An analysis of the play by William Shakespeare
             How did Shakespeare portray Richard the Third in the play of the same name?
             Shakespeare, in the play, portrayed Richard as the Tudor house saw him - evil and manipulative. It is no wonder that he appears so cruel and heartless in this performance, the basis on which the play is written - the Tudor Chronicles - were written by Richards enemies. These were the only 'reliable' sources of that time period, yet many of the 'facts' in the play can be shown to be false by eye witness accounts. However, the question does ask how Shakespeare himself portrayed the unfortunate King of England, so it can only be assumed that play shows Richard as a villain.
             In the opening scene, the actor playing the character of Richard, the Duke of Gloucester at that point begins with a soliloquy in which he explains his motives behind his current and future actions. He is, by his own definition, "rudely stampt" (Line 16 Act 1, Scene 1) and "not shaped for sporting tricks"(Line 14, Act 1, Scene 1), and therefore, he is "determined to prove myself a villain"(Line 30, Act 1, Scene 1). He bases all his further acts of evil on his belief that God has forsaken him, and so he shall in turn, forsake God by running in direct opposition to all that is good. All this has occurred before another actor/actress has entered the stage - Shakespeare wanted us to be aware of and understand Richards's confessions to being evil and his lack of sensitivity towards how his actions may affect others.
             In the scenes that follow, we discover that Richard has the ability to change his apparent feelings towards other people as readily and as easily as we may put on another hat or a pair of gloves. He appears to be concerned with the imprisonment of his brother George, the Duke of Clarence, in the Tower of London. Later in that very same scene, we discover that he, Richard, is p...