other than human and that is why he does not have human feelings.

            Comparing Richard to a boar is more of a compliment then he deserves. His viscous acts of killing the people closest to him and not feeling any remorse proves that he is lower on the hierarchical order than an animal. Shakespeare has taken the aggression of the boar and combined it with a heartless soul to create Richard III. 

War of Roses (Richard III)

             Richard, Duke of Glouster, begins the play by telling the viewers that the House of York is in power. His brother, King Edward IV, is the one leading York House to power. The War of the Roses is the underlying historical context of the Shakespeare play, Richard III. I am interested in learning about the War of the Roses to form a better understanding of the influences and mindset of the characters and the audience during the time period that the play was performed.

            The War of Roses consisted of  two branches of the Royal House of Plantagenet. The houses of York and Lancaster competed for the throne of England from 1455 and 1485. The war ended with Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond coming into power and founding the House of Tudors. Henry Tudor united the House of York and Lancaster, even combining the symbol of the white and red rose into an emblem of a red and white Tudor rose.

            An influence that the battle between the houses could have affected was the courtship of Richard III and Lady Anne. Lady Anne is part of the Lancaster family. Richard’s alliance with Lady Anne might help him get both the approval of his own house and the House of Lancaster.

            History not only plays as a background setting in the play but was also an influencing matter in the presentation of characters in the play. Queen Elizabeth I was in power at the time, who was a Tudor, of the writing and performance of Richard III. Shakespeare wanted to please the royal family because they could influence the success of his career. Due to this pressure Shakespeare portrays Richard III as a horrendous villain in order to make Henry Tudor appear in a much brighter light. If Shakespeare did not show the devilish side of Richard III as much as he did then Henry Tudor would have looked less heroic. Even though the history of England has swayed the representation in this play due to the fact that the characters he was writing about were still alive and influential.