of King Henry VI ’ s incompetent rule as well . In other words , it is not only the evil Richard who has brought down the land to chaos and ruin , but also the good but incapable and illegitimated Henry .
In order to scapegoat Richard , among other things , Shakespeare especially focuses on three phenomena : one is the coming of the women of the two warring houses together as a result of Richard ’ s crimes against their beloved husbands , sons , brothers , etc .; another is the emergence of the supernatural against Richard and in favor of Richmond , manifested in the rise and union of the dead of the two houses , again supposedly as a result of Richard ’ s evil , as well as the natural omens that bode badly for Richard ; and another is through constructing an indirect dialogue between Richard and Richmond , in effect contrasting them with each other , exposing the evil of the former against the good of the latter . These phenomena , of course , are all rooted in the concept of the residual ; and this is the play in which all the residual grievances of around a century come to a head . In other words , while the residual is pretty much present in this play , it is eventually resolved through the Lancastrians ’ cooperation with the Yorkists against the person of Richard .
With regard to the women , Shakespeare portrays an elaborate scene in Act 4 , Scene 4 . As Queen Margaret , Henry VI ’ s widow , is lamenting for her loss in the background , Queen Elizabeth , King Edward VI ’ s widow , and Duchess of York , Richard Plantagenet ’ s widow and King Edward and King Richard ’ s mother , enter in the foreground , starting to lament the death of King Edward ’ s sons , the Princes in the Tower , and Richard Plantagenet ’ s sons , Rutland and Clarence . As they mourn and shed tears , Margaret in the background counts the Yorkist dead
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