To say absolute power corrupts absolutely is fitting in describing the greed, hatred, betrayal and misery experienced and caused by Richard and Oberon, in William Shakespeare’s Richard III and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Richard is a villainous, evil and degenerate character whose personal goal is to achieve total power. Oberon, as well, demonstrates a wicked streak that attacks and almost devastates those around him. Richard attains power in Richard III by being ruthless, murderous, and devious and Oberon, on the other hand in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, makes use of magic, trickery and cunning in an attempt to gain dominance. Richard exploits his relationship with Queen Elizabeth and Buckingham to further his desire to become king, while Oberon manipulates his relationship with Titania and Puck to maintain his authority. Both men are self-serving and seek their power through dominance in their gender and friend relationships.

Both Oberon and Richard face their worlds and both choose to take control albeit in very different ways, much like their struggles with their female counterparts. Oberon confronts the stubborn and independent Titania, while Richard deals with the perceptive and uncompromising Queen Elizabeth. Despite the fact that both are kings and as such command a certain authority, Oberon’s dominance over Titania is at best superficial, while Richard commands control over Queen Elizabeth. For Oberon, Titania is a serious threat. She possesses powers, minions and a title that rival his own. As much as he tries, Oberon cannot force his will onto Titania, without resorting to magic and devious machinations. He states, “Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?” To which she replies, “Then I must be thy lady” (AMND, II, i, 63-64). Oberon and Titania squabble over a stolen changeling boy Titania refuses to hand over to Oberon. The result of their quarrelling could not be any more evident as Titania has apparently, “forsworn [Oberon’s] bed and company”(AMND, II, i, 62). Even for a proud and stubborn king, the effects of the loss of his queen are evident as he makes the desperate plea, “Give me the boy, and I shall go with thee”(AMND, II, i, 143). Likewise, the only method Oberon has at his disposal in the conquering of Titania is to drug her while she sleeps so that, “the next thing she waking looks upon,/ Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,/ On meddling monkey, or on busy ape,/ She shall pursue it with the soul of love” (AMND, II, i, 179-182). Although drugging is rather extreme, cases of his jealous nature are well documented by Titania. When Oberon accuses and berates her for being in love with Theseus, Titania snaps, “thy brawls thou hast disturb’d our sport”(AMND, II, i, 87). Even after he removes the love-spell from Titania, Oberon still comes out the loser. Oberon’s attempts to control Titania have proven futile.

Unlike Oberon, Richard has a strong grasp on his situation with Queen Elizabeth. Although she is suspicious and clearly does not trust Richard, Queen Elizabeth is powerless to stop his cruel sweep of villainy. Richard kills her children in a bloody and vindictive assassination. Later, Queen Elizabeth can only curse, “That bottled spider, that foul bunch-back'd toad!”(Richard III, IV, iv, 80). Richard, knowing perfectly well Queen Elizabeth is a worthy enemy, keeps her in her place. Richard utilizes his trump card when talking to Queen Elizabeth: her children. His deceptively kind offer to, “Advance [her] children” (Richard III, IV, iv, 245) is nothing but a ruse. It is a faint threat conveyed under the veiled guise of assistance. Richard masterfully states he will marry young Elizabeth even though her mother, Queen Elizabeth, loathes him for “[Slaying Elizabeth’s] brothers”(Richard III, IV, iv, 277). Sadly, Queen Elizabeth is helpless and must obey Richard. It is through the subtle yet evident chain of power that the clear differences between power and gender are fully realized in both of Shakespeare’s plays.

On the other hand, when it comes to friendship, Oberon has the obvious advantage over Richard. Whereas Richard wages an overt war against Richmond to preserve his title, Oberon uses Love Juice from a flower pierced by Cupid’s arrow and brought to him by Puck, his roguish and loyal servant. Richard, unfortunately, does not have the loyalty and unconditional allegiance that Oberon is fortunate to have with Puck. Oberon and Puck are a team, partners if you will. Puck, “[jests] to Oberon, and [makes] him smile” and does Oberon’s bidding (AMND, II, i, 50). Oberon makes use of his friendship with the trickster fairy in a positive manner since both parties benefit from the partnership. Oberon has a deep-rooted trust in the impish fairy and therefore relies on him to fetch the flower to make the Love Juice. Consequently, Puck plays a pivotal role in Oberon’s master plan. Even when Puck makes a grave error and spikes Lysander’s eyes with the Love Juice, precipitating a further complication when he falls in love with Helena, Oberon remains by his side, correcting the mistake himself.

Conversely, Richard makes the most of his friendship with Buckingham in a disastrous manner. Richard gives Buckingham an unspoken ultimatum with a reward for his loyalty attached to it. Richard promises Buckingham the Earldom of Hereford if he carries out the murders of the two innocent princes that stand in his way of complete control of England. Although Buckingham is disturbed by this request, he later retorts, “ [I] have consider’d in my mind/The late request you did sound me in” (Richard III, IV, ii, 90-93). Buckingham’s integrity will not let him kill two innocent children even in the face of a dreaded king. Richard double-crosses him and it is only after Buckingham realizes Richard is using him, that he declares: “and is it thus? repays he my deep service/With such contempt? made I him king for this?” (Richard III, IV, ii, 124-125). Inevitably Richard amasses far too much power and despite the close relationship that the two have, Richard executes him. Subsequently, without Buckingham’s calculated support, Richard continues his desperate yet futile battle to maintain some semblance of power. Furthermore, when he begs Fate to help his cause, it is evident that he cannot escape the impending death sentence and is vanquished by his nemesis, Richmond. Accordingly, friendship is a major factor in both Oberon’s and Richard’s thirst for success.

The desire for ultimate power is strong in both Richard and Oberon. Both characters have positions of inscrutable power and the sphere of influence that touch on all aspects of life. Their ruthlessness and blatant disregard for those around them demonstrate that their ambitions and drives for all encompassing power, are in fact all consuming. Through the actions and interactions of both Richard and Oberon with their entourage of followers, Shakespeare demonstrates that the gender and friend relationships are important in the maintenance of the hierarchy of power.

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