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The complex character of King Richard II
Richard III character analysis
Richard III essays
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Richard III's Usurpation and His Downfall Richards rule was always unstable due to his unlawful usurpation to the throne and his part as far as the public was concerned in the death of the two princes. As a result right from the start he didn't have the trust or support from his country. As soon as he became King people were already plotting against him. After he was crowned he travelled the country trying to raise support by refusing the generous gifts offered to him by various cities. However unknown to him a rebellion was been planned in the South. Buckingham's rebellion in October 1483 highlighted just how deep his country's mistrust went. Instead of the rebellion been engineered by a high ranking noble (Buckingham only joined the rebellion towards its conclusion) it was now initiated by the common people. Alarming to Richard was the large amount of gentry that joined the rising. The rebellion was quickly crushed however as it was poorly organised and morale broke down within the rebels. Henry Stafford Duke of Buckingham was caught and executed by Richard. Richards usurpation of the throne was not the only reason why people did not like or trust him however. Richard, Duke of Gloucester arrested Hastings on a false charge of treason on the 13th June 1483 and had him beheaded without trial (beheading for treason was common for nobility). This alarmed other nobles who were shocked at the speed which Richard was prepared to dispatch people who he though could possible oppose him. Hastings was a well liked noble who had got on incredibly well with Richards brother Edward. This infuriated many nobles as the execution without trial was again unjust. Another cause for his unpopularity was the question of benevolences. When he was crowned Richard promised to stop the use of benevolences as this was particularly disliked by the nobles. However because of the war with Scotland , the threat of Henry and rebellions Richard had to later ask for benevolences once again. This made him even more
Composers throughout various zeitgeists are linked by different representations of universal human concerns, and their texts simultaneously embody certain values and agendas individual to themselves. An exploration of Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) and Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (1996) allows for a greater understanding of the composer’s respective contexts, along with their intended agendas, through the lens of their own societal values and concerns. The manipulation of Richard III’s persona, whether by authorial adaptation of historical sources related to his character, or through the differing views of Richards motives, are universal concepts, that when studied in relation to the differing time periods, accentuates the context and our understanding of recurrent aspects of the human experience.
To explore connections between texts is to heighten understanding of humanity’s progressing values and the underlying relevant themes that continue to engage societies regardless of context. William Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) (RIII) and Al Pacino’s docudrama Looking for Richard (1996) (LFR) demonstrate how opinion is created through comparative study, both explore the struggle for power within differing contexts to determine the duplicity of humanity. Ultimately, despite the divergent eras of composition and textual form, these connections expose the relevant social commentaries of their composers, highlighting innately human values, which remain constant.
The undeniable pursuit for power is Richard’s flaw as a Vice character. This aspect is demonstrated in Shakespeare’s play King Richard III through the actions Richard portrays in an attempt to take the throne, allowing the audience to perceive this as an abhorrent transgression against the divine order. The deformity of Richards arm and back also symbolically imply a sense of villainy through Shakespeare’s context. In one of Richard’s soliloquies, he states how ‘thus like the formal Vice Iniquity/ I moralize two meanings in one word’. Through the use of immoral jargons, Shakespeare emphasises Richard’s tenacity to attain a sense of power. However, Richard’s personal struggle with power causes him to become paranoid and demanding, as demonstrated through the use of modality ‘I wish’ in ‘I wish the bastards dead’. This act thus becomes heavily discordant to the accepted great chain of being and conveys Richard’s consumption by power.
The very fact that there were rebellions means that many people were unhappy with Richard and the way the country was being run. These influences would have unsettled people who mightn't otherwise question the way the country was being run. After explaining both sides of the argument the conclusion is that England was unstable under the rule of Richard III. Although he had popularity, he didn't have the loyal aristocratic support he needed to run the country. Some people thought he was the rightful king but many others doubted him due to the executions.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is a great seducer. However, it is easier when the seducee is rather frail in mind and heart, as I believe was the case with Lady Anne. Perhaps Lady Anne's ego was as much engaged as her anger was initially. Gloucester chips away at her resolve masterfully, but let's look at the facts. She knows that Gloucester killed her husband and her father-in-law. This fact is undisputed (within the play). Gloucester admits both murders to her saying, "[y]our beauty was the cause of that effect [the murders]" (I.ii.121). Her father-in-law's corpse is lying just feet away. Yet in under two hundred lines, Anne goes from calling him a "black magician" and "foul devil" to accepting his ring (I.ii.34; I.ii.50).
The word "seduce" according to Webster's Dictionary means to "tempt and draw away from proper conduct." This is exactly what Richard, Duke of Gloucester/King Richard III accomplishes in Richard III. In Richard's life he does not only move from deformed "hedgehog" to husband, but from "beast" to King. One may ask how such deeds were performed. However, a second look may make the deeds look simple. Richard demonstrated a strong power of seduction throughout the play that not only seduced Lady Anne, but many others.
In Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Richard the Third, the historical context of the play is dominated by male figures. As a result, women are relegated to an inferior role. However, they achieve verbal power through their own discourse of religion and superstition. In the opening speech of Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 1-30 Lady Anne orients the reader to the crucial political context of the play and the metaphysical issues contained within it (Greenblatt, 509). Lady Anne curses her foes, using strong language to indicate her authority. She speaks in blank verse, by which she utilizes imagery to emphasize her emotions and reinforce her pleas. Her speech clearly illustrates the distinction between the submissive female role within the male sphere of war and the powerful female voice within the realm of superstition.
Shakespeare Richard III was a traitor, a murderer, a tyrant, and a hypocrite. The leading characteristics of his mind are scorn, sarcasm, and an overwhelming contempt. It appears that the contempt for his victims rather than active hatred or cruelty was the motive for murdering them. Upon meeting him he sounds the keynote to his whole character. " I, that am curtailed of this proportion, cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deform'd, unfinish'd sent before my time Into this word scarce half made up"( 1.1.20-23)
In this scene of William Shakespeare’s play, Richard II, King Richard deposes himself before Henry Bolingbroke and must resign the crown. In answer to Bolingbroke’s question whether he is contented to do so, he answers thus. Despite his lowered status, Richard makes a performance out of this demeaning ceremony, in his confusing and highly emotional reply and in his metaphorical language apparent in the rest of the scene. He talks in an ambiguous manner, in his equivocal answer to a yes or no question, “Ay, no. No, ay,” that plays on the possible meaning of the sound “ay” as a form of agreement, or as the pronoun “I,” and in his statement, “I must nothing be.” His vague answer reflects the shifting equilibrium of who holds the power, as well as who holds the audience’s sympathy in the play. In undoing himself he refers to the divine right of kings, where the king’s
He breeds anger in Clarence and the populace, not of himself, but of Edward and the rightful heirs. "We are not safe, Clarence, we are not safe,"3 he exclaims as his brother is hauled away to the tower. He preys on the "hateful luxury And bestial appetite"4 of the citizenry, catapulting himself to the thrown over a heap of bodies: deaths that hang on his head. But, it is Richard's attitude that his end goal of the crown justifies the murderous means that so closely links ...
Edward V and his brother so that he could be next in line for the crown. But that is not true for Richard really didn’t do it.
Richard III has taken the blame for the murder of the Princes for many years. The “proof of guilt” that was given at the time of the event, and therefore the evidence presented to historians, was not only small in number, but extremely lacking in reliability. The information presented was the fact that because previous kings had gotten rid of the heirs of their predecessors in some way, it would only be logical for Richard to do the same. There was also a multitude of statements released by either Tudor supporters or those who had received their information from Tudor supporters. Despite the fact that this would hardly be enough to convict a man of one murder, let alone two, the evidence is also incredibly easy to discredit. The argument that Richard killed the Princes because of the actions of past kings is simply speculation and would be thrown out in any court. The accounts of the murders that were released were filled with discrepancies and frequently contradicted each other or even themselves. Men who had known each other for years were suddenly just meeting. In addition, the information about Richard that was presented in these testimonies simply does not match up with what is known about Richard through actual, confirmed historical events. Richard also held loyalty as one of the most important traits and had felt a deep sense of loyalty to his brother. Murdering Edward’s sons would
This deeply troubled, impassioned and distressing soliloquy is given by Richard, in act 5 scene 3 of William Shakespeare's King Richard III. Richard is currently in his tent at Bosworth Field and has just literally and metaphorically woken up from a disturbing dream. He breaks out in a cold sweat and is extremely frightened. He dreamt that each of the eleven souls that fell victim to his Vice-like, villainous, conniving and persuasive schemes and plots, came, cursed him and envisaged his death in tomorrow's transformative battle. We already see how Richard has become so paranoid and the enticing/engaging personality we loved slowly deteriorating, as many of his companions betray him and he exceedingly loses
Hidden in the shadows, flitting from window to wall to door and beyond, monsters creep into the world and turn it inside-out and upside-down. As can be seen in Richard III by William Shakespeare, the monster exists as a corporeal and analytical creature that has a tendency to hide from the general population. Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, is arguably the most prominent and alluring monster in the book. Despite his deformities—the bent spine, unbalanced shuffle, and shrunken arm—Richard manages to overcome his perceived bodily hindrances by using his mind to play different roles. This suggests that it might not be an unfinished body that makes him monstrous, but rather a duplicitous mind. Richard’s case clarifies the common notion that monsters
This is a prime example of Richard using his authority by way of rulings and pronouncements rather than action, even to the point of disallowing an action. Bolingbroke, on the other hand, is quite ready to do battle no matter what the consequences. Moments before Richard puts a stop to the proceedings, Bolingbroke says, ". . . let no noble eye profane a tear / For me, if I be gorged with Mowbray's spear" (1.3.58-59). Here is a man who is resolved in his intent.