The Dramaturgy of Tyranny: More's "Richard III" and Sackville's "Complaint of Buckingham"

Abstract

Tudor England was a unique culture in many respects, not least of which because it allowed, even encouraged, a man of politics to be as well a man of letters. Within certain limits, a man of letters could respond creatively to political issues of great concern to this culture. But the list of those who achieved a high degree of success in both politics and literature is brief because each of these endeavors demanded a special blend of imagination, command of language, dedication, courage, and sensitivity. Two men who epitomized this Tudor synthesis of politics and literature were Thomas More and Thomas Sackville, men whose careers offer some interesting parallels. In addition to biographical parallels, there is a context in which we can compare the two as literary artists. That context is the handling of the theme of tyranny in More's History of King Richard III and Sackville's Complaint of Henry, Duke of Buckingham. In these works, More and Sackville create a dramatic vision of tyranny and its corrosive effects, and we can draw certain parallels between their treatments of this theme. Before demonstrating this literary commonality, however, I wish to trace briefly the similarities of their careers, and suggest that the environments in which they matured seem to have nurtured within them a profound concern for tyranny and civil disorder, a concern that may well have led them to dramatize such political evils. The first parallel is that both attained political stature as young men and maintained it for several decades. Recall, for example, that More was a member of Parliament before he was twenty-five. Later, his public service included being undersheriff of London, member of a trade mission to Flanders, councilior and judge in the Court of Requests, and Under-treasurer. In 1523 he was elected speaker of the House of Commons, and, of course, in 1529 he was made Lord Chancellor of England. It was, in short, an enviable career, for More was as much devoted to his country and his king as his conscience would allow. I