Introduction
Richard III is a famous Shakespearean play that narrates the protagonist’s rise to the crown through cruel and disgraceful actions of physical and mental violence. Throughout the play, the protagonist utilizes any tools and techniques to achieve more power, ultimately sacrificing any person he meets on his way. However, Act 1, Scene 2 provides readers with another act of Richard’s manipulation, but this time – verbal. As he enters the funeral procession of the current king, and Anne, who was a wife of the deceased, starts to accuse Richard of his vile behavior. At first, Richard tries to deflect but then proceeds to push for Ann’s affection by implying that her beauty is the reason for his violence.
In the overall context of the play, this scene serves as the turning point in Richard’s motivation since his success in engaging with Anne gives him the overt confidence to fight for the throne. The scene’s underlying tension serves as a definitive source of Shakespeare’s use of language to portray the specific mood, tone, and the character’s intentions. This close reading will focus on Richard’s speech in Act 1, Scene 2, specifically lines 336-355, to examine how figurative language, imagery, and word choice helps the author convey a particular meaning.
Figurative Language
Simile
The first tool of figurative language that is used consistently throughout the passage is a simile. Shakespeare emphasizes that the feelings and actions he describes are comparable to something beyond the mere verbs; instead, he paints a more complex portrayal of emotional experiences through comparison. One of the first instances of simile in the passage is, “Nor when thy warlike father, like a child told the sad story of my father’s death” (Shakespeare 1.2.344). Here, via the phrase “like a child,” the author compares the warrior-like character of Anne’s father to a minor. This comparison does not serve as an offense; on the contrary, it highlights how devastating the news of the death were. Therefore, this simile serves to contrast the usually powerful stance of a character with his mourning state. Another prominent simile can be found in the line, “Like trees bedash’d with rain” (Shakespeare 1.2.348). In this usage of comparison, the author draws a connection between crying people and nature, which acts as a powerful tool to describe strong emotions.
Metaphor
The second tool of figurative language that Shakespeare uses abundantly in the given passage and Richard III as a whole is the metaphor. The first instance of its use is seen in, “For now they kill me with a living death” (Shakespeare 1.2.337). The “living death” implies that the character experiences his everyday life in a way that resembles dying due to his previous actions, also indicating his immense moral suffering. Shakespeare also writes, “Shamed their aspect with store of childish drops,” where the drops metaphorically symbolize the childlike geniuness of sorrow that transforms adults into weeping infants by its strength of expression (1.2.339). Another metaphorical depiction of grief is described as a “humble tear” (Shakespeare 1.2.349). In this case, the author implies that the character is not able to show any emotion even through the smallest and most unnoticeable action, crying humbly.
Richard also states that his “tongue could never learn sweet smoothing word” (Shakespeare 1.2.353). The way he describes the words can be considered a metaphor since they communicate the thought of lies: what Richard never learned could be used to deceive others into thinking that he cared about others. Richard claims that Anne’s beauty “made him blind,” meaning that the woman’s pleasant appearance and honorable character made him ignore reason and decide impulsively (Shakespeare 1.2.351).
Hyperbole
Although not rich in hyperbolas, one instance of this literary tool is prominent in the passage. Richard highlights that as people “twenty times made pause to sob and weep” to mourn his father’s death, he did not even cry once (Shakespeare 1.2.346). This phrase is a hyperbole since it overestimates the number of times one person can cry; typical for hyperbole, the speaker refers to an unrealistically high number to highlight the importance of the event. In this case, the extent of the immense sorrow of others is overemphasized over the speaker’s neutrality.
Personification
Lastly, personification enriches the passage by imposing powerful imagery on the audience’s imagination. For instance, the passage powerfully concludes with a personification of the heart, “My proud heart sues, and prompts my tongue to speak” (Shakespeare 1.2.355). Through the employment of personification, Shakespeare communicates that Richard’s attraction towards Anne was so powerful that he was unable to stop himself from speaking and acting in an illogical way. He also stresses that “thy beauty hath, and made them blind with weeping,” meaning that Anne’s charm was so influential that it made people unaware of their actions by blinding them to the reason (Shakespeare 1.2.351). Therefore, it can be argued that personification is utilized to make a statement about Anne’s weaponizing beauty.
Figurative Language in Conveying Meaning
After analyzing each prominent tool of figurative language, it is essential to address its role in conveying the meaning. By analyzing the effect of pieces of text to on the bigger picture, it becomes apparent that the abundant use of metaphors, similes, personifications, and hyperboles creates a tone of grief, also hope for love. As mentioned before, instead of merely stating the fact of a feeling, Shakespeare depicts the experiences through the more complex language of symbolism, such as relating the sense of sorrow to the natural world. It gives the message of the passage an underlying emotional context. Therefore, the audience has an opportunity to experience the emotion first-hand and recognize it rather than perceive it as a given fact. More specifically, when a reader encounters a metaphor such as “living death,” they have to decipher its meaning given the previous context and the play of words (Shakespeare 1.2.337). It is a more interactive experience than consuming a lengthy explanation of the character’s struggles. Thus, it can be argued that the figurative language aids the literal meaning with emotional puzzles, making the speech of Richard more insightful.
Imagery
Shakespeare also uses imagery to convey the meaning of a remorseful yet greedy Richard in the given passage. In this particular instance, imagery is used to aid the literal sense with tactile experiences that readers can relate to and picture a character’s speech in a more life-like way. For example, the peculiar use of gustatory imagery through the description of the taste of tears is a prominent instance of this tool. Shakespeare writes, “Those eyes of thine from mine have drawn salt tears” (1.2.338). Although the author could have stated that Anne’s presence makes Richard tear up, he appeals to the shared experiences of people when they face strong emotional response – tears. The sense of salty taste adds to the overall description of Richard’s emotions. It substitutes factual information with sensationally-charged language, creating imagery of taste and shaping the scenario as a whole.
Apart from visual portrayal, Shakespeare uses tactile imagery to convey the central theme of grief. When narrating the aftermath of the death of Richard’s father, Shakespeare states, “all the standers-by had wet their cheeks” (1.2.347). The feeling of wetness on the face extends the written description and allows readers to feel the same sensation through imagery. Another vital aspect of imagery that makes the passage alive is a visual representation. When Richard describes the horror of his father’s death that he had to cope with, he says that “black-faced Clifford shook his sword at him” (Shakespeare 1.2.343). This line provides readers with a clear image of the events, including the killer’s appearance and how he assassinated Richard’s father.
Imagery in Conveying Meaning
Although visual imagery is often one of the most straightforward ways to convey the plot, Shakespeare uses it to portray how the protagonist experiences loss through a picture of the accident. Thus, imagery serves as an essential tool to humanize the experiences of the characters in the passage and aid the audience’s imagination, which, in turn, contributes to the power of the message. In particular, this tool creates the tone and mood of extreme emotional states, making the readers and Anne more likely to believe Richard’s deceit.
Word Choice
Through this passage, it becomes clear that word choice can be used by the author to convey meaning, emotions, and profound psychological experiences. Given the excerpt’s content, it is safe to state that the purpose of the text is not to describe an action but to persuade another character through the narration of the speaker’s emotional state. Despite his ill intent of seeking power, Richard skillfully chooses the right vocabulary to appeal to Anne’s feelings and conquer her heart. For instance, throughout the given passage, the main character continuously refers to the action of crying. However, instead of using the straightforward verb to describe that, the author utilized a set of metaphors and similes to portray the speaker as a vulnerable subject. Instead of repeating the desensitized word “tears,” he rephrases it as “childish drops,” which depicts the speaker as a person who is ashamed by their attraction like a child (Shakespeare 1.2.339). By this word choice, Shakespeare communicates that Richard does not favor the overt expression of emotions.
On the contrary, crying and tears are paired with the words “piteous,” “childish,” “remorseful,” that essentially convey the message of the inferiority of those who show sadness (Shakespeare 1.2.340-342). The author also continuously uses the word “sad,” which might hint that he intends to portray the mood of the character as grieving (Shakespeare 1.2.345-348). However, given the previous knowledge of the play, the reader acknowledges that Richard is not remorseful of the murders he has committed. Thus, this creative choice of a repetitive word use shows that the character is portrayed as a manipulative person. The same is true for the pairing of words “sob and weep” that can be seen throughout the poem.
Although Richard speaks about how Anne’s beauty makes him regret his wrongdoings, the author never applies the actions of crying directly to the speaker. Instead, this vocabulary is used only in regards to other people, distancing their simplistic struggles from the faithful and painful love that Richard experiences. More specifically, he claims that while Ann’s father “told the sad story of my father’s death,” his “manly eyes did scorn a humble tear” (Shakespeare 1.2.345-349). This word choice communicates that the character desensitizes himself to the struggles of other people and is immune to the death of the loved ones.
To further perpetuate the image of Richard as a dispassionate person before falling in love with Anne, Shakespeare employs the technique of contrasts to highlight his apathy. Shakespeare writes, “My manly eyes did scorn a humble tear” (1.2.349). This line frames Richard’s valorous and fearless character by the counteracting emotion of humbleness to emphasize that it is alien to him. Without such a strong force of love and affection towards Anne, Richard appears to be indifferent towards weak feelings.
In contrast with the word choice used to portray sorrow as an inferior emotion, the author switches to strong lexis when writing about the character’s experiences with love. He describes that love for a woman made Richard experience emotions – the goal that the death of his father never managed to achieve. By using active verbs, Shakespeare alludes to the strength of these emotions, “My proud heart sues, and prompts my tongue to speak” (1.2.355). Unlike the word usage of child-related language when describing other people’s emotions, Richard narrates his transformation like the one that touches his heart and tongue, implying the drastic change in perception. He also expresses that Anne’s presence “made them blind,” which is another instance of a purposeful usage of demeaning vocabulary to contrast with other people’s “weeping” and favor the vulnerable experiences of Richard (Shakespeare 1.2.351). Thus, these word choice decisions portray Richard as a superior man who experiences a life-changing transformation of love.
Word Choice in Conveying Meaning
Overall, it can be argued that a particular word choice of the author is used to portray the character as a vulnerable and regretful man. If to examine it in a vacuum, a reader can perceive Richard as a deceitful character defeated by a genuine love for Anne. However, given that the audience already knows about his greedy intentions of marrying the wife of a deceased King, the reader starts to see that the language is unconsciously weaponized to suit the character’s aim. Through child-related words and active verbs, Shakespeare puts Richard on a pedestal of emotionless privilege. On the surface, it indicates that he is graceful and regretful since Anne’s beauty made him reflect on his murders. However, when investigating what words he uses to describe others, his arrogance becomes more apparent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be argued that the Shakespearean usage of figurative language, word choice, and imagery in Act 1 Scene 2 conveys the meaning of a vulnerable confession with an underlying ill intent. As the close reading showed, the use of figurative language aided the author in portraying the emotional experiences of Richard through introducing interactivity. More specifically, via frequent use of metaphors and personifications, Shakespeare describes sorrow in a way that makes readers decipher the complex set of circumstances and feelings that made the characters feel that way. In turn, imagery contributes to the overall mood of vulnerability by making the audience experience the events through sensory senses. Lastly, Shakespeare employs meaningful word choice to convey the character’s superiority over everything else but love. This effect is achieved by regarding other characters’ feelings in a derogatory manner and describing the feelings of love through active verbs and animated connotations. Thus, Act 1 Scene 2 displays the use of language to communicate how Richard attempts to manipulate Anne through deceitful description of his love that even readers can be misled by.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Dover Publications, 1995.