What is Shakespeare's reason for having the young princes turn Richard's language against him in Act 3 of Richard III?Richard's language is his...

In Act 3, scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Richard
III (1st Riverside edition), the young princes – particularly the young Duke
of York – show that they are almost as clever and as talented in the use of language as
is their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard, after all, prides himself on his
verbal dexterity, as when he congratulates himself, in an aside, by saying “I moralize
two meanings in one word” (3.1.83). The young Prince Edward has already shown himself
skilled in rhetoric as well, particularly when speaking about Julius Caesar (3.1.68-71,
75-78). Richard himself seems genuinely impressed by the youthful prince’s wit, as when
he says in an aside “So wise so young, they say do never live long” (3.1.79). His first
four words – the words before the comma – might at first seem a compliment, but the
words that follow the comma emphasize his evil
intentions.

The verbal wit that the princes display allows
Shakespeare to

• make Richard seem jealous, even
  of children


• make Richard feel threatened, even by
  children


• make Richard nakedly reveal, in his asides, his
  own evil nature, in contrast to the virtue of the
  princes


• make Richard demonstrate his own verbal dexterity
  and counter-cunning


• make Richard reveal once more his
  skills as an actor


• suggest that if the princes are
  allowed to grow older, they may potentially be quite resourceful opponents of
  Richard


• suggest that if the princes – even at this age –
  are allowed to address many English aristocrats and commoners, they may be very
  persuasive and win genuine loyalty


• suggest that the
  princes, even at this age, resemble their mother in character and intelligence and are
  thus real threats to Richard (3.1.156)

It is,
of course, York’s joking about Richard’s misshapen back that really seems to bother
Richard:

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Uncle, my brother mocks both you and
me:

Because that I am little, like an
ape,

He thinks that you should bear me on your shoulders. 
(3.1.129-31).

In some
productions of the play, this moment is presented as an especially dark turning point in
Richard’s relations with the princes. Meanwhile, Buckingham is shocked but also
impressed by York’s remark (3.1.132-35), calling the young prince “cunning” and thus a
potential rival, someday, to Richard himself – if, that is, York is allowed to
live.

Richard cannot, at this point, deal with the princes
as openly or violently as he would like, especially since he is surrounded by witnesses
before whom he must perform.  The death of the princes must take place in secret, so
that few can know of Richard’s real feelings and his actual responsibility for their
murders.