The exact words
The line everyone cuts in half
Richard III begins with its villain alone on stage, talking to the audience. His first words are among the most famous in Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York.” Most people quote only the first line, as if “now” were a time of misery. Read as one sentence, it says the opposite. The winter is over. “Now” the family’s discontent has been made glorious summer.
The “son of York” is Richard’s brother Edward IV, the son of Richard, Duke of York, who has won the Wars of the Roses and taken the throne. Edward’s badge was the “sun in splendor,” so the line is a pun: son and sun. The First Folio prints “son,” and many modern editions print “sun.” Shakespeare means both.
Why Richard hates the summer
The speech goes on to describe the peace. The York family’s armor is hung up as decoration, war’s stern alarms have turned into merry meetings, and soldiers now dance in ladies’ chambers to the music of the lute. Richard, who describes himself as deformed and “not shaped for sportive tricks,” has no place in this happy world. So he decides “to prove a villain,” and tells the audience his plan to set his brothers against each other and clear his own path to the crown.
The opening is a brilliant piece of theatre. The audience meets the villain before anyone else and becomes his confidant, which makes his crimes more chilling as the play goes on.
How the phrase took on a new meaning
Because the first half sounds so gloomy, it has been used for centuries to describe hard times. In Britain, the wave of public-sector strikes in the winter of 1978–79 became known as the “Winter of Discontent,” and the phrase is now firmly associated with misery. John Steinbeck also used it for the title of his 1961 novel The Winter of Our Discontent. There is nothing wrong with borrowing it, but in writing about the play, quote both lines so the meaning is clear.
What people get wrong
“Now is the winter of our discontent” means we are in a time of misery.
The sentence continues “made glorious summer.” Richard is saying the winter is over. He hates the peace because it leaves him nothing to do but plot.
Timeline
- 1471Edward IV of the House of York wins the Wars of the Roses battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury and secures the throne.
- c. 1593Shakespeare writes Richard III, the last play in his sequence about the Wars of the Roses.
- Act 1, Scene 1Edward's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, opens the play alone on stage, describing the peace and then revealing his plan to seize the crown.
- 1978–79Britain's wave of strikes is nicknamed the “Winter of Discontent,” cementing the gloomy reading of the phrase.
Use it in a speech
Questions people ask
What does “Now is the winter of our discontent” mean?
In full, “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York”: the unhappy times have been turned into glorious summer by the new king, Edward IV.
Is it “sun of York” or “son of York”?
Both, as a pun. Edward was the son of the Duke of York, and his badge was a sun in splendor. The First Folio spells it “son”; many modern editions print “sun.”
Who says it?
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the future Richard III, in the opening speech of the play.
Why is the phrase linked to strikes in Britain?
The British press called the wave of strikes in 1978–79 the “Winter of Discontent,” using only the first half of the line.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.