Student Question
What is the purpose of the conversations preceding Clarence's murder in Act 1, Scene 4 of Richard III and their impact on the audience?
Quick answer:
The conversations preceding Clarence's murder in Act 1, Scene 4 serve to build tension by delaying the inevitable and surprising the audience with the mid-conversation stabbing. These dialogues also explore key themes, such as the fear of divine retribution, as the murderers worry about facing judgment, and the contrast between biblical and devilish elements, reflecting the play’s broader thematic conflicts.
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.
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