What does “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorius summer by this sun of York” mean?
Basically, he is saying that the time of our unhappiness is past, and a better day seems to be ahead. Shakespeare, here is using Richard III to personify his view of the state of the English nation during the Wars of the Roses. Origin Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York was coined by Shakespeare and put into print in Richard III, 1594. The ‘sun of York’ wasn’t of course a comment on Yorkshire weather but on King Richard. In this play Shakespeare presents an account of Richard’s character that, until the late 20th century, largely formed the popular opinion of him as a malevolent, deformed schemer. Historians now view that representation as a dramatic plot device – necessary for the villainous role that Shakespeare had allocated him. It isn’t consistent with what is now known of Richard III, who in many ways showed himself to be an enlightened and forward-looking monarch. “Now is the winter of our discontent” are the opening words of the play an
