King Richard III

676 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critical essay on richard iii deception

Richard III is full of murder, manipulation, and betrayal. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy is a work that is serious and evokes an emotional response from audience of fear and pity. I believe that Richard III is a perfect example of a tragedy. To begin, this play is serious. By that I mean that it is realistic as opposed to As You Like It, where all the characters happened to fall in love quickly and all survived happily in a forest. This play takes place in court and the characters have serious attitudes and understand the consequences to their actions. The audience experiences fear throughout the play because of the murderous agenda of Richard. We are constantly fearing for the characters and worried if they are the next to be killed. While he does meet three out the four requirements, I still say no. First, Richard does indeed hold a position of power as Aristotle says. Second, Richard does have a “hamartia” or tragic flaw. Richard is deformed. Would you guys agree that Richard’s deception is also a flaw? I would. Almost every time he speaks he is lying and deceiving. Thirdly, Richard loses his throne and his life. It is worth mentioning this downfall can also include losing one’s good reputation. While Richard did not have a good reputation due to his deeds, Buckingham respected Richard up until he did not give Buckingham what he was owed. So in a small way he did lose respect and his reputation. Lastly, a tragic hero’s fall occurs when they have realized the error in their ways. Richard does not realize this because he only cares about himself. There is perhaps one small part where he kind of understands what he has done: “All several sins, all used in each degree, / Throng to the bar, crying all, “Guilty! guilty!” / I shall despair. There is no creature loves me, / And if I die no soul will pity me” (5.3.210-213). This sounds promising however he goes on to dismiss it. Richard is completely different from Oedipus. Oedipus was not aware about what he had done, Richard on the other hand knew exactly what he was doing. Do you guys pity Richard? He is such a villainous character, and yet this was the best play so far. Why is that

Show More
Related

  • Richard III's Usurpation and His Downfall

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    Richard III's Usurpation and His Downfall Richards rule was always unstable due to his unlawful usurpation to the throne and his part as far as the public was concerned in the death of the two princes. As a result right from the start he didn't have the trust or support from his country. As soon as he became King people were already plotting against him. After he was crowned he travelled the country trying to raise support by refusing the generous gifts offered to him by various cities. However unknown to him a rebellion was been planned in the South.

    Read More

  • Richard III and Looking For Richard Connections

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    To explore connections between texts is to heighten understanding of humanity’s progressing values and the underlying relevant themes that continue to engage societies regardless of context. William Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) (RIII) and Al Pacino’s docudrama Looking for Richard (1996) (LFR) demonstrate how opinion is created through comparative study, both explore the struggle for power within differing contexts to determine the duplicity of humanity. Ultimately, despite the divergent eras of composition and textual form, these connections expose the relevant social commentaries of their composers, highlighting innately human values, which remain constant.

    Read More

  • The Loss of the Throne by Richard III

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Richard did not manage to recover from the usurpation of Edward and after allegedly murdering the two Princes in the tower his reputation had fallen greatly. He had lost a lot of respect from nobles and from the populus. Killing the Princes could be seen as one of the major factors of his downfall. It was common place in monarchical families to have brothers and sisters "put out of the picture", but even in these primitive times, the murder of innocent children was a taboo.

    Read More

  • King Henry IV

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    The father and son relationship is one of the most important aspects through the youth of a young man. In Shakespeare’s play Henry IV, he portrays the concept of having "two fathers". King Henry is Hal’s natural father, and Falstaff is Hal’s moral father. Hal must weigh the pros and cons of each father to decide which model he will emulate. Falstaff, who is actually Hal’s close friend, attempts to pull Hal into the life of crime, but he refuses.

    Read More

  • The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...e was also writing in Tudor England and seemed to have openly dislike Richard III. In other portions of his writing he describes Richard as an unattractive deformed man who was born with a full set of teeth. He writes that he had a “sour countenance , which seemed to savour of mischief, and utter evidently craft and deceit.”

    Read More

  • Richard III as a Successful Politician

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    Richard III as a Successful Politician Shakespeare's Richard III is set in England after the War of the Roses. Richard, the megalomanic eponymous character, is desperate for the throne of England. He tells us that he seeks the crown to compensate for his deformity (he was a hunchback from birth). Richard has his own brother killed and later has former allies and those who still stood in his way killed also. When Richard eventually gains the throne he finds his conscience and begins to feel insecure, he has the two Princes he has locked away killed.

    Read More

  • Richard III Villain Quotes

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    But Buckingham knows what to do. He tells Richard to take two priests with him, since the people are very religious and will follow the priest's’ actions. After doing as if he was denying the request for being the king, the crowd tried to persuade him. Because of doing as if he didn’t want the crown, the crowd thought they could trust him more, and begged him to be the king. Eventually he said yes, and finally became king of England. He orders Buckingham to kill prince Edward, but Buckingham refuses to. He asks for his Earlship, but Richard gets mad and dismisses him. He knows he also has to get rid of Buckingham now, since he is not loyal to him anymore. He hires a murderer called Tyrrel to kill the princes and finally he got rid of

    Read More

  • King Henry

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    King Henry VIII of England and Ireland, third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, was born on June 28, 1491. Henry VIII was born, like all other monarchs except Henry VII, at Greenwich Palace. His two brothers, Prince Arthur and Edmond, Duke of Somerst, and of his two sisters died before their father. Henry VIII was the only son. Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor were the only daughters to survive. It is said the King Henry was destined for the church and that his powers were thrust upon him. He was the first monarch, English monarch, to be educated under the influence of the Renaissance. Henry was an accomplished scholar, musician, and athlete. With the death of his brother, Arthur, and the death of his father, Henry VIII toke the throne.

    Read More

  • Richard the Third as a Hero or a Villain

    2535 Words  | 6 Pages

    This contributes to a very villainous role. Richard begins his journey to the throne. He manipulates Lady Anne. into marrying him, even though she knows that he murdered her first. husband.

    Read More

  • The Evil of Richard the Third

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    The task which Shakespeare undertook was to mold the hateful constitution of Richard's Moral; character. Richard had to contend with the prejudices arising from his bodily deformity which was considered an indication of the depravity and wickedness of his nature. Richard's ambitious nature, his elastic intellect, and his want of faith in goodness conspire to produce his tendency to despise and degrade every surrounding being and object, even as his own person. He is never sincere except when he is about to commit a murder.

    Read More

  • Illusion Of Truth In Richard III

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humanity's version of entertainment undeniably reflects a violent history rife with bloody quests for power. However, the stage has never seen a more villainous protagonist than in Shakespeare's Richard III. Our antihero, Richard of Gloucester, immediately engages the audience with a sweet soliloquy, his plot, filled with goals of betrayal and murder effectively forming a bond between himself and his listeners— a bond built on the illusion of truth. [Queen Elizabeth info] The illusion of truth is the goal of any successful performer, and Richard's ability to influence his listeners, both the audience and the characters in the play, demonstrates his power as a performer, which deteriorates once he is crowned king. His facade cracks and ultimately breaks down once he no longer has an audience to perform for, leaving Richard a victim of his own undoing.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare on Machiavelli: The Prince in Richard III

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Justification of Death in Hamlet

    2588 Words  | 6 Pages

    Beginning with the Greeks, tragedy has been an essential form of entertainment. Although it has changed slightly over time due to different religious and social values, it is still written and performed to this day. Perhaps the most well known tragedy of all time is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is perhaps the epitome of all tragedy. Not only does the tragic hero Hamlet meet his demise, but all the main characters in the play at some point due to some flaw in their character, or some fatal decision, also meet the same fate. It is because of their character flaw and/or their fatal decision at some time during the play that their death can be justified.

    Read More

  • Tragic Hero in Othello by William Shakespeare

    1247 Words  | 3 Pages

    One might think of a tragedy being a terrible and destructible event in one’s life that causes great pain and may contain great loss. One particular play written by William Shakespeare – one of the most well known poets in history, happens to be a tragedy-filled story. Othello, the Moor of Venice, set during the captivating renaissance era portrays a character named Othello who reveals characteristics of a tragic hero. The brilliant philosopher Aristotle from the fourth century B.C. developed his own definition and idea of what a tragic hero is. Eric Engle, author of “Aristotle, Law and Justice: The Tragic Hero,” said, Due to Aristotle’s influence, his tragic flaw has distorted western thought ever since its conception” (Engle). “The enquiry of whether Othello is a true tragic hero is debatable. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero was a protagonist who is socially superior to others, but then has a downfall due to a “tragic flaw,” typically caused by the character’s solitary weakness. Due to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Othello possesses the qualities from his definition that fulfill the role of being a tragic hero.

    Read More

  • Elements of Tragedy in Hamlet

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 350 B.C.E., a great philosopher wrote out what he thought was the definition of a tragedy. As translated by S.H. Butcher, Aristotle wrote; “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. . . . Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Characters, Thought, Diction, Spectacle, Melody. (http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html)” Later in history, William Shakespeare wrote tragedies that epitomized Aristotle’s outline of a tragedy. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one such tragedy.

    Read More

More about King Richard III

Open Document