In Act V of Richard III by William Shakespeare, the ghosts of those King Richard have
killed visit him during his sleep. He then awakens, startled. Read the following excerpt
from that scene and view the artwork depicting it by William Hogarth. Answer the
question that follows.
RICHARD:
Give me another horse! Bind up my wounds!
Have mercy, Jesu! Soft, I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? Myself? There's none else by.
Richard loves Richard, that is, I am I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.
Then fly. What, from myself? Great reason why—
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O no! Alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain; yet I lie, I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well; fool, do not flatter:
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all us'd in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, "Guilty! Guilty!"
I shall despair; there is no creature loves me,
And if I die no soul will pity me.
And wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?
Methought the souls of all that I had murder'd
Came to my tent, and every one did threat
Tomorrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.
Richard III sits in a tent. His face is fearful. He holds one hand in front of his face while the other hand holds a sword. Armor lies at his feet.
© De Agostini Picture Library / Universal Images Group / ImageQuest 2023
In a well-written response of 5-7 sentences, achieve the following:
identify one similarity between the poem and the image
support the similarity with evidence from both works
identify one difference between the poem and the image
support the difference with evidence from both works
explain why the artist may have made these choices when adapting the text into art
One similarity between the poem and the image is the portrayal of Richard III's fear and inner turmoil. In the poem, Richard is awakened from his sleep and expresses his terror, stating, "Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh" and questioning, "What do I fear? Myself?" Similarly, in the image, Richard's face is shown as fearful and his body language suggests unease, with one hand covering his face and the other holding a sword. This similarity is evidenced by the description of Richard's emotions in the poem and the artist's depiction of those emotions in the image.
One difference between the poem and the image is the presence of the ghosts in the poem but their absence in the image. In the poem, Richard mentions that the souls of those he has murdered visit him in his tent, threatening vengeance. However, the image does not show these ghostly figures. This difference is supported by the absence of any ghostly or supernatural elements in the image, focusing instead on Richard's psychological state.
The artist may have made the choice to omit the ghosts in the image to emphasize Richard's internal struggle and to focus on his guilt and remorse, rather than introducing a supernatural element that could distract from his emotional torment. By excluding the spirits, the artwork allows viewers to engage with Richard's state of mind on a more personal and relatable level. Additionally, the omission of the ghosts may have been a practical decision for the artist, as representing supernatural figures in visual art can be challenging and may not have been the primary focus of the artwork.