Page:Richard III (1927) Yale.djvu/191

Life and Death of Richard the Third performed at St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1579, and ''The True Tragedie of Richard III, with the conjunction and joining of the two noble houses, Lancaster and Yorke; as it was playd by the Queenes Maiesties Players. 1594''.

Shakespeare owes little or nothing to Dr. Legge's play. There has been considerable difference of opinion concerning the relation of Shakespeare's play to the True Tragedie. In general, it is safe to say that there are certain resemblances, such as Richard's cry for "A horse, a horse, a fresh horse," but that Shakespeare's indebtedness hardly extends beyond a few hints. Artistically and dramatically the two plays are from pole to pole apart.

To sum up, Shakespeare's conception of Richard's character consistently follows More; for his incidents, the dramatist used the second edition of Holinshed, inspired perhaps in his choice of subject by the success of the True Tragedie. The passages from Holinshed quoted in the notes will illustrate Shakespeare's use of his principal source.