Richard III is a five-act history play by the English dramatist William Shakespeare. It is more fully known as King Richard III. It is one of Shakespeare’s plays based on English history and belongs to the first period of his artistic development as a playwright. It was probably written and first performed between 1592 and 1594, though some modern scholars believe that it may date from 1591. It was first published in 1597.
Richard III forms the last part in a tetralogy (four-part series) of dramas dealing with the power struggle for possession of the English throne between the Lancastrians and Yorkists during most of the 1400’s. The other parts of this tetralogy are the three plays dealing with the ill-fated reign of the weak king Henry VI. In writing Richard III, Shakespeare relied on works by two English historians of the 1500’s—The Union of the Two Noble and Illustrious Families of Lancaster and York (1548) by Edward Hall and the Chronicles (1577, revised 1588) of Raphael Holinshed.
Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s finest tragedies. Its subject matter concerns the end of the Wars of the Roses (see Wars of the Roses ). It opens with the hunchbacked Richard, Duke of Gloucester, confiding his villainous plans to the audience. He addresses the audience in a famous soliloquy that begins, “Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York.” Richard refers to the success of his brother Edward, Duke of York. Edward has overthrown Henry VI of the House of Lancaster and taken the English throne. Now weak and ill, he rules England as Edward IV. Richard wants to gain the crown for himself. He has his other brother, the Duke of Clarence, murdered. After King Edward dies, Richard sends the Prince of Wales, the dead king’s older son, and the prince’s brother to the Tower of London. After seizing the throne as Richard III, he has the two boys murdered.
Before long, Richard’s allies turn against him and join forces with Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, a member of the House of Lancaster. Richard’s forces capture one of these former allies, the Duke of Buckingham, and he is executed. Richmond’s forces meet Richard’s army at the Battle of Bosworth Field. On the eve of the battle, the ghosts of the people Richard has murdered appear to him and foretell his defeat. Richard utters the famous cry “A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!” as his mount is slain under him at the height of the battle. Richmond finally kills Richard and takes the throne as King Henry VII.
The character of Richard III is a superb theatrical portrait of crafty evil. But Richard blends his wickedness with such wit that his plots and intrigues become a delight to watch. On a deeper level, the play Richard III reminds audiences that when evil flourishes, society in general is to blame. People can be freed from the evil around them only when they themselves live up to the demands they make of their leaders.
