Other editions of book RICHARD III

Richard III is one of William Shakespeare’s most complex historical plays, one that has not lost any of its appeal during the almost 250 years since it was written and is still among the most frequently staged Shakespeare plays.The play begins with Richard telling about how his brother, Edward occupied the throne of England. Richard is driven by the ambition to become king – he first plots to have Clarence, another elder brother of his, sent to the Tower of London, then he seduces Lady Anne, Edward’s widow while the funeral procession is on its way to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Richard continues plotting, which creates a very tense atmosphere at the court. After complex plots and many murders, Richard eventually becomes king, with Lady Anne as Queen by his side, but he is haunted by his crimes and becomes paranoid. He is soon faced with ample rebellions that culminate in the Battle of Bosworth Field. On the evening before the battle, Richard is paid a visit by the ghosts of his victims who curse him, wishing victory and glory to his opponent, Richmond. During the battle, Richard is abandoned by his men, he also loses his horse and is then killed on the battle field by Richmond. The last scene shows how Richmond occupies Richard’s throne as Henry VII.Richard III is a play of unique richness even in the extraordinary Shakespearean oeuvre. He is an anti-hero, hunch-backed, sickly and physically weak, evil, corrupt, amoral and driven by blind ambition. He succeeds in grabbing the throne, but his downfall is also inevitable because the greed and lust that helps him ascend will also bring about his tragedy. Shakespeare uses the historical theme not only to present a superb dramatization of a period in history, but also to criticize the contemporary social and political order in a way that makes Richard III a play that is extremely valid in our days, too.

Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England. While generally classified as a history, as grouped in the First Folio, the play is sometimes called a tragedy (as in the first quarto). It picks up the story from Henry VI, Part 3 and concludes the historical series that stretches back to Richard II.

An account of the brutal and bloody rise of King Richard III to the throne, Shakespeare’s play depicts the short-lived monarch’s ruthless campaign for power, which resulted in the deaths of two of his brothers. Disfigured, hunchbacked, and cruel, King Richard’s unpopularity with the nobility crippled his reign, resulting in his ultimate demise.SCENE ILondon. A street.[Enter GLOUCESTER, solus]GLOUCESTERNow is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. Grim-visaged war hath smooth’d his wrinkled front; And now, instead of mounting barded steeds To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass; I, that am rudely stamp’d, and want love’s majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph; I, that am curtail’d of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deformed, unfinish’d, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them; Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to spy my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity: And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, To set my brother Clarence and the king In deadly hate the one against the other: And if King Edward be as true and just As I am subtle, false and treacherous, This day should Clarence closely be mew’d up, About a prophecy, which says that ‘G’ Of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be. Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here Clarence comes.[Enter CLARENCE, guarded, and BRAKENBURY]Brother, good day; what means this armed guard That waits upon your grace?CLARENCEHis majesty Tendering my person’s safety, hath appointed This conduct to convey me to the Tower.GLOUCESTERUpon what cause?CLARENCE Because my name is George.GLOUCESTERAlack, my lord, that fault is none of yours; He should, for that, commit your godfathers: O, belike his majesty hath some intent That you shall be new-christen’d in the Tower. But what’s the matter, Clarence? may I know?CLARENCEYea, Richard, when I know; for I protest As yet I do not: but, as I can learn, He hearkens after prophecies and dreams; And from the cross-row plucks the letter G. And says a wizard told him that by G His issue disinherited should be; And, for my name of George begins with G, It follows in his thought that I am he. These, as I learn, and such like toys as these Have moved his highness to commit me now.

Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. The play is an unflattering depiction of the short reign of Richard III of England. While generally classified as a history, as grouped in the First Folio, the play is sometimes called a tragedy (as in the first quarto). It picks up the story from Henry VI, Part 3 and concludes the historical series that stretches back to Richard II.