Richard III - Battle of Wills

In Shakespeare’s play Richard III, we can explore the question: Whose will operates in the world? Is it God’s will, the Devil’s will or that of an individual? Throughout the play, we hear references to both God and the Devil as the originators of events, and the individual described as the agent of one or the other. Richard in Act 1 Scene 1 Line 151 makes the first reference to God as he plots the usurpation of the throne, “…Clarence hath not another day to live, which done, God take King Edward to his mercy and leave the world for me to bustle in.” In this line, we see God’s responsibility relegated to taking care of the soul after death while the individual controls his own daily life. 

Lady Anne makes the first reference to the Devil in the play in Act 1 Scene 2 Line 45 when she consoles herself and the hearse bearers for appearing fearful of and obeying Richard’s command to set down the corpses of the slain kings, “Alas, I blame you not, for you are mortal and mortal eyes cannot endure the devil.” Before this in Line 35 Lady Anne declares Richard as the Devil’s agent, “What black magician conjures up this fiend to stop devoted charitable deeds?” While Anne curses Richard, sometimes calling him the Devil’s agent and sometimes the Devil himself, she pleads to God for His response to the Devil’s actions. This sets up God and the Devil as two adversaries in battle and the individual cursing (to invoke God’s power) and individual killing (demonstrating the Devil’s power) are their respective agents. 

To some extent, in this play, there is a sense that some actions are considered the works of the Devil while others are that of God. If the actions of a person do not correspond to concern and care of others then those actions are thought of as the work of the devil. Lady Anne deems Richard as the devil because she sees his actions as lacking in humanity. “Villain, thou know’st no law of God nor man. No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity.” (Act 1 Scene 2 Line 70) In Act 1 Scene 3 when Queen Margaret, the wife and mother of the slain kings, curses the York kings for their actions and lays out in detail the course of events that will destroy the York, we hear her beseech God to make the curses happen. “O God that seest it, do not suffer it.” (Act 1 Scene 3 Line 269). Yet, these curses appear to go against humanity then why are these curses not the Devil’s charge. Why would Richard appear the Devil’s spawn while Queen Margaret God’s child when both seek harm for others? Does it make a difference that Richard’s actions are born out of avariciousness, while Queen Margaret’s curses rise from a desire for revenge for her losses? 

In Act 1 Scene 2 Line 117, Richard wonders whether God is accountable for the death of the kings equally as the executioner, “Is not the causer of the timeless deaths of these Plantagenets, Henry and Edward, as blameful as the executioner?” If, as Richard says, God is responsible for the deaths of all, then Richard, in killing the kings, was acting as God’s agent and not the Devil’s. However, later in Line 222, Richard seems to believe that only the Devil is on his side, as he contemplates his suit to Lady Anne and questions her acceptance of it and how long that will last. “…Having God, her conscience, and these bars against me, and I no friends to back my suit withal but the plain devil and dissembling looks…” Further, in Act 1 Scene 3 Line 132, Richard appears to mock people’s belief in God when he evaluates his own actions. “…But then I sigh, and with a piece of scripture tell them that God bids us do good for evil; and thus I clothe my naked villainy with odd old ends, stol’n forth of Holy Writ, and seem a saint when most I play the devil.” By judging himself as “playing the devil,” Richard suggests that he knows that his actions are wrong, yet he must follow through with his plans which will bring him what he want, namely the crown.

Dorset, Queen Elizabeth’s son, reminds everyone of God’s overarching role in life events after King Edward’s death. “Comfort, dear mother. God is much displeased that you take with unthankfulness his doing. In common worldly things ‘tis called ungrateful with dull willingness to pay a debt, which with a bounteous hand was kindly lent.” (Act 2 Scene 2 Line 88.1) Further, citizens of the land, when discussing the turn of events and debating who would be the King’s successor, assign the final fate to God’s will. “All may be well, but if God sort it so,” (Act 2 Scene 3 Line 36) and “But leave it all to God.” (Act 2 Scene 3 Line 45) And later, Queen Elizabeth bemoans God’s action after she hears that her two young sons (the princes) have been killed in the Tower. “Wilt thou, O God, fly from such gentle lambs and throw them in the entrails of the wolf? When dids’t though sleep, when such a deed was done?” Elizabeth does not appear to be questioning God’s power but rather his lack of mercy for her two young sons.

When viewing the success of Richard’s plans, there is a sense that the Devil’s Will or the Individual’s Will gained ascendancy over God’s Will, because how could Richard kill so many innocent people so easily? Why would God participate in the death of people considered blameless? Richard’s actions unfolded into events that followed the course that Queen Margaret had prophesized. When Queen Margaret cursed, was it the Devil or God who heard her? Were all the deaths justified in the light of the loss that Queen Margaret had suffered? Moreover, did God ordain these events? In Act 4 Scene 4 Queen Margaret spells out how each death that occurred matched her own loss and thus cancelled out that portion of her curse. The only thing left for God to do was to kill Richard and thus complete her prophecy. Queen Margaret in calling Richard, “hell’s black intelligencer” declares him the Devil’s agent. (Act 4 Scene 4 Line 71) This suggests that God is a righter of wrongs done by the individual who is an agent of the Devil. Punishing Richard with death for his actions would mean that God had won the battle.

Richard does not ignore God, but does not consider him as having control over his plans. Richard tries to use God as a token of his promise to Queen Elizabeth when trying to convince her that he would be a good suitor for her daughter. However, Queen Elizabeth shows Richard how he has broken faith with God with his deeds, stating that if he had feared God then he would not have done the things he had done. (Act 4 Scene 4 Line 308-317) In truth, Richard’s keeps faith only in himself and the devil for his success. Right in the beginning in Act 1 Scene 1 Line 30 he declares, “I am determined to prove a villain.” As the play unfolds, we see his villainy descending into something more dangerous and potent. Richard will not allow anything to stand in the way as he acquires power. The last hurdle in this quest is Richmond who threatens his kingship. Richard’s relentless forward movement comes to a temporary halt when he allows doubt to creep in. In questioning his previous actions, Richard sees the exercise of his individual will as setting him up for damnation because no soul will pity him after death for the wrongs he has done. Yet, he is unwilling to concede defeat and must fight Richmond. Here the God versus Devil fight comes to the fore as each army braces to meet the other in battle. Richmond mentions God six times in his oration calling Richard God’s enemy. He encourages them to remember that God is on their side, and therefore victory assured. Richard’s oration condemns Richmond as a vagabond and a rascal, and focuses on the fears and the personal dishonor his army would face if they lost the battle. One is calling for God’s Will to be displayed and the other is asking the Individual Will to be given strength. The ensuing battle and Richmond’s victory suggest that God won the war. 

Richard in achieving many of his plans appears to have given voice to the individual will. The unfolding of events that led to the death of many innocents suggests that the Devil had a fair share of success, but Richmond’s victory, in the end, suggests that God’s Will is supreme, and ultimately, God’s Will operates in the world.