What do you think the Duke of Clarence and Lord Hastings contribute to the dramatic power of the play? Support your ideas with details from Shakespeare's writing.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2011). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Candidates should discuss the roles of Clarence and Hastings in contributing to the dramatic power of the play.
2. Focus on Clarence’s death: his prophetic dream, the chilling portrayal of his murder, and the audience’s early insight into Richard’s ruthlessness and ambition.
3. Hastings’s role as an initially loyal supporter of Edward IV and later Richard, his political blindness, and his abrupt execution.
4. Their deaths serve to illustrate Richard’s escalating tyranny and the pervasive fear he instills.
5. They represent key figures in the political landscape of the time, whose removal clears Richard’s path to the throne.
6. Their reactions to Richard’s machinations (Clarence’s fear, Hastings’s initial disbelief and later defiance) build dramatic tension.