Act V, Scene III
“The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold and fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? myself? there's none else by:
Richard loves Richard; that is, I am 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”.
“Methought the souls of all who I had murdered
All came to my tent, and every one did threat
This scene appears as the only time that Richard III appears sorry about his thirst for power. He only admits his mistakes after the ghost visitations. The feelings depicted in the play include self-doubt, regret and conscience for his brutal actions. Richard killed even his loved ones because of his desire for the crown and becoming king. In this scene he wakes up scared and sweating and full of fear. He begins to think about his actions as a murderer and considers himself as the most frightening person. He is a mass murderer after killing everybody who appeared to be in his way to acquire the crown.
Shakespeare uses some literary devices such as formal language, tone, symbolism and metaphors. The ghosts that visited Richard in his dreams appears to be some of the murder victims such as Clarence, Prince Edward, King Henry VI and Lady Anne among many others. The use of formal language makes the audience capture the events and the moments. The use of first person as Richard references himself makes the audience contemplate on his feelings and predicament.
Shakespeare uses various words to show Richard’s fear upon waking up after the ghost dreams. The souls of the people that he had killed started to haunt him when “Methought the souls of all that I had murdered, All came to my tent; and almost every one did threat. Tomorrow's vengeance on the head of Richard (Act IV, Scene III).The ghosts act as a terrifying symbol for Richard to wake up from his evil actions and seek repentance. The scene creates the participation of various cast members of the play on stage when enacting the ghost dreams. Therefore, the dreams would also be considered as metaphors for Richard’s evil doing and brutal actions.
Work Cited
Richard III - Shakespeare. Lincoln; Nebraska, 1996. Print.
