Richard III

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Richard III
William Shakespeare
1591

The Summary

Put simply, The Tragedy of King Richard III tells the story of one ambitious man's rise to power - and reveals his willingness to stoop to any means necessary to ascend to the throne.

The Good

William Shakespeare's play is absolutely thrilling.  Beautifully complex, full of political intrigue and suspense - and, yes, even daring escapes and brutal murders - Richard III is a captivating play about power and deceit, and what one man will do to seize the crown for himself.

Moreover, the character and plot developments seen throughout the play are absolutely perfect.  Well, perhaps perfection is too far, but, regardless, Richard III manages to create some of the most fascinating, endearing, grotesque, and terrifying characters.

Take Richard, Duke of Gloucester (and, later, King Richard III), for instance.  His description as a deformed human being - his depth as a character, the influence of self-fulfilling prophecy in his life - and his continuous acts of cruelty, his downward spiral into murder and treachery, make him a perfect villain.

Richard III is a character you will love to hate.

The Bad

As most people have read Shakespeare's plays at one time or another, it's easy to recognize some of the perils of Shakespeare's work, including Richard III.  Antiquated vocabularly, complex speech patterns, and distinct (sometimes, difficult) language quirks, all make Shakespeare's play more than a little challenging for many readers.

But it's worth reading, nonetheless, because this work, if you can manage the language barrier, is absolutely riveting.

The Ugly

Richard III is not a gentle tale by any means.

I mean, after all, Richard of Gloucester is a man intent on securing the crown for himself by any means necessary, including - and certainly not limited to - murder, war, genocide, and other forms of violent (very violent, and very brutal) forms of teachery and political intrigue.