Yap

One winter morning Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see.
 Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day

Yap

Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again. 
André Gide

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Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
Mark Twain

There is no distinctly American criminal class, except Congress.
Mark Twain

YAP

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

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The Eskimos had 52 names for snow because it was important to them; there ought to be as many for love. 
Margaret Atwood

YAP

"O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being.
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing."
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Yap

But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
William Shakespeare, Richard III

Richard III Found

After 500 years, people are still fascinated by Richard III.  The mysteries of his reign and death still intrigue, and Shakespear's play keeps the story current.  Indeed there are energetic partisans on both sides of the Richard was a good/bad king debate.  His hold on the imagination remains strong enough that there has not been another English king named Richard since.

Despite the two recent developments in the story of Richard, he remains an enigma.  The likely discovery of his body, and the true site of the battle at Bosworth field (found in 2010) can tell us little new about his deeds, motives or psychology.

Its true he was slandered by the Tudors, anxious to demonize Richard in order to strengthen their shaky legitimacy.  But that doesn't mean he wasn't a bad man.  He did have his nephews declared bastards, he did execute William Hastings, he did persecute the Woodvilles and most importantly, he did allow harm to come to his nephews who were under his care and protection.   Ultimately, his claim to the throne required his nephews out of the picture.  His legitimacy is thus tied to their deaths in the Tower (I view the bodies found in 1674 as probably the princes).

But the main thing about Richard is Shakespear's play.  Without that, he would be as one dimensional as any other English Medieval king.  Which image is more compelling, the stern man in the portait above, or the skulking, charming villain embodied by Olivier below?

But Shakespeare wrote for the ages, not simply the Tudors.  He used Richard to present a view of how power is acquired, used and kept.  In particular, how Richard's talents for getting power by guile were overwhelmed by his inability to wield it effectively or defend it.  Shakespeare shows that without legitimacy, the crown is an empty vehicle.  And Richard, because of his sins, could not hold it.

At this remove, it is clear that Richard was the last Medieval king of England.  The dynastic squabbles that had consumed England for 200 years came to an end with him, the ultimate product of that environment.  Although there were rebellions and pretenders aplenty thereafter, none ever came close to derailing a sitting English monarch.  The only two removed subsequently (Charles 1 and James II) lost their thrones due to politics, not dynastic disputes. 

So you have to separate Richard the man from Richard the Shakespeare character.  Because Shakespeare wasn't writing history.  His Richard was a caricature of the real king, a vehicle for Shakespeare's moral tale.  And the more compelling his caricature, the more relevant the morality.  In any case, the historical mysteries that fascinate are those who's answers lie tantalizingly out of reach.  Where just one more bit is needed to complete an otherwise confusing puzzle.  After 500 years, I think that's the way Richard will remain.  Just out of reach.

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BTW, the Olivier movie is terrific.  I've written about it before.

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UPDATE!
February 4, 2013.
Scientists confirm the body was Richard's. 

Faves: Paradise Lost

Watercolour illustration of Paradise Lost by William Blake

I downloaded an audio book of Paradise Lost by John Milton.  This is the kind of thing I'd never read as the language is too difficult and obscure.  What put it in mind was news of a new translation of the work, into English.  Anyway, listening is a lot easier than reading.  Its an amazing work of imagination.  Describe the Fall of Man in 240 pages of blank verse.  Milton takes paragraphs from The Bible and spins them into pages of story. The book's reader was very good as well.  The torrent can be found here .  Interestingly, I found it because it was on Pirate Bay's Hot 100 audio books.  There was an enormous interest in the torrent.  The 139MB download generated more than 1GB of upload in three days.  This may be the most popular audio book on The Pirate Bay.  This audio book is not readily available through Amazon or other online retailers.  It would appear that downloading is the only way to get it.