Richard III - Queen Elizabeth
1) How politically aware and skilful is Queen Elizabeth? List any actions she takes to try and safeguard herself and her family. Next to this, list things Richard does to undermine her. Why is she finally no match for him?Elizabeth, wife of King Edward IV, is Queen while he is alive, but after his death she is at Richard's mercy. Richard rightly views her as an enemy, since she opposes his rise to power. Intelligent and fairly strong-willed, Elizabeth is part of the Woodeville family; her kinsmen-Dorset, Rivers, and Gray-are her allies in the court. She is the mother of the two young princes, the heirs to the throne, as well as their older sister, young Elizabeth.Elizabeth is now frightened for her own safety, as well as for that of her two young so
Elizabeth's response to the news of her kinsmen's imprisonment is perfectly justified, her cry of fear, "Ay me! I see the ruin of my house," (Act II, scene iv, line 48). Richard undermines Elizabeth by murdering her brother, Earl Rivers and her two young sons who were heirs to the throne. But, beyond her fear for Rivers, Gray, and Vaughan. Richard has many men at his disposal and uses them to undermine Elizabeth in every possible way. Once King Edward IV dies, Prince Edward, being heir t the throne is to be become king of England. In the end, Elizabeth is out-powered by Richard as he orders the Lord Cardinal and Hastings to forcibly retrieve the young prince from sanctuary and the custody of Elizabeth. By murdering Elizabeth's sons he not only traumatises her emotionally but also ties off her royal links. She demonstrates her political awareness by suggesting that she knows that an imprisonment engineered by Richard is likely to lead to death, as it has already done for Clarence. As Elizabeth finds that she is incontestably powerless against Richard, she immediately comes to the realisation that the lives of her two young sons are in danger. Elizabeth safeguards herself by taking her youngest child and heading for sanctuary, this is the only rational response one could expect from a sensible and politically aware character. Elizabeth ends scene i of Act IV with one of the most moving speeches of the play, expressing her longing to see her sons and how the ragged confines of the tower walls keep her from seeing them. Queen Elizabeth: Stay, yet look back with me unto the Tower. The heir to the throne is in a particularly precarious position, since Richard has good reason to want him dead.
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