Love and Marriage an Affliction or an Alliance: Deceit and Betrayal in Shakespeare’s Richard III

Richard, the main character of the Shakespeare’s play, Richard III is portrayed as socially destructive and politically over-ambitious. His destructive potential is depicted by the way he relates with the other protagonists in the play and also by what he confesses as his intentions.

A successful monarchy relies upon a stable leader who is concerned with the satisfaction of those he rules over. Henry Bolingbroke the IV in Shakespeare's Henry the IV Part I follows a trend set by his predecessor in Richard II of self-indulgence and neglect of his kingdom. These leaders worry about the possibility of losing their kingdom or their soldiers to other nobles who were also concerned more with obtaining a higher position rather than governing. The king must also be wary of his own life, something that was once revered and guarded closely by other nobles. Wars once fought for gaining or protecting land are overshadowed by personal battles fighting for the position of king.

Shakespeare’s plays were grouped into three categories: comedies, tragedies and histories. The histories were those plays based on the lives of English kings. Shakespeare was one of the first writers to write about English history. According to Garber, “before Shakespeare’s time there were few history plays such written in England--- England history was told in verse and prose chronicles (239)”. It’s considered that Richard II is one of the early “historical plays”. The play became so iconic that even Queen Elizabeth said that she was “Richard the second, know ye not that”. Richard II tells the story about a king’s downfall.

After successfully slaying Lady Anne’s husband, King Henry, Richard is still able to gain her hand in marriage using persuasive language. Through this act, Lady Anne becomes a blocking figure for Richard because he has to conquer her, but he also has a pre-existing disadvantage regarding the situation: Lady Anne is aware that Richard just killed her husband. Whenever they interact with each other, the use of formal language is present. Due to this, it has the capability to thoroughly show the tension between them, as well as Lady Anne’s attitude towards him. She tells him “Thou mayst be damned for that wicked deed!” (1.2. 102) and then continues by telling Richard that “And thou unfit for any place but hell,” (1.2. 106) which isn’t only insulting but also portrays him as a supernatural creature for the audience to picture, more

Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that

In Elizabethan Society during the time in which William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice, many marriages were arranged by the parents of the betrothed couple to ensure the transfer of wealth as opposed to assuring true love. Once married, the woman was expected to be subservient to her husband and not control any matters of the estate. Although not necessarily written as a stance on women’s position in society, it is from this perspective that Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice laying down an underlying theme of marriage for wealth within the play. Love in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is bartered like a tradable commodity in order to gain money, status, and resources.

Marriage is presented in Shakespeare?s play The Taming of the Shrew, in a complex manner allowing readers to view the play literally as a brutal taming or ironically as a subversive manifesto. Yet, Shakespeare intends to present marriage to be full of mutual love where neither male nor female dominate but compliment each other thriving together in a loved filled relationship. The portrayal of a deep understanding, which exists in an analogical relationship and the gentle transformation, which occurs in marriage, clearly outlines marriage in the play to be a celebration of a mutual love relationship within the patriarchal foundations of society.

In the Renaissance period, marriage was far different and much longer process than it is today. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige, honour and wealth to the family. For the upper class, marriage rarely involved love. Courting outside of one’s class was strictly forbidden and punishable by death in some circumstances. Marriage followed a strict set of protocols that signify maturity and coming into one’s own. In this time, dowries often played a large part in the decision to marry. A dowry, is the custom in which involves an interchange of cash, jewels, foods, estates between the father

Some students might argue that this early action of John establishes that he loves his wife and tries to please her, but Elizabeth remains separated from him. She appears somewhat aloof or withdrawn. This distance is obviously due to John’s

Richard then gloats over his success in a soliloquy stating how he has won her heart even though he is regarded by her as the devil with dissembling looks and he stabbed Edward her love just 3 months earlier. This highlights how he thinks of himself as the best as he brags about his misdeeds as though he is immortal.

Marriages tended to be for strategic purposes rather than love, so family life in the Elizabethan Era was different than family life today ("Elizabethan Family Life” 1).

In Henry IV Part 1, Shakespeare introduces two relationships that seem to be polar opposites of each other, the married couple, Hotspur and Lady Percy and the newly wedded couple, Mortimer and Lady Mortimer. Even though Lady Percy and Lady Mortimer did not have key roles in the play they were significant to the portrayal of their male counterparts and Shakespeare’s portrayal of misogyny in the late 16th century. In the Elizabethan era, women were considered second class citizens, and weren’t allowed the same rights as men, and that misogynistic behavior resulted in many unhappy marriages. In Shakespeare’s play, Mortimer and Lady Mortimer are the only characters with a happy relationship because they don’t exhibit the same sexist attitude as the other characters; while Hotspur and Lady Percy’s relationship is an example of how England’s misogynistic attitude resulted in an unhappy marriage.

Elizabeth’s defining relationships are mainly with her family. Elizabeth shows her tender and protective side when interacting with her children. Her compassion shines when she is shown, at the beginning of Act II, singing her children to sleep, which only a caring and loving mother would do (Miller 1267). When interacting with her husband Elizabeth is almost a different person. She shows her devotion to their marriage with little gestures but overall she cannot forgive John for his affair.

The Elizabethan age regarded women’s sexuality as a form of currency. In England’s social structure currency was a means to power. A woman’s virginity was something to be bargained for, and when the time was right, sold to the highest bidder. In modern day, this slightly resembles prostitution, but during Elizabethan times selling a daughter’s virginity was the quickest way up the social ladder. During this time, the sacrifice of virginity implies marriage. Young women rarely married on the idea of love alone, due to the father’s interests in finding an ideal husband that will strengthen the family’s position within the community. Author of Shakespeare’s Women, Angela Pitt states “if for some reason it was impractical for a girl to marry she was encouraged to enter a nunnery,” (15). English women were predominantly ignored outside of the matrimonial and spiritual world.

Fisher, Jerilyn, and Ellen S. Silber. "Reading Between the Lines: Connecting with Gertrude and Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet." Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of