Richard III, Act 5 Scene 2 runs 24 lines of dialogue, spoken by 4 speakers. That is shorter than the play’s average scene length of about 148 lines. This scene is part of Act 5 of Richard III.
Full Dialogue
Richmond ♂
Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends,
Bruised underneath the yoke of tyranny,
Thus far into the bowels of the land
Have we march'd on without impediment;
And here receive we from our father Stanley
Lines of fair comfort and encouragement.
The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar,
That spoil'd your summer fields and fruitful vines,
Swills your warm blood like wash, and makes his trough
In your embowell'd bosoms, this foul swine
Lies now even in the centre of this isle,
Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn
From Tamworth thither is but one day's march.
In God's name, cheerly on, courageous friends,
To reap the harvest of perpetual peace
By this one bloody trial of sharp war.
Bruised underneath the yoke of tyranny,
Thus far into the bowels of the land
Have we march'd on without impediment;
And here receive we from our father Stanley
Lines of fair comfort and encouragement.
The wretched, bloody, and usurping boar,
That spoil'd your summer fields and fruitful vines,
Swills your warm blood like wash, and makes his trough
In your embowell'd bosoms, this foul swine
Lies now even in the centre of this isle,
Near to the town of Leicester, as we learn
From Tamworth thither is but one day's march.
In God's name, cheerly on, courageous friends,
To reap the harvest of perpetual peace
By this one bloody trial of sharp war.
Oxford ♂
Every man's conscience is a thousand swords,
To fight against that bloody homicide.
To fight against that bloody homicide.
Herbert ♂
I doubt not but his friends will fly to us.
Blunt ♂
He hath no friends but who are friends for fear.
Which in his greatest need will shrink from him.
Which in his greatest need will shrink from him.
Richmond ♂
All for our vantage. Then, in God's name, march:
True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings:
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.
True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings:
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.
24 lines rendered verbatim from the dialogue corpus.
Who’s On Stage
Speaking characters in this scene
| Character | Lines | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 19 | 79.2% |
| Oxford | 2 | 8.3% |
| Blunt | 2 | 8.3% |
| Herbert | 1 | 4.2% |
Line distribution
The top speaker in this scene delivers 19 lines, while the scene’s average per speaker is about 6 lines.
Total speakers on stage
4 named characters speak in this scene.
Scene in Context
Position within Act 5
This is Scene 2 of 5 in Act 5 of Richard III.
Scene length vs. play average
At 24 lines, this scene is shorter than the Richard III average scene in Richard III (~148 lines).
Adjacent scenes
Previous: Act 5 Scene 1 · Next: Act 5 Scene 3