Shakespeare's History: Richard III

“A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"
Richard III has such incredible control over every aspect of his life, and even controls the lives of others around him. He has a brilliant mind and is master at using language and betrayal to his advantage. The only real challenge Richard faces in the play is when another young man who is good with words converses with him. They have a little verbal dual, and the only thing that saves Richard is his position of power over the man, which forces him to back off and show Richard some respect.
Richard’s only vulnerability is exposed during his final moment, in battle. Here, his tried and true tricks and mind games have no effect against physical battle. Richard is not even able to put up a fight once he has lost his horse. Similar to the story of Achilles and his tendon – nobody is completely indestructible – there is always one soft spot that, once hit, will bring them down immediately. It is ironic that he can overcome the most incredible situations he gets himself into (murder after murder on top of murder), yet he is defeated when he simply has no horse to ride on.

Shakespeare creates this history simply by following the events of the times. This play could be considered completely factual, however, there is some bias to it. Had Shakespeare viewed Richard III as an awesome ruler, the play may have gone down a little differently. By portraying Richard in a negative light, however, Shakespeare is playing it safe and complying with the general audience's opinion of the situation. In order for the reader to fully understand the play, it is important to know the basics of The Wars of the Roses, divided York and Lancaster, and Richard III's family tree.

I enjoyed this play probably the most out of all of Shakespeare’s other works we have read. Aside from the confusing details of the battles, I actually had a fun time reading this play. The characters seemed to have so much passion and emotion, it was truly entertaining. I also found that reading aloud to someone (my dog) helps a great deal. Speaking the words out loud forces me to focus on what I am saying rather than just allowing my eyes to scan the words while my mind is somewhere else. Another factor contributing to my enjoyment of this play was the class discussions. Understanding someone else’s interpretation and appreciation for a character (like how Mr. Klimas idolizes Richard) opens my eyes to look more closely at the genius of Shakespeare’s writing. I then, also, begin to have that same appreciation for his work.