The Character of Richard in William Shakespeare's Play
In the play Richard could be considered as the hero and also the
villain however as the play develops we find out that he is mainly the
villain, but he does have some appealing/heroic aspects to him.
In the first scene that we read in the play we see Richard and the
soliloquy, in this soliloquy Richard becomes a self confessed villain
and says "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover to entertain the
fair well spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain" with him
saying this we automatically think that he is the villain and will be
up causing disruption between the people in the play, Richard does
this because he is deformed and nobody will be liking him much because
of his deformity and evilness. In the opening soliloquy we find out
that Richard is deformed "unless to see my shadow in the sun and
descant upon my own deformity", in the times in which this play was
written the audience find that any form of deformity or weird birth
marks are a sign of the devil and evil, Richard has gone along with
this and seen his brothers and more good looking than he is because he
is deformed, this meaning that he has to be evil.
In act 1 scene 2, In this scene Richards persuasive and manipulative
side is shown, Anne absolutely despises Richard to start off with but
this suddenly changes with a few of Richards words, She calls him
"Foul devil" and "Lump of foul deformity" this shows complete hatred
for Richard, but Richard still tries to win her over by being a
gentleman and complimenting her by calling her a "Sweet saint", this
shows that he is determined to win her over and will not be put down
easily by the words she uses against him.
Richard denies that he killed Anne's' father and persists on it too,
when he does this the audience is able to see how much of a great
actor he is and how charming he is, he tries to make her believe that
tries to make her disinterested in him so that again, he may concentrate on the
In the Ian Mckellen version of the play I think the scene is made much
In his article, "Shakespeare 's King Richard III and the Problematics of Tudor Bastardy", Maurice Hunt gives a convincing (dare I say legitimate!) argument for why he believes Shakespeare took a large risk writing and performing his play King Richard III during the life of Queen Elizabeth I. Knowing the challenges Elizabeth faced during her childhood and into her reign because of her father, King Henry VIII 's ever-changing mind whether or not she was a legitimate heir or a bastard, I agree with Hunt in the fact Shakespeare took a huge risk with his performances of Richard III, if in fact she did see the performance which is something I will be touching on later on, but for the sake of the review of his article I will be focusing on his argument based on Elizabeth being present. Hunt also spends a great deal explaining the history of bastardry in the Tudor family so that we can understand why that
ambition. The way she persuades him makes out as if he is a puppet and
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)
the play draws its readers to identify with Richard and thereby to participate in a
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.
A hero is a man who is distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility. and strength to carry out tasks that involve great risks. A hero can also be a person who fights for other people to help or save them. from their fears and fears. He opposes the villain - a person who does wicked or intentionally harm others in some way, emotionally or otherwise.
According to many, Shakespeare intentionally portrays Richard III in ways that would have the world hail him as the ultimate Machiavel. This build up only serves to further the dramatic irony when Richard falls from his throne. The nature of Richard's character is key to discovering the commentary Shakespeare is delivering on the nature of tyrants. By setting up Richard to be seen as the ultimate Machiavel, only to have him utterly destroyed, Shakespeare makes a dramatic commentary on the frailty of tyranny and such men as would aspire to tyrannical rule.
Shakespeare’s plays were grouped into three categories: comedies, tragedies and histories. The histories were those plays based on the lives of English kings. Shakespeare was one of the first writers to write about English history. According to Garber, “before Shakespeare’s time there were few history plays such written in England--- England history was told in verse and prose chronicles (239)”. It’s considered that Richard II is one of the early “historical plays”. The play became so iconic that even Queen Elizabeth said that she was “Richard the second, know ye not that”. Richard II tells the story about a king’s downfall.
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
Throughout the historical literary periods, many writers underrepresented and undervalued the role of women in society, even more, they did not choose to yield the benefits of the numerous uses of the female character concerning the roles which women could accomplish as plot devices and literary tools. William Shakespeare was one playwright who found several uses for female characters in his works. Despite the fact that in Shakespeare's history play, Richard II, he did not use women in order to implement the facts regarding the historical events. Instead, he focused the use of women roles by making it clear that female characters significantly enriched the literary and theatrical facets of his work. Furthermore in Shakespeare’s history play, King Richard II, many critics have debated the role that women play, especially the queen. One of the arguments is that Shakespeare uses the queen’s role as every women’s role to show domestic life and emotion. Jo McMurtry explains the role of all women in his book, Understanding Shakespeare’s England A Companion for the American Reader, he states, “Women were seen, legally and socially, as wives. Marriage was a permanent state” (5). McMurtry argues that every woman’s role in the Elizabethan society is understood to be a legal permanent state that is socially correct as wives and mothers. Other critics believe that the role of the queen was to soften King Richard II’s personality for the nobles and commoners opinion of him. Shakespeare gives the queen only a few speaking scenes with limited lines in Acts two, four, and five through-out the play. Also, she is mentioned only a few times by several other of the characters of the play and is in multiple scenes wit...
to the young woman who he is attracted to so that she can read his future. Based on secular ideas and
The plays of William Shakespeare are generally easy to categorize, and the heroes of these plays are equally so. However, in the history play Richard II, Shakespeare’s king is more ambiguous than Hamlet or Romeo– there is no clear cut answer to whether Richard II is a tragic hero... or simply a tragedy. Historically, Richard II was crowned at a very young age, forced into the role of monarch, and thrust without hesitation into the murky world of political intrigue, which perhaps lends his character sympathy because he had no choice in his fate. However, despite his forced role in life, Richard II seems to rely on the concept of divine right to secure his throne, making no effort to sustain it once it is “irrevocably” his. Richard II is both the tragic hero and the tragedy– simply playing the role of King for the majority of the play, but only coming into his own after he is deposed, and only then to fight for his own existence.
The first play which we see involves Richard connecting directly with the audience on the same level in Act 1 Scene 1. He tells us that despite the recent bloodshed and destruction caused by the War of the Roses, he is in full swing in an attempt to take over the throne of England. Not only is Richard telling us his plans, there is also much foreshadowing shown towards the future of England. In doing so, he clearly illustrates his false and treacherous plan, as well as tries to make a subtle attempt to gain sympathy from the audience. "That dogs bark at me as I halt by them" (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 24) It is clear through this statement that Richard is attempting to attach the audience so they feel sympathy towards his cause. This relationship remains throughout the play throughout the numerous asides and soliloquies in which Richard addresses the audience on his status and thoughts. This can be seen in many occasions throughout the play, but an example can be found in Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 247-284. This could possibly to raise the suspense level in the audience and to create a tone of irony and he also help to set the tone of blood and evilness as in the opening speech.