Do You Have Any Opinions On The Poem Read At The Reburial Of Richard Iii?

[ErnestVandiver]

In 2015, after Richard Plantagenet ( Richard III )‘s body was found in an unmarked grave, he was given a royal ceremony and reburied.

At the service, a poem by Carol Ann Duffy was read by Benedict Cumberbatch (who, like millions in the UK, is related to Richard, being his third cousin, 16 times removed). Cumberbatch was also about to appear in a TV production.

Do you have any opinions about the poem, the reading of it, or how you feel about this event?

 

Here are the words to the poem:

Richard

My bones, scripted in light, upon cold soil,
a human braille. My skull, scarred by a crown,
emptied of history. Describe my soul
as incense, votive, vanishing; your own
the same. Grant me the carving of my name.

These relics, bless. Imagine you re-tie
a broken string and on it thread a cross,
the symbol severed from me when I died.
The end of time – an unknown, unfelt loss –
unless the Resurrection of the Dead …

or I once dreamed of this, your future breath
in prayer for me, lost long, forever found;
or sensed you from the backstage of my death,
as kings glimpse shadows on a battleground.

[Canary42]

Several years ago I spent a weekend break in Leicester and visited the site of his original grave. While there, a museum attendant saw my interest and came along for a chat and filled me in about all the details of the discovery, a most interesting conversation which considerably enhanced my visit.

 

The poem I thought a little bizarre, a bit like the whole idea of a funeral service, but I suppose the church must interfere if it sees an opportunity for publicity.  Neither was I impressed by Cumberbatch's reading.

Well, you did ask 😊