What is the name of the character who says “Now is the winter of our discontent”? The speaker is Richard III.
The line opens Richard’s soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Richard III. He explains that the Wars of the Roses have ended and that the Yorkist victory has transformed England’s former “winter” of conflict into a “glorious summer.” Richard, however, feels excluded from the celebrations because of his physical deformity and his belief that he cannot win love through ordinary courtship.
The speech quickly reveals his decision to pursue power through manipulation and violence. He plans to set relatives against one another, remove obstacles to the throne, and create a path to kingship. The opening’s seasonal imagery therefore contrasts public peace with Richard’s private ambition.
The quotation is sometimes misremembered as “the winter of our discontent,” omitting Shakespeare’s opening word, “Now.” It is also associated with John Steinbeck’s 1961 novel The Winter of Our Discontent and with Britain’s 1978–79 “Winter of Discontent,” but both later uses draw on Shakespeare’s line.