Richard III Lesson Plan

What attitudes towards dreams are displayed in Richard III? Do you think these attitudes are warranted? What exactly is the significance of dreams for the play's characters?

As students will probably remember, the characters of Richard III either tend to show a dismissive attitude towards dreams or are unsettled by them. The responses of Clarence and Stanley fall in the latter category, while Hastings, who is not "so simple [as] to trust the mock'ry of unquiet slumbers," falls in the former. The consequences of these different responses, however, are quite significant. Although Clarence does not ignore his dream, he misinterprets it, and is killed; Stanley, heeding the...