King Richard III's skeleton found under a parking lot in Leicester, England.
What do I fear? Myself? There’s none else by.
Richard loves Richard; that is, I and I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.
Then fly! What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good
That I myself have done unto myself? O, no!
Alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain. Yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well. Fool, do not flatter:
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, “Guilty! guilty!”
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me,
And if I die no soul will pity me.
And wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?” ― William Shakespeare, Richard III
14 comments:
Ironic that a man who went down to defeat wailing "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse" ended up under a car park. He'd have found a car even more useful for hightailing it out of there -- not that he could ever have even imagined what a car is.
"A hearse, a hearse, my kingdom for a hearse?"
Perhaps after that example of DNA
fingerprinting, the Queen will relent and permit the same on the
youthful skeletons thought to be
the 'princes in the tower'?
There is controversy about whether R.III was responsible for their deaths. Only circumstantial evidence for his part in their deaths exists.
Richard III says in 2013, "Now is the winter of my disinterment."
I have been following the excavation news rather carefully as Shakespeare's play Richard III is one that my Literature students study. Shakespeare's version of Richard III makes for interesting class discussion -- to say the least.
Not all scholars agree that R. III was a deformed miscreant. [But what about those two princes in the Tower?]
I wonder how this discovery will work to inspire renewed interest in him and perhaps rehabilitate his reputation.
I read the play many years ago and also saw Olivier in the role--diabolical.
Here's one of 3 versions [including Olivier's] that are available on Netflix:
"Ian McKellen stars in the title role in this visually inventive adaptation of Shakespeare's classic drama, which is set in 1930s England after a civil war has torn the country apart and left the people under fascist rule. Richard plots against his brother, Edward (John Wood), in his quest to usurp the throne, and will stop at nothing in pursuit of his goal. The film received Oscar nominations for art direction and costume design."
Sounds intriguing...
The skeletal remains indicate severe scoliosis, confirming descriptions by his contemporaries.
There is a continued controversy
about his legacy (the two princes
were his wards/disappeared/never mentioned during his brief reign), which will undoubtedly
continue, given the lack of evidence and number of suitable suspects. Rather interesting, Richard was the last Plantagenet,
yet, two related living persons
were found..at least in terms of
mitochondrial DNA. At a minimum,
the affair revives interest in
medieval British history....and
Shakespeare.
Scholars still don't know for sure that he whacked Edward V.
I do find it fascinating.
As to whether or not Richard was a tyrant, do recall that history is written from the winners perspective.
great stuff
There is controversy about whether R.III was responsible for their deaths. Only circumstantial evidence for his part in their deaths exists.
True. One must always remember that Shakespeare's plays are literature, not history, even if some of them are loosely based on history.
How could anyone possibly KNOW for SURE after all this time that this corpse really IS that of Richard the Turd?
They weren't aware of DNA when he was doing his worst. Why should we be expected to accept the identification of this discovery as fact?
_______________________
Shakespeare's history's, of course, are no such thing, He merely used characters FROM history as a point if departure, then let his incomparably vivid, inexhaustibly creative imagination run free.
I suspect many of today's post-Modern "scholars" seeking to make a name for themselves do the same. The only trouble there, of course, is they lack Shakespeare's genius.
Probably inevitable; now come the
Richard III jokes ...
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