William Shakespeare The Tragedy of Richard III William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is probably the most famous playwright in the history of theatre. His plays have been translated into numerous languages and have been both performed and transformed into films the whole world over. However, not much is known about his life, as no personal records exist. This is not unusual for a writer who lived at that time. The information that does exist comes from birth, baptism and marriage certificates, court records and wills. Shakespeare was bom into a middle class family in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. This area is in the centre of England, south of Birmingham, and is famous for its artisans and fruit growers. Shakespeare was baptised in Holy Trinity Church on 26 April 1564 but was probably born several days before that. This is however, the earliest record of his life. His father, John Shakespeare, was a leather merchant and glove maker. He must have been an important man as by 1568 he was the mayor of the town. John married Mary Arden in 1557 and William was the third of their eight children. William learned to read and write at the local primary school and then probably continued his studies at grammar school where he learned Latin, history, logic and rhetoric. The second documented event in William's life is his marriage to Anne Hathaway. They married in November 1582. His wife was eight years older than William when they married. They had a daughter, Susanna, who was born in May 1583 and twins, Hamnet and Judith, who were born in 1585. Unfortunately Hamnet died several years later when he was eleven. Shakespeare doesn't appear again in any official records until 1592 and no one really knows what he did during those seven years. Between 1585 and 1613 Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays. We can date Richard III to between 1591 and 1592, and was first performed by a theatre company called Lord Strange's Men. By 1594, he was acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men and was also one of their shareholders. The Lord Chamberlain's Men became the most important dramatic company in England and from 1603 enjoyed the patronage of James I. In 1597 William and his friends built a new theatre in Southwark on the south bank of the Thames in London. They called it the Globe Theatre and it was one of the most important theatres in the area. The open-air, octagonal amphitheatre had three levels and held up to 3,000 people. It was burned down in 1613 during a performance of Henry VIII. William became a rich man and so he started to invest some of his money at home in Stratford. In 1597 he bought the second largest house in Stratford, called New Place, for £60. This was the new family home. Then in 1602 he bought a piece of land and later some cottages. He then retired to Stratford with his family where he lived the life of a local businessman. Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church on 25 April. Chapter One The Wars of the Roses 1 were over. At the Battle of Tewkesbury 2 3 the House of York, the white rose, defeated the House of Lancaster, the red rose. King Henry VI was dead and Edward IV was the new King of England. Edward and the House of York celebrated long into the night. However, one member of Edward’s family, his brother Richard the Duke of Gloucester, didn’t join in with the celebrations. He was happier when the two houses were at war with one another and he didn’t know what to do with himself now that England was at peace. He was a very clever and cunning man but was ugly and a hunchback. He was determined to be powerful one day. Here he was now, waiting alone, by the Tower of London. He spoke, ‘Now is the winter of our discontent. 4 The war is over, my brother the king is happy but I, so ugly that dogs bark at me in the street, am not. I’m not interested in having fun, I’m interested in planning so that one day I will be the King of England. But who’s that coming now?’ At that moment, some guards, led by Brakenbury, the Keeper of the Tower, arrived with his other brother, George, the Duke of Clarence. They were taking him to the Tower. 'Brother, what on earth is going on? 5 Why are these men bringing you here?’ asked Richard. Richard knew exactly what was going on. He had told Edward about a prophecy that he had invented. He had told him that the name of the murderer of his sons would begin with the letter ‘G’. His brother, the Duke of Clarence, was called George. Richard wanted his brothers not to trust one another. This was all part of his evil plan. ‘Our brother, concerned for my safety, ordered them to bring me to the Tower,’ answered Clarence sarcastically. ‘For what reason?’ demanded Richard. ‘Because my name is George,’ said Clarence simply. ‘It’s not the king, our brother, who has sent you here. This sounds like the work of his wife, Queen Elizabeth. Don’t you remember? She sent Lord Hastings here recently and today, he’s going to be freed. We’re not safe, Clarence, we’re not safe.’ ‘It was Mistress Shore, the King’s friend who got him out of the Tower. All she had to do was ask our brother and ten minutes later he was free,’ said Clarence. ‘The country is ruled by women, Queen Elizabeth and Mistress Shore,’ agreed Richard. Mistress Shore loved Lord Hastings. Unfortunately, or in this case, fortunately she also loved King Edward. ‘Please forgive me your graces but his majesty said that no one must speak in any circumstances with his brother Clarence,’ said Brakenbury. ‘We are the Queen’s subjects and must obey,’ said Richard ironically. His majesty is really King Edward himself. ‘Brother, farewell. I will go to our brother and beg him to free you. I’ll even call his wife ‘sister’ if that helps you. But for now, try to be patient.’ 'I will,’ cried Clarence, ‘farewell.’ Clarence, Brakenbury and the guards left. Richard was on his own again. He thought aloud. ‘Poor, simple Clarence, I do love him. He doesn’t realise that he’ll never return from the Tower and that soon I’ll send his soul to heaven.6 But who comes now but Lord Hastings? ‘Good day, my lord,’ announced Hastings. ‘And also to you my good lord Chamberlain. Welcome home. How on earth did you survive your imprisonment in the Tower?’ Richard asked. ‘With patience, noble lord, as all prisoners have to,’ replied Hastings. ‘I hope that Clarence can do the same. But what is the news?’ ‘The King is very ill and his doctors are extremely worried.’ 'This is very bad news indeed Hastings. His lifestyle is catching up with him. 7 Is he in bed?’ ‘He is,’ replied Hastings. ‘Go on to him and I’ll follow you,’ Richard said as Hastings prepared to leave. Richard hoped that the King would soon die but not before he signed Clarence’s death warrant. He decided to speak with the King as soon as possible. ‘If I’m lucky Clarence only has one more day to live. The King will then die and I’ll marry the Earl Warwick’s youngest daughter, Lady Anne, even though 1 killed her husband Edward, and her father- in-law. But I mustn’t count my chickens before they are hatched, 8 Clarence is still very much alive and the King is still on his throne.’ Lady Anne, in mourning, 9 entered with her servants who were carrying the coffin of the dead King Henry VI. ‘Set the coffin down men,’ she instructed them. The men were tired and needed a moment’s rest. Lady Anne was in mourning for her father-in-law, King Henry VI, her husband and for the entire House of Lancaster. She cursed 10 the man and the family that did these things to her. ‘To Chertsey!’,11 12 she said ‘Pick the coffin up again.’ 'No, leave it where it is,’ thundered Richard. ‘What kind of black magician speaks to my servants like that at a time like this?’ asked Anne. ‘Villains, 11 put the coffin down or I’ll kill the man who disobeys me,’ demanded Richard. ‘My lord, please stand back and let the coffin pass,’ said one of the servants. ‘Unmannered dog,13 do as I say,’ shouted Richard. The servants put the coffin down again and Lady Anne spoke to them. ‘Are you all afraid? I can’t really blame you as you are only human and men will always be frightened of the devil.’ ‘Go away you evil man!’ she shouted at Richard. ‘Don’t bother us now. You’ve turned our happy earth into your hell by your terrible deeds. Look at what you did to King Henry.’ ‘Lady, please be more kind,’ protested Richard. ‘Stop saying that I killed him.’ ‘Then why isn’t he still alive,’ she answered. ‘1 didn’t kill your husband,’ said Richard. ‘You’re lying. Queen Margaret herself saw your sword covered in his blood. At least admit that you killed King Henry,’ said Anne. ‘Yes I did,’ Richard reluctantly admitted. ‘But it was your beauty that made me do it.’ ‘How could you do it? He was such a good man,’ said Anne.