Sacred oaths and Biblical invocations (kind of an understatement, and you will see why) are all over Shakespeare’s plays.  During my first experiences with Shakespeare, I made a big deal out of sacred oaths and before realizing that it’s in the language, which, as I will demonstrate, is not to suggest a wholly arbitrary use of this language.  In fact, Shakespeare uses sacred oaths as he would any other language.  However, Richard III was the first time I heard a character swear by Saint Paul.  Richard does this repeatedly.  Whether it’s through a muffled mockery of holiness or a sincere conviction of heart, Richard’s psychological mirroring of the Apostle Paul (his philosophies) helps shed light on his psyche.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Shakespeare frames the history of The Tragedy of King Richard the Third with the Biblical account of King Saul and David.  No matter the amount of creative liberties and narrative stretches we conjecture Shakespeare took in writing this history play, the basic outcomes are fixed.  That being said, there are striking similarities between the story of civil war in Richard III and King Saul’s fall, but Shakespeare constructs character and driving plot after this Biblical account.  There are, of course, small differences between the two.  And this is not a mere lens to analyze the play, it is written into the play by Shakespeare and there is loads and loads of concrete evidence (of which I cannot cover in full here).  Even the ostensible themes of tyrannical and anointed monarchy in this Biblical story are reflected in the play.

Here is a quick summary of the Biblical account: The Israelites, unhappy with their ruling judges, desire a king to judge and lead them.  With God’s provision, the prophet Samuel reluctantly anoints Saul.  God tells Samuel that the Israelites haven’t rejected Samuel, but God himself.  Samuel warns the people that a king will be tyrannical, tirelessly take from them, and make them his servants (1 Samuel 8:11-18).  Soon King Saul disobeys God.  Samuel tells his that God will soon appoint another.  God curses Saul with an “evil spirit,” which causes psychological distress (16:14-23).  The next anointed is young David, who is later said to be a man after God’s own heart (13:14; Acts 13:22).  King Saul becomes jealous of the successful David, who marries Saul’s daughter) and continually tries to kill him.  Eventually, David takes refuge with the Israelites enemy, the Philistines (both lived in the same region, land of Canaan).  The Philistines and Israelites fight and Saul kills himself in battle.

Now, there’s so much to break down here.  Much of Richard’s character features and actions are a mirror image of Saul.  Shakespeare makes it overwhelmingly evident with specific allusions to the Bible.  One notable allusion is Richard’s tyranny.  And one display of this is when he yells, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” (5.4.13).  In the Bible, Samuel warns the Israelites that the king will “take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots” (1 Samuel 8:11).  The king will make the people his “instruments of war, and his instruments of his chariots” (8:12).  Another specific allusion is the curses put on Richard by Queen Margaret, which is similar even in language to the “evil spirit” God puts on King Saul.  Queen Margaret calls Richard a “cacodemon,” which is synonymous with “evil spirit.”  Perhaps a more striking similarity is Saul seeking a witch to conjure up Samuel’s ghost, who warns Saul that he and his sons will die fighting the Philistines.  Richard is visited by the ghosts of those he has killed, who prophesy Richmond’s kingship and Richard’s fall.

There are many other small identifiers in the Biblical text that Shakespeare uses.  For instance, Richard says his “conscience hath a thousand several tongues” (5.3.191).  Thousand is used repeatedly in regard to Richard.  Biblical text says, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (18:7).  Accordingly, ten thousands is used in regard to Richmond.  As battle nears, Richard says, “shadows tonight / Have struck more terror to the soul of Richard / Than can the substance of ten thousand soldiers / Armed in proof and led by shallow Richmond” (5.3.214-17).  Moreover, the phrase “armed in proof,” while referring to the strength of Richmond, is a clever pun that refers to proof as God-ordained (anointed).  It’s even richer when considering the phrase as “impenetrable armor,” which is what it is to have God on your side.  Richmond is regarded as a man after God’s own heart: “O Thou whose captain I account myself” (5.3.106).  He declares Richard as “God’s enemy” and continually says “in God’s name.”  David’s army, like Richmond’s, was built with unhappy Israelites who revolt against their king.  David was crowned after the war and so was Richmond.  Richmond calls the end of the civil war and uniting of the royal families “God’s fair ordinance.”  And in the Bible, it was God’s ordinance that David heal the Israelites and become king.

I’ve run out of words.  If you are interested in diving further, look towards the writings of Saint Paul for a stunning depiction of Richard’s psyche.