Shakespeare Appreciation Week
MONDAY, JULY 13th: Monologue Day: Richard III, Scene IV. Predictable as I am pick, I pick Clarence’s monologue:
“Methoughts that I had broken from the Tower,
And was embark'd to cross to Burgundy;
And, in my company, my brother Gloucester;
Who from my cabin tempted me to walk
Upon the hatches: thence we looked toward England,
And cited up a thousand fearful times,
During the wars of York and Lancaster
That had befall'n us. As we paced along
Upon the giddy footing of the hatches,
Methought that Gloucester stumbled; and, in falling,
Struck me, that thought to stay him, overboard,
Into the tumbling billows of the main.
Lord, Lord! methought, what pain it was to drown!
What dreadful noise of waters in mine ears!
What ugly sights of death within mine eyes!
Methought I saw a thousand fearful wrecks;
Ten thousand men that fishes gnaw'd upon;
Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,
Inestimable stones, unvalued jewels,
All scatter'd in the bottom of the sea:
Some lay in dead men's skulls; and, in those holes
Where eyes did once inhabit, there were crept,
As 'twere in scorn of eyes, reflecting gems,
Which woo'd the slimy bottom of the deep,
And mock'd the dead bones that lay scatter'd by.
Methought I had; and often did I strive
To yield the ghost: but still the envious flood
Kept in my soul, and would not let it forth
To seek the empty, vast and wandering air;
But smother'd it within my panting bulk,
Which almost burst to belch it in the sea.
O, no, my dream was lengthen'd after life;
O, then began the tempest to my soul,
Who pass'd, methought, the melancholy flood,
With that grim ferryman which poets write of,
Unto the kingdom of perpetual night.
The first that there did greet my stranger soul,
Was my great father-in-law, renowned Warwick;
Who cried aloud, 'What scourge for perjury
Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?'
And so he vanish'd: then came wandering by
A shadow like an angel, with bright hair
Dabbled in blood; and he squeak'd out aloud,
'Clarence is come; false, fleeting, perjured Clarence,
That stabb'd me in the field by Tewksbury;
Seize on him, Furies, take him to your torments!'
With that, methoughts, a legion of foul fiends
Environ'd me about, and howled in mine ears
Such hideous cries, that with the very noise
I trembling waked, and for a season after
Could not believe but that I was in hell,
Such terrible impression made the dream. “
My Analysis: I am really po-ed as I was nearly finishing a fully fledged analysis when my tumblr crashed and everything got lost. By the time I would get the heart to rewrite the analysis it would be too overdue so here’s a very brief comment:
The portrayal of this historical figure in the play is not perfect as he is made quite unintelligent, nevertheless, it is filled with historical allusions that pack a punch:
1. Gloucester and he being spirited away as children and the former using that bond to lull him into becoming entrapped by conspiracies.
2. The allusion to their brother-in-law Henry Holland who was pushed overboard on the way back from France.
3. How Clarence’s attachment to opulence and wealth led to his downfall and his betrayal of Warwick.
4. The drowning that is basically dramatic irony, given how he died in a but of wine (and before anyone says it’s an urban legend - do note that his skeleton was surveyed at one point and the head was found intact with the body, so no beheading).
Overall, this monologue is poignant with imagery and shows that he did indeed feel guilt for what he’s done to: Edward of Westminster, Warwick and possibly his brother-in-law Henry Holland? It really hits home the fact that by this point he is left all alone (apart from his children) and though he may be monied enough to pay the ‘grim ferryman’ (charon of the river Styx), what awaits him at the end of the rivers is what horrifies him. Even more than the death itself, which by this point does not scare him much as he had lost his will to live. Nevertheless, the grasping for air shows that he still has a physical reflex to continue living.
This monologue truly shows how some wrongs we do in life leave a stain on our souls that can never be removed. You may do fine in your waking hours, but your subconscious will retaliate when you are asleep. It shows the fragility of brotherhood and how it can be a bond that for some is not sacred and can be used to pull the wool over the other’s eyes. Additionally, it drives home the point that wealth and magnificence are worth nothing when set against the invaluable luxury of having people loyal to you that you trust.
