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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Now is the winter of our discontent’: Richard III’s opening speech from Shakespeare’s history play of that name is among the most famous speeches in all of Shakespeare’s work. Memorably spoken by Laurence Olivier in a 1955 film of Richard III – for which Olivier added some extra lines…
The winter of discontent has been transformed into a glorious summer by this son of York, Edward. Shakespeare puns on the word sun/son. Everything seems good now and England is about to embark on a wonderful era of peace, in which people can get on with the pleasures of life. Richard is sneering at his brother, though, with what is an ironic ...
Analysis: Act 1, Scene 1. In the play’s well-known opening lines, Richard refers to events that Shakespeare chronicles in his earlier plays Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, and Henry VI, Part 3, and with which he would have expected his viewers to be familiar. The Henry VI plays detail an exhausting civil war for the throne of England ...
- Setting The Scene
- Original Text “Now Is The Winter of Our Discontent”
- Modern Translation
- Verse Breakdown
- Thought Breakdown & Analysis
- Unfamiliar Language
- Conclusion
After a long civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster, England is finally at peace, for now. Richard, who in this scene is still just the Duke of Gloucester, is resentful of his brother King Edward IV’s power and the relative happiness of those around him. In this speech, Richard tells us just why he feels this way and what he plans to do...
Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim-vis...
Now our discontent is coming to a close And is made joyful by my brother, King Edward the IV And all the sadness that covered our family Are at the bottom of the ocean, gone away Now we wear the wreaths of victory on our heads Our armour is now mere decoration Our alarms of war are music at parties Instead of marching to war, we dance And instead o...
bold = Stressed Unbold = Unstressed (F) = Feminine Ending Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; Our stern alarums changed to merry meeti...
Now is the winter of out discontent Now the bad times are coming to an end So this is the very first line of the play. And it’s one of my favourite openings in the cannon. Ian Mckellen speaks about the significance of opening a play with the word ‘now’ and I think it’s a good point to raise. The Merchant of Venice opens with ‘In’ Twelfth Night open...
Lour, lower (v.) old form: lowr’d frown, scowl, look dark and threatening Bosom (n.) old form: bosome depths Brow (n.) old form:browes forehead [often plural, referring to the two prominences of the forehead] Monument (n.) memory, memorial, remembrance Alarm, alarum, ‘larm, ‘larum (n.) call to arms, call to battle, signal to begin fighitng Measure ...
We’ve addressed some of the unfamiliar language, and broken down the monologue, so that you now hopefully have a better understanding of the text. Next, read through it multiple times out loud and explore the way the language sounds. For more on how to perform Shakespeare read our article on How to Act Shakespeare. If you have realised that this mo...
Richard III Translation Act 1, Scene 1. Also check out our detailed summary & analysis of this scene. Original. Translation. Enter RICHARD, Duke of Gloucester, solus. RICHARD, Duke of Gloucester, enters alone. Enter CLARENCE, guarded, and BRAKENBURY. CLARENCE, surrounded by guards, and BRAKENBURY enter.
Analysis. Richard of Gloucester enters alone and sets the scene, opening with one of Shakespeare's most famous lines: "Now is the winter of our discontent." Though it's technically summer, it is winter from Richard's perspective because he is unhappy. His family, the House of York, has emerged victorious from the Wars of the Roses and all ...
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Jul 31, 2015 · Act 1, scene 1. Scene 1. Synopsis: Richard, alone onstage, reveals his intention to play the villain. He then pretends to console Clarence, the first victim of this villainy. After Clarence is led off toward prison, Richard greets Hastings, who tells him that King Edward is very ill. Richard, once again alone onstage, outlines his plan to have ...
