Richard III

Roles

• Gloucester (future Richard III) - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Male

About this piece

"Now is the winter of our discontent..."

Summary

Richard III is the sequel to Henry VI part 3. After years of civil war between the House of Lancaster led by the previous king Henry VI and the House of York, led by the Duke of York, England has finally found peace again. The Duke of York died during the war and his son Edward IV is now king of England. His younger brothers are George, the Duke of Clarence, and Richard, Duke of Gloucester. This monologue is at the beginning of the play. There is finally peace in England, he says and the "sun of York" is victorious. His older brother Edward is king and everybody is celebrating except for him. He laments the fact that he is ugly and deformed, not made for "sportive tricks" or court "an amorous looking glass". He vows to make everyone miserable too and tells the audience that he will become a villain. He plans to become king and his first victim will be his brother Clarence. He has spread some rumors against him to make his brother Edward suspicious about him. His brother Clarence enters and the monologue ends.

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