56 pages • 1 hour read
William Shakespeare, John JowettRichard III
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Act IVChapter Summaries & Analyses
Act IV, Scene 1 Summary
The Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth, and Lady Anne arrive at the Tower of London, seeking to visit the princes. However, they are told by the guards that they are not permitted to see them. Queen Elizabeth is dismayed that she cannot see her children and warns Lord Dorset, one of her supporters, to flee the country and go to seek the Earl of Richmond, across the sea. The Duchess interprets this as another sign that Queen Margaret’s curse is coming true.
The women realize that Richard plans to crown himself as the King of England, not just the Lord Protector, and Anne is summoned to be crowned as queen. Anne admits that she hated Richard at first for the sake of her family, but found her womanly heart persuaded by his manipulative speech and married him. She finds herself unable to sleep in the same bed as him and she fears that he hates her and will replace her soon. Fearful and powerless, Queen Elizabeth returns to sanctuary in the church. She prays to the Tower of London to keep her children safe.
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