Act V Sc. iii, line 108-116

O Thou, whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye;
Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with heavy fall
The usurping helmets of our adversaries!
Make us thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise thee in victory!
To thee I do commend my watchful soul,
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes:
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!


Act V Sc. iii, line 216-219

By the apostle Paul, shadow to-night
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.


Act V Sc iii, line 240-242, 252-254, 263-264

God and our good cause fight upon our side;
The prayers of holy saints and wronged souls,
Like high rear’d bulwarks, stand before our faces
…
One that hath ever been God’s enemy:
Then if you fight against God’s enemy,
God will in justice ward you as his soldiers;
...
Then in the name of God and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords.


Act V Sc iv, line 9-10, 13

I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die.
…
A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!


Act V Sc v, line 1-2

God and your arms be praised, virtuous friends!
The day is ours; the blood dog is dead.


Act V Sc. v, line 20-21, 31-41

Smile heaven upon this fair conjunction,
That long have frown’d upon their enmity!
…
By God’s fair ordinance conjoin together!
And let their heirs, God, if thy well be so,
Enrich the time to come with smooth-faced peace,
With smiling plenty and fair prosperous days!
Abate the edge of traitors, gracious lord,
That would reduce these bloody days again,
And make poor England weep in streams of blood!
Let them not live to taste this faire land’s peace!
Now Civil wounds are stopp’d, peace lives again:
That she may live long here, God say amen!






Act V Sc. iii, line 108-116

O Thou, whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye;
Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with heavy fall
The usurping helmets of our adversaries!
Make us thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise thee in victory!
To thee I do commend my watchful soul,
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes:
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!


In this excerpt, Richmond is praying to God to help protect his troops and himself, as well as come out victorious over Richard. This passage is particularly Providential because it strongly underlines the Medieval thought that God is in complete control of the future and only he can change the outcome. As well, it emphasizes the notion that God is almighty and will reward his loyal followers, seeing as how Richmond is absolutely devoted to God and doing what is considered to be ‘God’s will’. This can also be interpreted as Providential v.s Machiavellian trains of thought. Since Machiavellians place all their belief in humans and power of rule, God has no place deciding the outcome of anything. To Machiavellians, humans decide their own fate though power. So, seeing as how Richmond is begging God for victory, thus, placing all his trust in God’s will, this passage is clearly Providential.





Act V Sc iv, line 9-10, 13

I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die.
…
A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!


Even though Richard begun the play being undeniably Machiavellian, his last words of the play clearly prove he became a believer in the Providential. Having Richard say he ‘set [his] life upon a cast’, he explains how he no longer believes he controls his life, but how now whether he lives of dies is all up to the ‘hazard of a die’ or a higher power. As if his life were a game of Craps, his victory or defeat over Richmond would all depend on a pair of invisible dice, cast by Lady Luck or God. Moreover, these lines are extremely important due to the fact they were his last, meaning throughout the duration of the play, he saw the errors of his evil, tyrannous ways. Providentiality won out in the end as one of the most Machiavellian and cruel tyrants in recorded literature finally came to the realization a higher power truly did exist and in essence, pulled the strings of this brilliant play.

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