Richard III Group at eNotes

The worst crime is the killing of the children, seen as the innocents....

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:18:31 PST

The worst crime is the killing of the children, seen as the innocents. Other political murders of adults can be seen as the natural result of power politics and with the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses everyone is out to get everyone else. But the killing of the two princes is an unforgiveable crime.

Of course it is completely outrageous that Richard can contemplate Anne...

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:15:57 PST

Of course it is completely outrageous that Richard can contemplate Anne wanting anything to do with him at all. It exemplifies the power the character has in his words, how he is a master manipulator of vocabulary and how single minded the is. He is also someone with a longer term plan "I'll have her, but I'll not keep her long." He basically turns everything around on Anne, so that everything he has done has been for her, and...

Soliloquy is used to keep the audience informed as to what particular...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:32:35 PST

Soliloquy is used to keep the audience informed as to what particular characters are thinking and, in this case, plotting.In all three scenes, Richard is shown to be 'mis'hapen' but very articulate. In scene 1 Richard tells the audience that he is more suited to war than peace because of his deformity and in times of 'romance' is 'determined to prove a villain'. So here the audience's introduction to Richard's cruel, almost abhorrent,...

How does Shakespeare use soliloquy to inform us about Richard's plots,...

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 09:18:26 PST

How does Shakespeare use soliloquy to inform us about Richard's plots, as well as to reveal his character in Act 1 scenes 1, 2 and 3?

Great question - and one central to the play. Traditionally, Richard has...

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:55:20 PST

Great question - and one central to the play. Traditionally, Richard has been seen as a Vice figure (and indeed, he himself makes the comparison in 3.1 - to 'the formal Vice, Iniquity'). Traditionally, the Vice carries out evil acts purely out of malice.But Shakespeare's Richard is clearly at odds with a world that disregards him because of his disability:Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,Have no delight to pass away the time,Unless to...

Richard is the stereotype villian though endeared by his verve and...

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:12:01 PST

Richard is the stereotype villian though endeared by his verve and perspicacity. Is he the 'product' of heredity or environment? His mother laments:Thou cams't on earth to make the earth my hell. A grievous burthen was thy birth to me, Tetchy and wayward was thy infancy; Thy school-days frightful, desp'rate, wild, and furious, Thy prime of manhood daring, bold, and ventrous; Thy age confirm'd, proud, subtle, sly and bloody...

Richard III's Motivations for Evil

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:50:03 PST

What motivates Richard to commit such evil acts in "Richard III"?

Richard's speech here is exaggeration, like when we say we'd give an...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:37:28 PST

Richard's speech here is exaggeration, like when we say we'd give an arm and a leg for something. He hasn't fought so hard just to turn and run.

I see nothing in Richard’s words or actions on Bosworth Field that...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:46:33 PST

I see nothing in Richard’s words or actions on Bosworth Field that hints at cowardice. Catesby offers to help him retreat from the battlefield, but Richard declines, retorting:Slave, I have set my life upon a cast,And I will stand the hazard of the die.He asks for a fresh horse in order to maintain the attack. With his various schemes and intrigues, Richard has rolled the dice. He now accepts his fate, either to prevail or to die in battle...

I was interested in people's view of Richard in the final scene of the...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:27:00 PST

Is Richard still as determined in his cause, or when he says "a horse, as horse, my kingdom for a horse" has he turned his back in a cowardly final act?

I think the short answer to your question is "to build...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:58:03 PST

I think the short answer to your question is "to build tension". Remember that the audience already know that Clarence is going to be murdered - we've seen Richard in an earlier scene give the murderers the warrant for Clarence's death. What these conversations do is delay the final moment of the stabbing (which anyway, comes mid-conversation as something of a surprise) in order to build suspense and allow the tension to mount....

What is the purpose of the lengthy conversations which precede...

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:29:06 PST

What is the purpose of the lengthy conversations which precede Clarence's murder in Act 1, Scene 4 of "Richard III"?

Shakespeare portrays Richard III as an adroit user of both reverse...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:21:08 PST

Shakespeare portrays Richard III as an adroit user of both reverse psychological and sympathy. He plays upon the sympathy and desires of his subjects, and contradicts his own wishes so that he seems to be "accepting" as opposed to "leading" - a much less threatening position.This begins in Act I, scene iii. Richard has determined to marry Anne, daughter-in-law to Henry VI. Although Anne is rightfully suspicious of...

"Although she appears in just two scenes, her influence is evident...

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:50:39 PST

"Although she appears in just two scenes, her influence is evident throughout the play." She foreshadows events in the play. Queen Margaret curses her fellow royals, as the wife of the dead King Henry VI, she is left without a husband to protect her, she is at the mercy of her family for charity in order to survive. Queen Margaret speaks the rage that she feels toward Richard as a spokesperson for other characters he has...

Historically, Margaret was the widow of Henry VI, who died while in the...

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 15:38:11 PST

Historically, Margaret was the widow of Henry VI, who died while in the custody of Edward IV. In the civil war between the Lancasters and the Yorks, Henry VI was a Lancaster, and Edward IV was a York. Poor Henry was the son of the great warrior king Henry V, but he inherited the mental illness that many of his mother's relatives (most notably her father) suffered from. Most scholars believe that he was murdered, but there is no evidence that...

Why is Queen Margaret so important in "Richard III"?

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 11:24:42 PST

Why is Queen Margaret so important in "Richard III"?

I have to analyze the text to discover HOW (not why) Richard in...

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 18:29:51 PST

I have to analyze the text to discover HOW (not why) Richard in "Richard III" is successful with his manipulation.

In this scene, the atmosphere is most a consequence of suddenness. ...

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:25:40 PST

In this scene, the atmosphere is most a consequence of suddenness. Richard's behavior changes completely when informed of the loyalty to the princes. The change suggests instability to the audience, which further heightens the feeling of dark and evil tidings. If the temper can shift that quickly and become so murderous, the person must be unstable and illogical. This is not a person guided by morals or ethics.Furthermore, the effects...

How does Shakespeare create an atmosphere of evil in Act III, scene 4 of...

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:50:03 PST

How does Shakespeare create an atmosphere of evil in Act III, scene 4 of Richard III?

Webster's defines "dissemble" as "to put on a false...

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:46:50 PST

Webster's defines "dissemble" as "to put on a false appearance: conceal facts, intentions, or feelings under some pretense."In Shakespeare's depiction of him, Richard III is the very image of someone who dissembles. He shows sympathy when his brother George is led off to prison, but Richard is responsible for his imprisonment. Like Caesar, Richard pretends not to want the crown when it is really what he wants. He persuades...