Richard III Essay Questions

According to Richard, why does he decide to act so maliciously?

Richard III is a unique play, in that Richard announces his intent for villainy in what is not only his first soliloquy, but the first speech of the play altogether. He notes that, under King Edward, people are expecting better times in England. However, this optimism is quickly dashed when Richard explains that, because he is deformed and ostracized, he cannot take part in the celebration. He then immediately declares that because he cannot "prove a lover" he will become a villain. Thus, Richard justifies his villainy as a type of fate, ultimately removing responsibility from himself. As the play unfolds, audiences may question whether Richard's earlier explanation for his behavior was an empty excuse for what seems his genuine joy of antagonism.

To what extent is Richard III historically accurate?

Richard III is a history play, one of the many plays Shakespeare wrote chronicling the history of English kings. Shakespeare turned to a number of historical sources in order to write the play, and these sources are alluded to throughout the performance. However, this does not necessarily mean that the play is an accurate representation of English history. While the characters were real people, Shakespeare ultimately had to dramatize the historical narrative for the stage. One way he did this was through an embellishment of Richard as pure evil, when by all accounts he was a fine if not respected ruler. Furthermore, historians have argued that while Richard may have suffered from scoliosis, his extreme deformity present in the play was likely not an accurate representation of his physical appearance.

Why may Shakespeare have exaggerated Richard's physical and moral ugliness?

Richard is one of Shakespeare's most vile and repulsive characters. However, historians and literary scholars alike recognize that the historical Richard III was no such villain. One of the primary reasons Shakespeare may have portrayed Richard this way had to do with who was on the English throne at the time he was writing. Queen Elizabeth I was the granddaughter of King Henry VII, who defeats Richard at the end of the play to become the first Tudor monarch in England. Thus, the play represents the birth of the Tudor dynasty as a saving grace for England through the vanquishing of an evil, corrupt, murderous Richard.

What role do the women play in Richard's scheming?

Though some are eventually persuaded by Richard's rhetorical skill, the female characters in Richard III are all united through their shared grief over having lost their husbands, brothers, and children to Richard's machinations. As such, the women of the play – most notably Queen Margaret – pose a challenge to Richard's attempt to rewrite the narrative of history by continually remembering and lamenting the victims of Richard's plot. When Margaret curses Richard, she predicts the events to follow almost exactly, which many have interpreted as a triumph of personal memory over the attempt to control history.

What is the significance of the supernatural in the play?

Ghosts were not uncommon in Shakespeare's plays, though they typically appeared in tragedies like Hamlet and Macbeth rather than history plays. However, the supernatural plays an important role in Richard III, through prophecies, omens, curses, and the appearance of ghosts. In many ways, the prevalence of the supernatural throughout the play – an early modern theatrical convention that almost always denotes unsavory circumstances – serves as a remind to audiences that Richard is not actually succeeding as thoroughly in his schemes as he himself perceives. Though he continues to win over important noble characters and though he does eventually assume the throne, the motif of supernatural appearances helps foreshadow his imminent demise even as he reigns.