Richard III Questions and Answers
Richard III
In Looking For Richard by Al Pacino, how does Pacino portray the equality of women and men and their more dominant...
Al Pacino's 1996 documentary Looking for Richard features famous actors playing out scenes from Richard III interspersed with man-on-the-street interviews, scholarly analysis, and commentary by the...
Richard III
Why do the ghosts appear in the main battle scene (Richard vs. Richmond) in Shakespeare's Richard III?
In Shakespeare's Richard III, eleven ghosts appear in both Richard and Richmond's dreams the night before the battle. Each one of the ghosts had been murdered by Richard: Prince Edward, King Henry...
Richard III
How does the use of rhetoric in Shakespeare's Richard the Third demonstrate the themes of the play?
Well, first of all, there are many themes in Shakespeare's King Richard the Third: war, justice, manipulation, betrayal, fate, appearance vs. reality, etc. However, since you asked specifically...
Richard III
What are specific examples of 'kingship' are seen in Richard III? My ideas so far: Contrast of Richard and Richmond...
One clear way in which kingship is presented and discussed in this play is through the presentation of the common people and their feelings and thoughts about the violence amongst the ruling...
Richard III
What role does the Scrivener play in Richard III?
The primary purpose of the scrivener in Shakespeare's Richard III is to draw the audience's attention to how corrupt things have become in light of Richard's machinations. Without knowing that...
Richard III
In Shakespeare's Richard III, what are the similarities between Richard and Richmond?
In Shakespeare's Richard III, Richard (called Gloucester throughout much of the play) is a singular character in a number of ways. From the very first act, Richard is portrayed as a physically...
Richard III
What key lessons are presented to us in Richard III?
Good literature rarely offers simplistic moral lessons. Instead, Richard III by William Shakespeare is a historical drama that vividly portrays the War of the Roses and gives an audience a complex...
Richard III
What was the motivation of Richard III in taking the crown of England?
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is bored. By the time Richard was eighteen or nineteen years old, he was leading troops into battle and gaining victories for his brother, Edward, King of England,...
Richard III
List the deaths in Act 3. What does each person realize as they die? What does this suggest about the idea of justice?
In act 3, scene 3, Rivers and Gray, the queen's kinsmen, and Sir Thomas Vaughan, their friend, all die offstage. Their deaths are only confirmed in act 4, scene 4, when Margaret exclaims that they...
Richard III
Explain what Richard means by saying he had been "cheated of feature by dissembling nature." In what way had nature...
Like much of Shakespeare's verse, this line has multiple nuances. Richard suffers from a birth defect that makes him a hunchback. As a result, he grows up feeling belittled and unappreciated....
Richard III
How are the core values of integrity, honesty, loyalty, and moderation presented in Shakespeare's Richard III?
Of the values listed—integrity, honesty, loyalty, and moderation—the protagonist, Richard himself, exhibits none. What's more, he tells us in his opening soliloquy that he isn't going to: "I am...
Richard III
In act 2, scene 4 of Richard III, how does the quote "The tiger now hath seized the gentle hind; / Insulting tyranny...
This particular Shakespeare play is quite long. Consequently, it explores a variety of themes. I am unsure as to which theme this question is pointing toward. The line in question appears near the...
Richard III
In Richard III, how does William Shakespeare make the audience feel dislike towards Richard, but also sympathise with...
This is an excellent observation, and it is key to note Shakespeare's accomplishment in creating a truly villainous character that nevertheless manages to engage us and draws us as an audience to...
Richard III
The word "conscience" is used thirteen times in Richard III. What is Shakespeare's point in using it so often?
Shakespeare's point in using the word "conscience" so many times in Richard III is that the word lends itself to so many subtleties of meaning, some of which meanings have nothing whatsoever to do...
Richard III
Why is Queen Margaret so important in Richard III?
Queen Margaret has a small role in the play, but she is important in representing all the powerless people who have been hurt by Richard III and in general by the bloodshed and disruption caused by...
Richard III
In Richard III, Act 4 scene 3, when Tyrrell delivered his speech in private (IV.III.1-24), discuss the significance...
a) Tyrrell's soliloquy highlights the themes of good versus evil, ambition, and the corrupting influence of power. The monologue marks a turning point in the story. In having the young princes...
Richard III
Who is Richmond from Richard III?
As with every historical play that Shakespeare produced, Richard III contains an array of characters, some with several titles, and so it can be difficult to keep track of who's who in British...
Richard III
How does Shakespeare use soliloquy to inform us about Richard's plots, as well as to reveal his character in Act 1...
The opening scenes of the play tell us a lot about Richard's character. And that character—wicked, scheming and insanely ambitious—is expressed through Richard's numerous soliloquies. The House of...
Richard III
What are some elements of humor in Richard III?
In Shakespeare's King Richard III, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard III) is portrayed as a diabolical serial murderer, but this shouldn't detract from the fact that Richard is also a...
Richard III
In Richard III by Shakespeare, what is the language analysis of Magaret's speech? Thy friends suspect for...
In Act Three, scene i, the first of the two times that Margaret appears in Richard III, by William Shakespeare, Queen Margaret is furious and vengeful. Margaret is the widow of Henry VI (...who...
Richard III
In Shakespeare's Richard III, what strategies does Richard use to set his plots in motion? Why are they so effective?
In Richard III, Richard uses a variety of tactics to achieve his ultimate goal, the English throne. His tactics vary primarily according to the characters with which he interacts. Shortly after...
Richard III
How does Buckingham's speech in act 3, scene 7, lines 24-41 support the Scrivener's speech at the beginning of the...
The Scrivener is an important minor character in Richard III. Formally, the Scrivener's role is to draw up documents. But in relation to the play, his dramatic role is to provide a running...
Richard III
Why is Richard III so profoundly evil?
Richard is a case study of pshchological evil; he is clearly a villain and makes his wicked intentions clear in every speech. However, at the same time, he is also the protagonist of the play and...
Richard III
Please explain the following lines from Richard III: "The weary sun hath made a golden set, and by the bright track...
When Richmond personifies the sun as "weary" he is indicating that it is almost time for the sun to set. The sun is "weary," or tired, because it has been up all day. This is Shakespeare's way of...
Richard III
What do the female characters in Richard III contribute to the play?
The female characters in Richard III are mainly members of the royalty and nobility. The queens in particular are extremely important for their functions as wives and mothers of current and future...
Richard III
Why was Hastings imprisoned before the start of Richard III?
The issue at the opening of the play is who has sent Hastings to prison, rather than what he was imprisoned for. This is an important distinction, as it emphasizes the political nature of being...
Richard III
What is the importance of act 5, scene 3 for the play Richard III as a whole?
This key scene at Bosworth Field presages the end of Richard. It both creates a tense, pre-battle atmosphere as it begins with the leaders’ preparations and an eerie atmosphere through the...
Richard III
Please explain the theme of women and children in Richard III.
I am not so sure that this question is about theme, rather it appears to be about character, and the presentation of women and children in this excellent play. Clearly, the most important children...
Richard III
How does the concept of in media res apply to the opening scene of Richard III?
In medias res is Latin for "in the middle of things." A story that begins in medias res typically starts off with a bang, so to speak. The audience is thrown into the action right away with the...
Richard III
Compare Hastings' speech in III. iv. 48‑53 with his speech in III. iv. 95‑100. What has Hastings realized by the end...
Hastings spends much of the scene bragging to the others that he knows Richard "loves [him] well," and that he can decipher Richard's mood and looks. His speech which begins at line 48 is all...
Richard III
What is the importance of act 4, scene 4, when Richard tries to seduce Queen Elizabeth in Richard III?
In act 4, scene 4 of William Shakespeare's Richard III, it appears that Richard III is trying to seduce Queen Elizabeth, his brother Edward's widow. Richard uses essentially the same technique on...
Richard III
What is Richard III's worst crime?
Richard's worst crime in one sense was being Richard. Think about it: the famous murder of the Princes in the Tower was never proved, and a powerful but upstart royal house - the Tudors - had...
Richard III
What does the poem "Richard" by Carol Ann Duffy have to do with the play Richard III? What ideas can be drawn from...
"Richard" is a 2015 poem written by Scottish poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, in honor of one of Britain’s most well-known kings—Richard III. The king’s bones were found 500 years after his death at...
Richard III
What are traits of Clarence and Buckingham in Richard III?
In Shakespeare's Richard III, Clarence and Buckingham both trust Richard, who repays this trust by having them killed. Clarence, who has only a small part at the beginning of the play, is portrayed...
Richard III
How do changes in context lead to changes in the value of the women's voice in Al Pacino's Looking for Richard...
The changes in context make the women's voices in Looking for Richard have much more agency than the characters in Richard III. Richard III doesn't have a lot of female characters who aren't...
Richard III
What motivates Richard to commit such evil acts in Richard III?
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')....
Richard III
How would you argue for an interpretation of a major aspect of the play Richard III that relies on evidence from the...
To argue for an interpretation of a major aspect of the play Richard III, settle on a specific critical framework and provide evidence that supports the selected theory. If one goes with a...
Richard III
How does Richard prove a villain in Richard III?
And therefore since I cannot prove a lover/To entertain these fair well-spoken days,/I am determined to prove a villain/And hate the idle pleasures of these days. Straight from the villain's...
Richard III
What is the importance of Richard III to Shakespeare's portrayal of him in Richard III?
First and foremost, it must be remembered that Shakespeare was a playwright, not a historian. For dramatic purposes he took liberties with history. For example, he had Richard a young man in the...
Richard III
In scene 2, how does Shakespeare's writing of Richard's manipulation of Anne add interest to the play?
The way Richard manipulates Lady Anne helps us to see what type of person Richard is and just how capable he is of attaining whatever it is he wants. There is no compassion, no love, and no...
Richard III
How would you describe three different critical approaches (or criticisms) to the play Richard III: feminist,...
Feminist, psychoanalytical, and queer criticism of the play Richard III could focus on Richard’s body, his schemes to become king, or Lady Anne. The play opens with Richard, Duke of Gloucester,...
Richard III
Even though the world of Richard III seems to be governed by pragmatic political practices, the ultimate standard for...
The claim that the ultimate standard for good and evil in Richard III is transcendent is best supported by the fact that all Richard's evil deeds punish the sins of those around him without...
Richard III
What is Richard III's ultimate goal?
Richard III is delightfully, gleefully straightforward about what his ultimate goal is. He tells us right at the beginning of his play (in fact, he tells us at the end of the last play he appears...
Richard III
What are three reasons why Shakespeare has chosen to populate a play supposedly based on history with so many ghosts,...
Richard III is a historical play presumably written in 1593 by famed English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare. The plot centers on the rise and fall of Richard III—Duke of Gloucester...
Richard III
In Shakespeare's Richard III, Act 1 Scene 4, the two assassins have a discussion before murdering Clarence in the...
Two men are sent by Gloucester to dispatch his brother, the Duke of Clarence. They are known only as “First Murderer” and “Second Murderer” and they have the kind of comic repartee that Shakespeare...
Richard III
How does Shakespeare create an atmosphere of evil in Act III, scene 4 of Richard III?
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...
Richard III
How does Richard's personality change over the course of the play? Does his level of control disintegrate?
Although Shakespeare presents Richard III as being physically deformed, modern historians doubt whether this was true. Nevertheless, in the play, he is presented this way and it is intimated that...
Richard III
In Richard III, what sort of man is Earl Rivers?
Anthony Woodville, the Earl Rivers, appears in Richard III as a supporter of the Royal Lineage, and is killed to keep the young Prince Edward off the throne. Anthony Woodville has few lines in the...
Richard III
Was Richard a villain because of his deformity or was he deformed because he is a villain?
The play opens with a soliloquy by Richard, Duke of Gloucester. He tells himself--and his audience--that peace has settled on the land and everybody is happy except himself. He describes himself as...
Richard III
Explain the Duchess of York's speech "Dead life, blind sight..." from Richard III.
DUCHESS.So many miseries have craz'd my voiceThat my woe-wearied tongue is still and mute.--Edward Plantagenet, why art thou dead? QUEEN MARGARET.Plantagenet doth quit Plantagenet,Edward for...
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