Richard III is not useful because it is historically incorre
Richard is difficult to understand psychologically because, while he is clearly pwer-hungry and sadistic, the deep-rooted motivations for his malevolent hatred are hard to pinpoint. Some critics feel that Richard is not really a fully developed character in the way that Shakespeare's later characters, such as Macbeth or Hamlet, are. Such critics argue that Richard does not possess a complex human psychology but instead recalls a stock character from early medieval drama. Like the "Vice" character of medieval morality pageants, who simply represented the evil in man, Richard does not justify his villainy-he is simply bad. Indeed, Richard, with self-conscious theatricality, compares himself to this standard character when he says, "Thus like the formal Vice, Iniquity, / I moralize two meanings in one word" (III.i.82-83). We should note that the mere fact that he reflects upon his similarity to the Vice figure suggests that there is more to him than this mere resemblance. Watching Richard's character, Shakespeare's audiences also would have thought of the "Machiavel," the archetype of the scandalously amoral, power-hungry ruler that had been made famous by the Renaissance Italian writer Niccolò Machiavelli in The Prince (first publis
After a long civil war between the royal family of York and the royal family of Lancaster, England enjoys a period of peace under King Edward IV and the victorious Yorks. But Edward's younger brother, Richard, resents Edward's power and the happiness of those around him. Malicious, power-hungry, and bitter about his physical deformity, Richard begins to aspire secretly to the throne-and decides to kill anyone he has to in order to become king. The problems began in the late fourteenth century, with the death of the long- lived King Edward III, of the house of Plantagenet. Edward III had seven sons, of whom the fourth and fifth became the fathers of dynasties. The elder was called John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster, and his younger brother was called Edmund of Langley, duke of York. Their descendants formed two important clans-the Lancasters and the Yorks. Both clans derived from royal blood, and both produced ambitious men who were willing to fight for the throne. The Lancasters and their allies are sometimes called the Lancastrians; the Yorks and their allies are called the Yorkists. The Boar - The boar is Richard's heraldic symbol, and is used several times throughout the play to represent him, most notably in Stanley's dream about Hastings's death. The idea of the boar is also played on in describing Richard's deformity, and Richard is cursed by the duchess as an "abortive, rooting hog" (I.iii.225). The boar was one of the most dangerous animals that people hunted in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and Shakespeare's audience would have associated it with untamed aggression and uncontrollable violence But in the late fifteenth century, fighting broke out again, this time between Lancasters and Yorks. After a bloody struggle, the Lancastrian Henry VI was deposed in 1461, and the head of the house of York took the throne as King Edward IV. Henry VI briefly resumed the kingship in 1470, but again he was deposed, and, this time, he was killed, along with his son and destined heir, who was known as Edward, prince of Wales (a title always given to the current heir to the throne). They were murdered by the sons of the York family: King Edward IV, Clarence, and their younger brother Richard. After the executions, Edward took the throne once again. The action of Richard III begins shortly after this event, but in reality the hostility between the two families was much older. The Lancastrians had killed a second York son-Edmund, earl of Rutland-when he was still quite young. (Shakespeare's other history plays-Richard II,Henry IV Parts One & Two,Henry V, and Henry VI Parts One, Two, & Three-cover all of these events.) Shakespeare often plays fast and loose with the facts, stretching and altering the timeline to suit his dramatic purposes, but the plays generally are based upon historical records. Next Richard kills the court noblemen who are loyal to the Princes, most notably Lord Hastings, the lord chamberlain of England. He then has the boys' relatives on their mother's side-the powerful kinsmen of Edward's wife, Queen Elizabeth-arrested and executed. With Elizabeth and the princes now unprotected, Richard has his political allies, particularly his right-hand man, Lord Buckingham, campaign to have Richard crowned king. Richard then imprisons the young princes in the Tower and, in his bloodiest move yet, sends hired murderers to kill both children. The Connection Between Ruler and State - The so-called window scenes in Richard III-the conversation of the common people in Act II, scene iii; Buckingham's speech to the masses and Richard's acceptance of the crown in Act III; and the scene of the Scrivener in Act III, scene iv-provide a glimpse of how the drama in the royal palace affects the lives of the common people outside its walls. As a history play, Richard III is at least somewhat concerned with the consequences of the behavior of those in power, and with ideas of good rulership and governance. It is significant th
Some common words found in the essay are:
Richard III, Lord Buckingham, Lady Anne, Henry VII, Queen Elizabeth, Symbols Symbols, Elizabeth Woodeville, King Edward, Henry VI, Anne Clarence, richard iii, king edward, common people, queen elizabeth, henry vi, henry vii, edward iv, lady anne, king edward iv, king richard, royal family, king henry vii, succeeded son henry, richard iii begins, late fifteenth century,
Approximate Word count = 2803
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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