Chapter 15
Act IV, Scene 2: The Princes Murdered
Scena Secunda. Sound a Sennet. Enter Richard in pompe, Buckingham, Catesby, Ratcliffe, Louel. Rich. Stand all apart. Cousin of Buckingham Buck. My gracious Soueraigne Rich. Giue me thy hand. Sound. Thus high, by thy aduice, and thy assistance, Is King Richard seated: But shall we weare these Glories for a day? Or shall they last, and we reioyce in them? Buck. Still liue they, and for euer let them last Rich. Ah Buckingham, now doe I play the Touch, To trie if thou be currant Gold indeed: Young Edward liues, thinke now what I would speake Buck. Say on my…
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Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Shall I be plaine? I wish the Bastards dead, And I would haue it suddenly perform'd."
Context: Richard testing Buckingham after his coronation
Richard stops speaking in hints and names the requirement. The crown is new; the demand is immediate. Hesitation after this line is not disagreement, it is disqualification.
In Today's Words:
Richard asks whether to be plain and says he wishes the bastards dead and wants it done suddenly. That is the loyalty test stripped of costume: agree now or become the problem. When a new leader names the ugliest task aloud after promotion, treat the pause that follows as a countdown, not a discussion.
"Giue me some litle breath, some pawse, deare Lord, Before I positiuely speake in this"
Context: Buckingham answering Richard's demand for consent that the princes die
One request for pause is enough. Richard hears delay where obedience should be, and the ally who made him king becomes expendable.
In Today's Words:
Buckingham asks for a little breath and pause before he speaks positively on murdering the princes. A single delay after a plain order can end a alliance built over years. When you need time to answer the worst request, assume the room is already interviewing your replacement.
"But I am in So farre in blood, that sinne will pluck on sinne, Teare-falling Pittie dwells not in this Eye."
Context: Richard planning Anne's removal and marriage to his niece
Richard names his own escalation rule. Past crimes do not restrain him; they remove restraint. Pity is treated as a resource already spent.
In Today's Words:
Richard says he is so far in blood that sin will pull on sin, and tear-falling pity does not live in his eye. Escalation feels like logic to someone who has already crossed the first line. When a leader says pity is gone, believe the next harm is already priced in, not debated.
"made I him King for this? O let me thinke on Hastings, and be gone"
Context: Buckingham after Richard dismisses his earldom request
Buckingham finally reads the pattern Hastings missed. The reward meeting is a trapdoor, and memory arrives when exit is the only move left.
In Today's Words:
Buckingham asks whether he made Richard king for this contempt, tells himself to think on Hastings, and flees. Recognition often arrives after the door closes, not before. When a former kingmaker is told the leader is not in the vein to pay promises, run while your head is still on your shoulders.
Thematic Threads
Pause as Disqualification
In This Chapter
Buckingham asks breath before consenting; Richard immediately seeks Tyrrell and later dismisses the earldom suit
Development
The man who staged Richard's rise learns Hastings's lesson one meeting too late
In Your Life:
If your first no or not yet after a plain ugly order costs you the room, the leader was measuring compliance, not judgment.
Pity Spent, Sin Compounding
In This Chapter
Richard says he is so far in blood that sin will pluck on sin and pity dwells not in his eye
Development
Murder of the princes leads straight to Anne's rumored sickness and wooing Elizabeth
In Your Life:
When someone says pity is gone, treat the next harm as scheduled, not hypothetical.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
This is not a test. Five prompts guide you through the chapter, from how it opens to how it closes, so you notice context and rhythm rather than facts to memorize. Sit with each question in your own words. When you see "One way to read it," treat it as a starting point, not the only answer.
- 1
Why does Richard say he plays the touch on Buckingham before naming the bastards dead?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
Richard tests whether Buckingham will say plainly that Edward's sons should die. The touch is a loyalty probe before Richard names the murder he wants performed.
- 2
What changes in Richard's behavior the moment Buckingham asks for pause?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
Richard gnaws his lip and calls Buckingham circumspect. Hesitation converts a crown-maker into a liability, and Richard immediately seeks a replacement who will not ask for time.
- 3
How does Richard's sin will pluck on sin speech explain his plans for Anne and Elizabeth?
application • mediumOne way to read it
Richard says pity dwells not in his eye and one crime requires the next. Killing the princes leads to rumored sickness for Anne, marriage to his niece, and further sin to secure the line.
- 4
Why does Tyrrell's report emphasize that even the killers wept?
application • deepOne way to read it
Dighton and Forrest weeping like children marks the massacre as piteous even to hired hands. The horror exceeds Richard's appetite; he commissions what conscience still touches in others.
- 5
When have you seen someone replaced immediately after hesitating on a hard order?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
Pause on a hard order signals you are not fully owned. Leaders who demand instant complicity hire outsiders and exile insiders, as Buckingham flees toward Brecknock while Tyrrell takes the deed.
Critical Thinking Exercise
The Loyalty Test Analysis
Richard tests Buckingham with a plain murder request and replaces him when he pauses. Think of a time when hesitation cost someone an alliance or role.
Consider:
- •What is the difference between needing time to think and being disqualified?
- •How do leaders signal that pause equals betrayal?
- •What does hiring an outsider reveal about the insider who paused?
- •How does Richard's dismissal of Buckingham connect to Hastings?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when asking for pause changed how someone powerful treated you. What happened next?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 16: Act IV, Scene 3: The Mothers' Curses
Margaret emerges to claim supremacy in grief; Elizabeth and the Duchess curse Richard as the mothers finally name what he has done.
