King Richard And Prince John In The Book Of Ivanhoe

This then links on to the second reason; Richard III crowned himself King. Richard stole the crown from his nephews when others disagreed or didn’t want him to and so they started

These traits that Richard displayed were not befitting to a king and a man who was suppose to lead. Rather than look out for the

Richard’s political ambition is revealed through his strategic calculations based on the order of birth in his York family which puts him third away from the throne. Ahead of him is his elder brother, George Clarence, a barrier which will have to eradicate. His brother, King Edward, is another political barrier, by simply being alive, in power and equally by being the father of the two young princes . Richard’s creates a political mistrust between his two

Richard II is not your average king. He is useless with his power and does not know how to use it. He is

Since Richard cannot do anything about his deformity and ugliness he turns his bitterness to ambition and lays the groundwork for his plan to betray King Edward IV. Richard tells the audience, “plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, by drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, to set my brother Clarence and the King in deadly hate 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 mewed up, about a prophecy, which says that G OF Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be” (1.1.32-40). In these lines, Richard reveals his plan that he will turn Clarence and King Edward against each other so Edward will banish Clarence to the tower because he believes Clarence will be his murderer. Richard will do this through declaring a prophecy that this will be so. Richard explains that this will work because King Edward is as just as Richard is treacherous and Richard will use that against King Edward to cause his and Clarence’s demise. It is not known whether the character Richard would have revealed more about his plan this early in the play because he is interrupted by Clarence. Richard ends the speech with the lines, “dive thoughts down to my soul, here Clarence comes” (1.1.41), which basically means that he better keep

    According to many, Shakespeare intentionally portrays Richard III in ways that would have the world hail him as the ultimate Machiavel.  This build up only serves to further the dramatic irony when Richard falls from his throne.  The nature of Richard's character is key to discovering the commentary Shakespeare is delivering on the nature of tyrants.  By setting up Richard to be seen as the ultimate Machiavel, only to have him utterly destroyed, Shakespeare makes a dramatic commentary on the frailty of tyranny and such men as would aspire to tyrannical rule.

A deeper understanding of ambition and identity emerges from pursuing the connections between King Richard III and Looking for Richard.

The texts King Richard III and Looking for Richard both accept the centrality of power and the yearning for it, as a central plot driver and an assumed part of the human condition. However, each presents a different perspective as to the nature of power; its origins and morality.

Richard’s aspiration for power caused him to sacrifice his morals and loyalties in order to gain the throne of England. Shakespeare refers to the political instability of England, which is evident through the War of the Roses between the Yorks and Lancastrians fighting for the right to rule. In order to educate and entertain the audience of the instability of politics, Shakespeare poses Richard as a caricature of the Vice who is willing to do anything to get what he wants. As a result, the plans Richard executed were unethical, but done with pride and cunningness. Additionally, his physically crippled figure that was, “so lamely and unfashionable, that dogs bark at me as I halt by them,” reflects the deformity and corruption of his soul. The constant fauna imagery of Richard as the boar reflected his greedy nature and emphasises that he has lost his sense of humanity.

"When your opponent uses sincerity, that's when it gets awfully confusing." John, Henry's favorite son, does not even know when he is merely acting. So, when Henry announces that Richard is going to be the new heir, he is playing with John's emotions.

Don John’s bad-temper and jealousy influence him to create strife. Even though he only recently got back in favor with his brother the prince, Don John still is not grateful for the

Shakespeare adapts these tenants to construct a power thirsty character. Consequently, while the London elite was introduced to these ideals, Shakespeare shaped the overall plot of the play to exemplify the discussed the power quest introduced by Machiavelli. This results in Richard’s actions that lead him to kill his brother and manipulate his family into getting the throne.

Richard II is an authoritative and greedy king of England, and he is living in a period of transition that medieval knights who are swearing total loyalty to a king has been disappearing and an aristocracy starts to gain a power for their own good. However, Richard II keeps believing the power of kingship, and he also is too confident himself. He overestimates his authority and power; furthermore, he ignores the periodical change. Therefore, he speaks confidently how firm his position as king is to the people in Wales, but his attitude changes when he suffers a defeat by Henry Bolingbroke that he

Early on in the play, we learn of the character Buckingham and his allegiance sworn to Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. One can view Buckingham as Richard’s partner in arms. Throughout most of the play, we see the two conspirators design and carry out evil and malicious acts to place Richard as the king. They were willing to remove any obstacle in order for a new king to be crowned. Clarence, Hastings, and Lady Anne are a few of the characters who befell a gruesome fate due to the conspiracy of Richard and Buckingham. Buckingham is completely devoted to Richard’s cause and will stop at

John of Gaunt is talking to the Duchess of Glouster about the death of her husband, Gaunt’s own brother. The Duchess is distraught that the murderer of her husband is not to be brought to an appropriate justice. It is implied that King Richard is the one that ordered her husband be killed because of jelousy. In this scene the Duchess compares Edward’s blood line to a tree as she berates Gaunt for not taking action; “Were as seven vials of his sacred blood Or seven fair branches springing from one root. Some of those seven are dried by nature’s