Richard III
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 tu
This is often true, because those in bodies who do not conform with society are often treated in a manner that would cause a mind to become unpleasant, both for themselves and the people around them. He believes that people are conspiring to kill him, even though he is the one doing the killing, and that his current state is due to others doing - "I pray you all, tell me what they deserveThat do conspire my death with devilish plotsOf damned witchcraft, and that have prevail'dUpon my body with their hellish charms?" (Lines 58 to 61, Act 3, Scene 4)He also begins to see traitors at every turn, taking one persons words and turning the words against the unfortunate man. In the phrase "Made glorious summer by this son of York"(Line 2, Act 1, Scene 1), Richard is referring to Edward IV, whose emblem was the sun, making the current time in England a 'glorious summer'. Because of Richards deformities, he may have been treated differently from other people, and this could have cultivated his personality. Simple plain Clarence, I do love thee soThat I will shortly send thy soul to heaven"(Lines 120-122, Act 1, Scene 1)Richard feels that George represents a threat to his power, and so, he must be eliminated. The speech is also important because the audience is instantly interested in Richard, and therefore the play, because it is addressed to the audience without any distractions. He feels that everyone is mocking him, claiming that he is unfit to be a king. King Richard III, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Richard Plantaganet, can only be considered an evil man through Shakespeare's portrayal in the play Richard III. One of the language devices used in this speech is a pun - a word that is used in a humorous way to suggest different meanings - in this case, on the word son. His line "I am determined to prove a villain" (Line 30, Act 1, Scene 1), is his own admission to becoming an evil man, who desires nothing but personal gain. He feels that he is so hideously ugly that even "dogs bark at me as I halt by them"(Line 23, Act 1, Scene 1). This stems into feelings of self loathing in later scenes, where he tells people that he is hideous even though they may see otherwise. The main theme I found to be reflected in this speech is the old thinking of evil minds must dwell in evil bodies. 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. rn, forsake God by running in direct opposition to all that is good.
Common topics in this essay:
Duke Gloucester,
Edward IV,
I'll Line,
King Henry,
Lady Anne,
Tower London,
Tyrell Act,
London Act,
Lord Chamberlain,
Tudor Chronicles,
act 1,
1 scene,
act 1 scene,
1 scene 1,
scene 1,
1 scene 2,
scene 2,
scene 4,
richard iii,
duke gloucester,
lady anne,
3 scene 4,
actor playing,
richard duke,
act 3 scene,
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Acceptance Essays
