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Richard III

            Richard the Duke of Gloucester and eventually crowned King Richard III is deformed in body and twisted in mind. Being the villain of the play, he is evil, corrupt, treacherous, and manipulative, and will stop at nothing to become king. His intelligence, political brilliance, and smooth use of language keep the audience fascinated and his victims under his manipulative power.
             The opening scene has Richard addressing the audience through a soliloquy. This establishes the setting and context of the play while drawing the audience's sympathy towards Richard who mocks himself and his deformities. In this Richard also reveals his true nature; his plot to stop at nothing for the throne; his evil and treacherous side. The audience of Richard III experiences a complex, ambiguous, and highly changeable relationship with Richard. .
             Richard speaks of the war and England putting aside their armours to celebrate in peace and happiness. He reveals that because his deformities are what make him resentful and because he cannot be happy he wants to make everybody else miserable. "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days". He further reveals his intentions for seizing power for himself by setting his brothers Edward and Clarence against each other. Richard lures the audience and includes them in his evil schemes which make readers find him fascinating and occasionally overlook his evil side. .
             However, Richard is not as simple and straightforward as his description of himself implies. The true motivations for his evil manipulations remain mysterious. In his soliloquy, he speaks of his bitterness at his deformities. But the play's later scenes show that Richard is physically very active, and is in quite confident in his ability to seduce women. Shakespeare consistently creates the impression that there is more to Richard than we can begin to grasp.


Essays Related to Richard III

1. Richard III and Looking for Richard

In what ways does a comparative study accentuate the distinctive contexts of Richard III and Looking for Richard? ... By studying the connections between Shakespeare's play Richard III and Pacino's adaptation "Looking for Richard", the change in context and respective values are made apparent. Shakespeare's constructs Richard III as propaganda in a strict political and religious society during the Elizabethan era. Thus, Shakespeare portrays Richard as an ambitious and evil character. ... During the production of Richard III, political 'houses' and the significance of t...

  • Word Count: 1029
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Richard III

Tudor propaganda created a monster and named him Richard. ... That rise-fall pattern is clearly seen in King Richard III. ... There is no subplot or conventional romantic interest, for all events are part of Richard's rise and fall. ... Those events are dramatised in the plays that precede King Richard III. ... King Richard III is the last of four plays written by a young Shakespeare that dramatise events between 1455 and 1485: the rivalry between the supporters of King Henry VI and the house of Lancaster...

  • Word Count: 346
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Richard III

Richard III Richard III is a very interesting novel it shows just how much power can get to you especially when you start to due it in the wrong way see this story is about a man who decides since he is unhappy he will make everyone around him miserable, the only problem with that is that this way of thinking soon becomes his downfall due to extreme paranoia. ... Richard in the first act appears to be a very intellectual villain he knows what to do and exactly how to do it in order to persuade people in supporting what he wants. ... In the beginning, people tend to hang on every wo...

  • Word Count: 466
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Shakespeare's Introduction to Richard III

Richard III is an intense exploration of the psychology of evil, and that exploration is centred on and in Richard's mind. Richard seems like a one-sided embodiment of evil. ... But we soon find out that these are not Richard's intentions at all. ... Richard caught Anne at her weakest time. ... Shakespeare's presentation of Richard III is very effective to the play. ...

  • Word Count: 1309
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Richard III

In "JFK" Kevin Costner's character tries to disprove that Oswald killed the president; Grant thinks Richard III an innocent man. ... Tey definitely convinced me that Richard III did not kill his nephews and his character blackened by Henry Tudor. ... Henry was Richard's rival for the throne. ... His image has been blackened in caricatures compiled in the reign of his successful rival, Henry VII, and later adapted by Shakespeare to give birth to the monster portrayed in his play, Richard III (Fraser, 158)." Even Shakespeare contributes to the permanent misunderstanding of Richard...

  • Word Count: 942
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Richard III

But for his usurpation, there is much to commend in the career of Richard III, 1470-85." ... Richard III, a wicked tyrant, an unscrupulous murderer, a deformed hunchback. ... The one thing that is clear is that Richard III is the most controversial of all kings and this controversy may go some way to explaining his extreme reputations. ... But without a doubt, there is strong reason to believe that if Richard III had won at Bosworth, not been killed, he would have gone on to reign England successfully. ... Some six weeks later, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, uncle of the two boys, proclaimed him...

  • Word Count: 1956
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Richard II

In the play Act III,ii Richard states one of the most important phrases of the play, "Not all the water in the rough rude sea/Can wash the balm from an anointed king". ... Richard stresses his reliance on divine rights especially in act III,ii,83, when after he finds out that his army has gone to join Bullingbrook after hearing that Richard is dead he says, " I had forgot myself, am I not king? ... When Richard believes that Bagot, Bushy, and Green have sided with Bullingbrook he remarks, "Three Judases, each one thrice-worse than Judas"(III,ii,131). ... Cubeta says, "For Richard, who has u...

  • Word Count: 1230
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

8. What is a King Without the Hearts of His People?

In Shakespeare's Richard III, Macbeth, Hamlet, and Henry V, he tells the stories of four kings, all different in certain ways. ... Richard III could not win the hearts of the people either. "Mum" (Richard III III.vii.2) was truly the word when it came to Richard III. ... As Richard III goes into battle he knows he will have a problem with his men even he says that he must go and "muster men" (Richard III IV. ... Richard III did a couple of Machiavelli's tenets bad and Claudius was not truly a king. ...

  • Word Count: 763
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Exploring Connections - King Richard III/ Looking for Richard

Consequently, King Richard III & Looking for Richard are connected through their purpose & individual context, which offer an enhanced understanding and enrichment of each text. ... Richard is evidently a key character and ultimately the crucial link connecting King Richard III & Looking for Richard. ... The language of Shakespeare connects both King Richard III & Looking for Richard, enriching the significance of each & enabling both to provide continuous meaning for a range of contexts. ... The textual medium of King Richard III & Looking for Richard is a reflection of the popular culture o...

  • Word Count: 718
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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