Dreams and Prophecies in Richard III For centuries, prophets have been highly disregarded in society and their messages have been considered no more than hearsay. In William Shakespeare's literary classic Richard III, dreams and prophecies are acknowledged and, at most times, accepted. These two factors are key aspects in the play as they foreshadow the coming deaths, explain how every action has its consequences, and show how the actions of characters exemplify the way that they feel. In many writings, a person's unconscious thoughts and premonitions communicate important details about who they are as human beings in the society. Shakespeare's uses dreams and prophecies to foreshadow events coming later in the play. Near the beginning, …show more content…
Particularly, many of the women turn to cursing as a way to release inner feelings of anger and revenge. Lady Ann hopes that the life of Richard’s future wife is made “More miserable by the life of him” (I.ii 26-27). Not only is this ironic as Lady Anne is his future wife, but it also shows how she feels afraid and indignant towards Richard. These curses are used to show an interesting and insightful perspective into the mind of Lady Anne while also predicting coming events. The Duchess of York also curses Richard, saying “Either [you will] die by God’s just ordinance, Ere from this war thou turn a conqueror,” (IV.iv 184-185) The Duchess of York also doesn’t want Richard to win one of his first battles being a king. Throughout the play, it is clear that she feels disappointed Richard and how he turned out as a person. Not only did he kill both of his brothers, she explains how “ [You know] it well, [you came] on earth to make the earth my hell.” (IV.iv 168-169) Shakespeare uses prophetic curses during the play to show the reasoning behind these people’s actions. Without them, it would be almost impossible to truly show how these characters are feeling and why they felt that