Question

Which aspect of analysis would be most appropriate for this excerpt from act I scene I, of Shakespeare's Richard III?

RICHARD III (Duke of Gloucester): What news abroad?

LORD HASTINGS: No news so bad abroad as this at home;
The King is sickly, weak and melancholy,
And his physicians fear him mightily.

RICHARD III (Duke of Gloucester): Now, by Saint Paul, this news is bad indeed.
O, he hath kept an evil diet long,
And overmuch consumed his royal person:
'Tis very grievous to be thought upon.
What, is he in his bed?

LORD HASTINGS: He is.

RICHARD III (Duke of Gloucester): Go you before, and I will follow you.
[Exit HASTINGS]
He cannot live, I hope; and must not die
Till George be pack'd with post-horse up to heaven.
I'll in, to urge his hatred more to Clarence,
With lies well steel'd with weighty arguments;
And, if I fall not in my deep intent,
Clarence hath not another day to live:
Which done, God take King Edward to his mercy,
And leave the world for me to bustle in!
For then I'll marry Warwick's youngest daughter.
What though I kill'd her husband and her father?
The readiest way to make the wench amends
Is to become her husband and her father:
The which will I; not all so much for love
As for another secret close intent,
By marrying her which I must reach unto.

(Exit)

A.
the development of the character of Lord Hastings in the play
B.
the characterization of Richard III as a concerned brother
C.
the use of soliloquy as a tool of foreshadowing in the play
D.
the portrayal of marriage in the play

Answer 1

The best aspect of analysis for this excerpt would be option "C. The use of soliloquy as a tool of foreshadowing in the play."

Richard applies soliloquies in order to let everybody in the audience know what his thoughts are.

In this specific excerpt, Richard explains that he needs George to die previous to Edward, and he also says he wants to marry Warwick's daughter- even after having killed her husband and father.-

Answer 2

The correct answer is C. This passage from Shakespeare's work clearly shows a situation in which Richard III uses the soliloquy as a foreshadowing tool to anticipate the reader about his plans for his brother and sister-in-law.

A soliloquy (from Latin solo "to oneself" + loquor "I talk") is a device often used in drama when a character speaks to him- or herself, relating thoughts and feelings, thereby also sharing them with the audience, giving off the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections. If other characters are present, they keep silent and/or are disregarded by the speaker. Though it should be said that sometimes, depending on the performance, a monologue that is written as a soliloquy, will be addressed directly to the audience. And sometimes it is hard to tell if what is being heard is a monologue, or a duologue or a soliloquy; in which case choosing the right term may be a matter of interpretation.