Shakespeare · Soliloquies & Solo Speeches
Production Notes
Richard of Gloucester has just stabbed the dying King Henry VI — and then stabbed him again. What follows is his self-portrait: a man born to snarl and bite, whose twisted body is the outward sign of an inward cruelty he has decided to embrace. This is the earlier Richard, before he becomes king — we see him arriving at his philosophy.
This speech anticipates and explains the Richard of Richard III. Players who can find the glee inside the ugliness will unlock what makes this character so theatrically irresistible.
Script
RICHARD
If any spark of life be yet remaining, Down, down to hell, and say I sent thee thither —
(Stabs him again.)
I that have neither pity, love, nor fear. Indeed, ’tis true that Henry told me of, For I have often heard my mother say I came into the world with my legs forward. Had I not reason, think you, to make haste And seek their ruin that usurped our right? The midwife wondered, and the women cried “O Jesus bless us, he is born with teeth!” And so I was, which plainly signified That I should snarl, and bite, and play the dog. Then, since the heavens have shaped my body so, Let hell make crook’d my mind to answer it. I have no brother, I am like no brother; And this word “love,” which graybeards call divine, Be resident in men like one another And not in me. I am myself alone. Clarence, beware; thou keep’st me from the light, But I will sort a pitchy day for thee; For I will buzz abroad such prophecies That Edward shall be fearful of his life; And then to purge his fear, I’ll be thy death. King Henry and the Prince his son are gone. Clarence, thy turn is next, and then the rest, Counting myself but bad till I be best.
Facilitator Notes
Warm-up: Explore the idea of deciding — not discovering — who you are. Richard has made a choice about his own nature. Let Players find what it feels like to make that choice.
Debrief prompts:
- Richard says he has been shaped by his birth and therefore by heaven. Then he invites hell to match that shaping. What is his argument, exactly?
- “I am myself alone” — is this a tragedy or a declaration of freedom? How does the Player’s choice shape the character?
- Richard names his next targets mid-speech. How does planning ahead, aloud, while still standing over a body, characterize him?
- This speech comes before Richard III. If Players know the later play, how does that knowledge change the speech?