Richard III Research Paper
Introduction to W. Shakespeare’s Richard III
Richard III is among the plays that Shakespeare wrote about the history of England. The events in Richard III come directly after the 3rd part of Henry VI. These two plays make Shakespeare’s first tetralogy; Henry VI that has 3 parts and Richard III are altogether 4 plays in which the events are related. He used Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland(1587) as the main source of his “History Plays” (or Chronicle Plays–sometimes the Histories or the Chronicles). These are Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II and Richard III. He also used Edward Hall’s historical story, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (1548), …show more content…
Henry IV gained the kingship in 1470 but again he was disposed in 1471. King Henry IV was executed and his son Edward, the Prince of Wales was killed in the battle. After the executions, Edward took the throne once again. The long civil war between the royal families of York and Lancaster wasn’t finished by this, but they gave a brake until the Battle of Bosworth, the last battle of Wars of Roses. England enjoyed a period of peace under King Edward IV and the victorious Yorks. The events of the civil war and the executions of the kings and the princes are important background to Richard III. The action in this play begins shortly after Edward became the king again. Richard was the King’s, who was growing older and was often in poor health, younger brother. He resents his power and the happiness of those around him. Richard was a cruel and power-hungry man and he was also unpleasant about his physical deformity. He wanted to become the new king after the death of his brother. But there were many people standing between him and the kingship. When King Edward died he left behind two sons who were in line for the throne. In addition to this Richard had another older brother George, the duke of Clarence. He was also an obstacle between Richard and the kingship. But nothing could stop Richard; he decided to kill his rivals in order to become …show more content…
What! From myself? (Richard III, V, 3, 183-186)
He felt the illusion of dominating everything around him. But it was not the case. He was faltering and he was thinking of the murders he had committed. In the battle on the following morning, Richard was killed, and Richmond was crowned King Henry VII. Promising a new era of peace for England, the new king was betrothed to young Elizabeth in order to unite the fighting houses of Lancaster and York.
Character Analysis of Richard III
Richard is in every way the dominant character of the play that bears his name, to the extent that he is both the protagonist of the story and its major villain. Richard III is an intense exploration of the psychology of evil, and that exploration is placed on Richard’s mind. Critics sometimes compare Richard to the medieval character, Vice, who was a flat and one-sided embodiment of evil. Richard links himself with the Vice when he declares:
Thus like the formal Vice, Iniquity,
I moralize two meanings in one word (III, 1, 82-83)
According to the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, “Richard’s jaunty sangfroid and conspiratorial self-disclosure are also indebted to the dramatic traditions of the morality play Vice, and his Elizabethan heir, the Machiavel, who villainously parodies the pragmatic political philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli.” (Dobson and Wells,
Richard III is among the plays that Shakespeare wrote about the history of England. The events in Richard III come directly after the 3rd part of Henry VI. These two plays make Shakespeare’s first tetralogy; Henry VI that has 3 parts and Richard III are altogether 4 plays in which the events are related. He used Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland(1587) as the main source of his “History Plays” (or Chronicle Plays–sometimes the Histories or the Chronicles). These are Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II and Richard III. He also used Edward Hall’s historical story, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (1548), …show more content…
Henry IV gained the kingship in 1470 but again he was disposed in 1471. King Henry IV was executed and his son Edward, the Prince of Wales was killed in the battle. After the executions, Edward took the throne once again. The long civil war between the royal families of York and Lancaster wasn’t finished by this, but they gave a brake until the Battle of Bosworth, the last battle of Wars of Roses. England enjoyed a period of peace under King Edward IV and the victorious Yorks. The events of the civil war and the executions of the kings and the princes are important background to Richard III. The action in this play begins shortly after Edward became the king again. Richard was the King’s, who was growing older and was often in poor health, younger brother. He resents his power and the happiness of those around him. Richard was a cruel and power-hungry man and he was also unpleasant about his physical deformity. He wanted to become the new king after the death of his brother. But there were many people standing between him and the kingship. When King Edward died he left behind two sons who were in line for the throne. In addition to this Richard had another older brother George, the duke of Clarence. He was also an obstacle between Richard and the kingship. But nothing could stop Richard; he decided to kill his rivals in order to become …show more content…
What! From myself? (Richard III, V, 3, 183-186)
He felt the illusion of dominating everything around him. But it was not the case. He was faltering and he was thinking of the murders he had committed. In the battle on the following morning, Richard was killed, and Richmond was crowned King Henry VII. Promising a new era of peace for England, the new king was betrothed to young Elizabeth in order to unite the fighting houses of Lancaster and York.
Character Analysis of Richard III
Richard is in every way the dominant character of the play that bears his name, to the extent that he is both the protagonist of the story and its major villain. Richard III is an intense exploration of the psychology of evil, and that exploration is placed on Richard’s mind. Critics sometimes compare Richard to the medieval character, Vice, who was a flat and one-sided embodiment of evil. Richard links himself with the Vice when he declares:
Thus like the formal Vice, Iniquity,
I moralize two meanings in one word (III, 1, 82-83)
According to the Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, “Richard’s jaunty sangfroid and conspiratorial self-disclosure are also indebted to the dramatic traditions of the morality play Vice, and his Elizabethan heir, the Machiavel, who villainously parodies the pragmatic political philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli.” (Dobson and Wells,