Richard III Pt. III

Richard III Acts 4 & 5

Amidst Richard's murders of his young nephews and all the misery filling up in England, the young Richmond comes into the plot and brings hope to the characters and to England. Richmond's fight against Richard is admirable and noble, because he is trying to bring good back into England. He succeeds and knows he will succeed when he dreams about the people Richard has murdered, and when they tell him he will be successful. This beginning portrayal of the house of Tudor brings up a question about Shakespeare's motivations for making Richard seem so evil. The Tudor dynasty is the dynasty of Queen Elizabeth I, whom Shakespeare was at least semi-responsible for entertaining. The entertainment would not be the same if the Tudor dynasty was not shown to be pure and good. Shakespeare dramatizes a key turning point in English history. He had to favor the court he was entertaining; of course I don't blame him at all, for the more evil Richard seemed, the more respectable the Tudor dynasty seems. Being a successful playwright, in Shakespeare's time, meant pleasing the current noblemen/noblewoman. However, from the perspective of the real Richard III, his image has now been popularized in a very negative way.

Richard III Pt. II

Richard III Acts 2 & 3

In Acts II and III we see that not everyone is manipulated or deceived by Richard. Richard's young nephews, who would be next in line for the throne, can see right through him. They feel unsafe with Richard, and likewise, the common people of London can also see right through Richard's actions. Richard's nephew, Edward, also seems to have a way with words like his uncles Richard and Clarence. He tells Richard that he wants his uncles, and indirectly tells Richard that he doesn't want him around. When the common people hear that Richard may be the next ruler of England, they do not cheer but rather are terrified and disgusted at the idea. I imagine that the opinion of the common people was and is more important to the average Shakespeare audience, simply because they solely want to make sure they will be ruled by a just ruler, a ruler who will help them progress in their daily life. With Richard, even a modern audience sees the danger in having someone as deceitful as Richard rule over them.

Richard III Pt. I

Richard III Act 1

In Act I, we are introduced to Richard, brother of the new King Edward. He is unhappy and thus wishes misery upon everyone else. He was born deformed and says he cannot be as happy as everyone is. Richard's eloquence and manipulative skills are seen in scene ii when he is trying to persuae Anne to marry him. He causes her to feel guilt, and says that her beauty is the cause for her husband's death. Although Richard is pitiful at times, especially in the very first scene, the reader finds out that Richard has no real motive to hurt anyone, he simply wants everyone else to be as unhappy as he is. This is scary because it makes Richard very dangerous and unstoppable, seeing as he is not seeking any sort of vengeance that will satisfy his need for wrong doing; there is no knowing what Richard will do. His use of words are in fact so convincing that even his brother Clarence, who was imprisoned because of Richard's wishes, does not believe that his brother could do him harm.