richard iii theme essay

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SOURCE: de Somogyi, Nick. Introduction to The Shakespeare Folios: Richard III, edited by Nick de Somogyi, pp. xxvii-xlix. London: Nick Hern Books, 2002. [In the following essay, de Somogyi provides an overview of Richard III, tracing the play's performance and textual history as well as providing Richard's family tree.] ‘THE BEHOLDERS OF THIS FRANTIC PLAY’: RICHARD III IN PERFORMANCE The lank black hair and sharply prominent nose are unmistakable; so is the limp, as the hunchback King turns towards the camera's slow zoom, and (to the sound of a gently strummed lute) delivers, in that inimitably clipped bark, some of the most famous opening lines in the world: ‘It has been a hard day's night, and I have been working like a dog ’1 Peter Sellers's sublime impersonation of Laurence Olivier as Richard III (as John Lennon), recorded for a 1965 TV Beatles ‘spectacular’, is variously true to the play he didn't quote. The pleasure of Olivier's iconic performance—premièred on the London stage in 1944, immortalized on film in 1955—has been shrewdly located in ‘watching Olivier the consummate actor play Richard the consummate actor’;2 how apt, then, that Sellers, the arch-mimic, should add his own twist to the sequence of eerily accurate impersonations by which Shakespeare's hero-villain usurps the throne. From the very first, Richard III has provided a ‘peerless vehicle for a virtuoso actor’,3 a tradition embodied in John Gielgud's gift to Olivier, ‘in appreciation of his performance’, of the sword Edmund Kean had worn in the rôle in 1814, which had in turn been presented to Sir Henry Irving in 1873.4 The theory that Sellers pinched Olivier's own wig for the part may represent a suitably Goonish extension of this tradition.5 ‘Come, cousin,’ says Richard in Shakespeare's play, in a brief backstage masterclass with his protégé Buckingham, canst thou quake and change thy colour.
Shakespeare’s Richard III Made Easy This website has been designed to help students develop an understanding of some of the complexities of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Students will find the information, guidelines and questions useful for reviewing their reading of the play as well as revising their study of the play from what has been covered in class. The website provides a detailed commentary covering all the key areas students need to know about plot, characters, themes and language.  These commentaries could also serve as a springboard for further class discussion or consolidation of ideas covered in class. In addition, these commentaries provide ample scope for independent research by extending ideas through wider reading on critical commentaries on Richard III. For convenience, the term “test” has been used to cover course-related tasks, school-based assessment tasks, and exams. Background This section looks at some of the key background and historical contexts of the play. Plot The scene-by-scene commentary provides a plot analysis explaining clearly what happens, when it happens – and why. Analysis is deepened with colour-coded references to themes which are examined in greater detail in Themes. Characters This section looks at analysing the behaviour and motives of each of the main characters. There are quotations and evidence to back up the ideas. Themes This section looks at some of the key themes expanding upon the colour-coded analysis in Plot. Language This section examines key aspects of Shakespeare’s use of language in Richard III, looking at what is said, how it is said and the effect this has on the audience. Essay Topics Here students will find the kind of essay questions they can expect for school-based assessment tasks and on the examination paper. Links The links page offers useful on-line resources that range from historical background.
Enter Your Search Terms to Get Started! Shakespeare’s Richard III Richard III is considered one of Shakespeare’s most evil characters, one endowed with sharp wit and lacking in morals, who governs through fear and force. Richard III deals extensively with the themes of political corruption and dissimulation. Richard's reign is portrayed as a period in which nothing is sacred; neither on a political or social level, nor on a personal one. Richard will stop at nothing, not even at betraying his friends and murdering his kin, in order to become king. Although his traits of character are clearly illustrated through his deeds and words, Shakespeare provides the reader with an important contrast to the character of the king, namely the women of the play. These women are: the Duchess of York, Richard's mother; Anne who later becomes Richard's wife; Queen Margaret who was the former queen and Richard's arch enemy, and Queen Elizabeth, the current queen. Also, Queen Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth, is present in the plot but the reader is never introduced to her. Richard appears one-dimensionally evil, a flat character, the embodiment of evil and moral decay. His evil ambitions are expressed at the outset of the play; his purpose is to deepen the chaos in the kingdom and ultimately become king. He is portrayed through the eyes of the characters, especially the women in the play. Anne, Elizabeth, the Duchess of York and Margaret are voices of protest and morality who condemn the actions of the king, and are able to see through his intrigues, and at times, even to foresee the consequences of his acts. In fact, the four women are used as voices of the Elizabethan age in the sense that they provide an extraordinary example of the world view belonging to that particular era in the history of England. Not only do these women point out moral truths, but they also ask for divine.
Manipulation is the grease on the wheels of Richard III. Richard is constantly manipulating characters around him in an acrobatic performance of words and subtleties. While Richard’s manipula.Justice is multifaceted and also a matter of perspective in Richard III. On the most superficial level, the play is about bringing Richard to justice – Richard unjustly seeks the throne (as h.Richard III is about the political power of the throne on the most basic level. Power operates on many different levels though, of which the monarchy is only one. There’s the tension of power.Compassion and forgiveness in Richard III are most notable for their conspicuous absence. The play is built around one long cycle of violence called the War of the Roses, and the central characters.Richard III is full of little betrayals. The betrayals set the tone for the play: nothing is sacred and no one is safe from disloyalty and deceit. Richard betrays his friends, and his friends betra.The relationship between man and the natural world anchors Richard III. The health of the political state is likened to the natural health of the earth from the very first lines. Richard’s re.Family in Richard III is not the lovey-dovey stuff of the Brady Bunch. The strain among members of the same family, and between members of separate families, lies at the heart of the play. Because.Women play an intriguing role in Richard III. On the one hand, they may be considered powerless, and they do little but talk about and react to the actions of the men. On the other hand, their word.