Richard III Group

Question:

wittnersony
wittnersony
Student
High School - 12th Grade

What is the purpose of the lengthy conversations which precede Clarence's murder in Act 1, Scene 4 of "Richard III"?

The two conversations are between the two murderers, and between the murderers and Clarence. In addition, how might these conversations impact upon the audience?

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Posted by wittnersony on Tuesday August 19, 2008 at 5:29 AM and tagged with clarence, manipulation, murders, richard iii, suspense, tension.

Answers:


  1. robertwilliam

    eNotes Editor

    I think the short answer to your question is "to build tension". Remember that the audience already know that Clarence is going to be murdered - we've seen Richard in an earlier scene give the murderers the warrant for Clarence's death. What these conversations do is delay the final moment of the stabbing (which anyway, comes mid-conversation as something of a surprise) in order to build suspense and allow the tension to mount.

    Thematically, the conversations also link in to some of the issues the play explores. You might compare the murderers' worry that Clarence will rise on judgement day to condemn them to the ghost scene (Act 5, Scene 3)  at the end of the play, where Richard is judged by those he has murdered. Clarence then invokes the Bible (and the King of Kings) to try and save his own life: setting up a clear antithesis between the biblical and the devilish - another pair of themes which echo throughout the play.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/richard-text/act-scene-4

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    Posted by robertwilliam on Tuesday August 19, 2008 at 5:58 AM