Richard III as a Successful Politician

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Richard III as a Successful Politician

Shakespeare's Richard III is set in England after the War of the

Roses. Richard, the megalomanic eponymous character, is desperate for

the throne of England. He tells us that he seeks the crown to

compensate for his deformity (he was a hunchback from birth). Richard

has his own brother killed and later has former allies and those who

still stood in his way killed also. When Richard eventually gains the

throne he finds his conscience and begins to feel insecure, he has the

two Princes he has locked away killed. Nobles are horrified by his

actions and establish a rebel force lead by Richmond. During the

Battle of Bosworth FieldRichard is defeated and killed in hand to hand

combat with Richmond, who then takes the throne and becomes King of

England.

The word 'political' can have more than one meaning. The Oxford

English Dictionary has a few definitions of political and politician:

1. Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of

government, politics, or the state.

2. Relating to, involving, or characteristic of politics or

politicians:

3. Interested or active in politics.

4. Having or influenced by partisan interests: The court should never

become a political institution.

5. Based on or motivated by partisan or self-serving objectives: a

purely political decision.

1. One who is actively involved in politics, especially party

politics.

2. One who seeks personal or partisan gain, often by scheming and by

manoeuvring

Richard has shown several of these characteristics and so can be

described as a political character....

... middle of paper ...

...d, therefore, that Richard was not a

success as he was killed although he failed militarily rather than

politically and had succeeded up to that point. As Richard failed as a

soldier, he could still be called a successful politician.

Political could also mean artful, ingenious, unscrupulous and cunning

all of which can be applied to Richard at some point during the play.

Richard is sly and gets away with treason, a crime punishable with

death, he manages to put the blame on other people and avoid

punishment himself. This could be considered successful, as he was

never caught.

Going back to the criteria for a politician it can be said that

Richard is definitely a politician "one who seeks personal or partisan

gain, often by scheming and by manoeuvring" but it is difficult to say

whether he was successful or not.

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