Queen+Margaret+Ⅰ

= __Old Queen Margaret I__ = By Risa Yamada

Queen Margaret I was born on March 23rd 1430 and died on August 25th 1482. She was the daughter of René I Naples and Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. She was the wife of King Henry VI. Margaret married Henry on May 30th 1445, at the age of 15. She was only 15 at that time but she was known for her beauty, passion and proud, and she knew her duty as a queen, which was to guard the interests of Crown. She had a son named Prince Edward. In the real life, she prepared to take decisions and show leadership, where King Henry VI was led by her, because he was interested in religion and not in military matters.

In the play __Richard III__, she is portrayed as the widow of Henry VI and a mother of Prince Edward. In the Medieval times, when the kings were deposed, usually their children were often killed to remove the royal line of descent to get the throne. But their wives were left alive because women were considered harmless. In the play, Margaret curses the royals and later teaches Elizabeth and Duchess of York how to curse. Because her husband and son were killed by Richard III, she has a helpless and blameless anger toward Richard III.

In Act 1, Old Queen Margaret curses Queen Elizabeth, "And lessened be that small, God I beseech Him! Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me." Margaret is saying that Queen Elizabeth's honor, high rank and position are all owed by her, because she was the one who were in that place until her husband was murdered by Richard III. "Hear me, you wrangling pirates, that fall out in sharing that which you have pilled from me! Which of you trembles not that looks on me? If not, that I am queen, you quake like rebels. Ah, gentle villain, do not turn away." and, "I was, but I do find more pain in banishment than death can yield me here by my abode. A husband and a son thou ow'st to me; and thou a kingdom; all of you, allegiance. The sorrow that I have my right is yours, and all the pleasures you usurp are mine." These two quotes are when Old Queen Margaret is talking to Richard III and Queen Elizabeth about that they had taken all of her privilege to be the queen and kingdom and everything from her.

Old Queen Margaret puts her last appearance in Act 4, Scene 4 and she states that she came to watch the downfall of her enemies, and she will going to fly to France. Here, she lesson Queen Elizabeth and Duchess of York how to curse and leave. As a wife of the dead Henry VI, she represents the plight of women under the power structure of Renaissance England. Also represents the pain in the story, as a widow and a mother of a dead son. She is vital to focus torment the world surrounding Richard III. As a result, Richard III dies and everything around him collapses.