Richard III Research Paper

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

he finally wins the mayor and the alderman over and receives the offer to "the

Richard, the main character of the Shakespeare’s play, Richard III is portrayed as socially destructive and politically over-ambitious. His destructive potential is depicted by the way he relates with the other protagonists in the play and also by what he confesses as his intentions.

Richard I reigned over England during the Middle Ages from 1189 to 1199 with great bravery and immense courage. Richard was born as the third legitimate son of King Henry II of England and never assumed that he would ever ascend to become the king. After leading his country in the Third Crusade, he gained the nicknames “the lionhearted” and “the absent king.” Through many heroic deeds while away at war, he deserved the nickname of “The Lionhearted” the most.

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

There is huge debate from both supporters and haters. The Richard III society claims that the facts we do know don’t support Shakespeare’s story. Recent evidence of two unidentifiable skeletons in the tower of London exists but isn’t conclusive. Richard still had the same possible motive as the play,the princes were in the way of the throne (Hicks, 362). If he isn’t guilty of this crime it could change the way he is viewed. The uncertainty leaves room for us to turn to the one source that is definitive, Shakespeare's play. Shakespeare used this uncertainty to gain our attention and amplify our accusations against Richard. Murdering relatives may have not been so appalling in its day ( University of Leicester, Web) but as time passes we continue to recoil and speculate, but it’s possible we will never know the

King Richard the First, also known as Richard the Lionhearted was the king of England from 1189 to 1199. His life was filled with surprising evince and interesting stories. He did not like the weather in England and only spent a little of his time in England, when he was king. Some interesting things that happened in his life time is he was imprisoned as king and he joined the Tired Crusade. He had a good relationship with the church in the time of his reign.

Richard was the third son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and he was given the duchy of Aquitaine, his mother’s inheritance, at the age of 11 and was enthroned as duke at Poitiers in 1172. Richard possessed precocious political and military ability, he won fame for his knightly prowess, and quickly learned how to control the

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.

land in the north of England after both the Earl and Anne died. He was

A defining feature between these two men’s fate is Richard’s dependence on good fortune through divine intervention, whereas Henry and Machiavelli rely on free will, what they themselves can do to manipulate the situation. Richard calls upon God to defend him, thinking that he can manipulate God’s will to fit his desires, “angels fight, weak men must fall, for heaven still guards the right” (III.ii pg 409) This idea of unearthly abilities that allow him to manipulate nature itself, even England is stupid and shows how incompetent he is. Compared to Henry in this play, he is someone who wants to serve England, not how England can serve them; in other words what you can do for your country. Machiavelli states that “so long as fortune varies, and men stand still, they will prosper while they suit the times, and fail when they do not”, Richard in all ways fills this statement, his reliance on fortune seals his fate in the end (Machiavelli 148). Shakespeare shows this antiquated idea to show how much England needed a change of leadership and rule, the end of medievalism and the rise of Machiavellianism.

however it was not and he had to face him in battle. "My lord he doth

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

Throughout all great works of literature, the authors try to include a theme or center point to base their writing on. Within the plot there can be found many similar references and coinciding points to be discovered among the lines the author writes. Richard III is a play written by the great playwright, poet, and storyteller, William Shakespeare. He was a man who wrote many popular stories known today as some of the greatest works of literary art ever read. He lived throughout the late 16th century into the early 17th century, a time where he produced many plays that were appreciated by the masses and even some royalty. Richard III, one of his popular works, is rife with political criticisms while simultaneously veiled by comedic coverage full of metaphoric insults.

Shakespeare wrote many plays during his lifetime, but possibly none as complex and busy as Richard III. It is an intricate play where many different characters are portrayed in many different roles. One of those characters is the Duke of Buckingham, a villain and for the majority of the play the trusted accomplice for Richard. In almost every scene in which Buckingham was portrayed, he proved himself to be a rebellious villain over and over. As a rebel, he fought as a revolutionist, craving a change of events for self-seeking power. Buckingham exemplifies the definition of a revolutionist rebel because of his willingness to be part of a revolution in order to change his surroundings and increase his own eminence. He followed through with almost every plan given to him by Richard to accomplish his purposes until the final order to kill the young princes.