The Tragedy of Richard the Third

Richard III is the final play in Shakespeare’s history cycle that covers the kings of England from Richard II to Richard III. It follows Richard in his plot to wrest the throne from Edward IV and culminates in his defeat at Bosworth Field.

I think for me, this is a play that works better on the stage. A lot of the action happens offstage and the play is rather talky, sort of like how I found Julius Caesar. Also, I kept getting confused by the female characters’ relationship to each other and to the other characters in the play. For that reason, the stage adaptation (or a TV adaptation, such as The Hollow Crown) would work better for me.

I also came into this play somewhat skeptical of the historical accuracy; the Holinshed Chronicles, upon which the play was based, had a pro-Tudor slant, so while we did get glimpses into Richard’s psyche, he was very much a mustache-twirling villain for me and it didn’t really work. Again, this is where a stage adaptation would help: I utterly bought Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Richard, especially because he does a good antihero. Also, after reading Dan Jones’s book about the fall of the Plantagenets and the rise of the Tudors, I had a fresher picture of the period and couldn’t really immerse myself in the view that Tudor = good and York = bad.

The play is certainly worth a try if you like the history plays and not too much violence (it was actually written after Titus Andronicus, which from what I hear is the most violent of Shakespeare’s plays), but I’d suggest watching an adaptation first so you have characters to picture. Either the Benedict Cumberbatch one or the Ian McKellen one would do the job nicely. ( )

By far the most evil character in any Shakespeare plays that I have read. Hard to keep track of all the Edward's and Richard's and the female characters. I think it is pretty tightly scripted, prob because it has real historically characters. Never fails to amaze me how former allies turn to enemies in the course of history. Sorry I waited so long to read this one.

Historically accurate it is not. Asimov's Shakespeare books are a good supplement, as well as Harold Bloom. ( )

The Josephine Tey book I just finished got me interested in Richard III. At the same time, I've been meaning to read some Shakespeare, and since I've never read The Tragedy of KR III it seems like a good place to start. I seldom read Shakespeare but I always enjoy it when I do. I remember loving a Shakespeare class at BYU. I took it summer term from Nan Grass, and some sessions we met in her family cabin in Provo Canyon--Vivian Park for those who know it. Great memories! ( )

Annette Bening,Jim Broadbent

Richard, you hero, you villain. I am not sure how I feel about this play, I might have done a bad reading of it originally. But I am enraptured with Richard III any way. He did great things for the poor, he murdered children. He was the last King to die on the battlefield, he wasn't a legitimate King anyway. Sly, cunning, vicious and ambitious, Richard III is coming close to taking Macbeth away as my favourite Shakespeare. ( )