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The Tragedy of King Richard III by William Shakespeare

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The Tragedy of King Richard III by William Shakespeare 1 Shakespeare – live The Tragedy of King Richard III by William Shakespeare Historical background The real-life Richard III was born in1485. He was Edward IV’s brother and Richard, Duke of York’s third son. Upon Edward’s death in 1483 he imprisoned his nephews in the Tower of London, announced that they had died there and proclaimed himself King of England. In 1485 Richard III was killed during the Battle of Bosworth Field, at the hand of Henry Tudor (Earl of 5 Richmond) who was later to become Henry VII. In the period after his death Richard was often portrayed negatively, attacked or defamed in literary and historical accounts, particularly Thomas More’s ‘History of Richard III’, which was also a source for Shakespeare’s play. Later historians have attempted to clear his name to some degree, notably Horace Walpole in his 10 ‘Historic Doubts on the Life and Death of Richard III’. However, Richard III remains one of the most controversial figures in English history. The play The Tragedy of King Richard III is considered a historical tragedy. After Hamlet, it is Shakespeare’s second longest drama and yet it is one of his most often performed plays. There are at least half a dozen film versions of the play, in which some of the stage’s best actors have played major roles. 15 The drama unfolds in five acts, beginning with the exposition and the complication of the plot within the first two acts. Typically, the climax comes at the end of Act III. The dénouement and the finale follow in the remaining two acts. The plot At the onset the House of York has won the Civil War against the House of Lancaster and a scheming Richard wants to inherit the crown from his brother Edward IV who is dying. Edward 20 has a daughter, Elizabeth. However, the rightful heirs to the throne are Richard’s other brother, George (Duke of Clarence), followed by his two sons. Richard tricks the weak king into locking Clarence up on account of treason and then hires murderers to kill him. Richard woos Lady Anne with the intent of making her his queen once he is king. She curses him for having killed her husband in the war. Pretending to be hopelessly in love with her, he claims 25 that he killed her husband for the sole purpose of marrying her, and she is convinced. Shortly after their marriage King Edward IV dies. Richard then has George’s sons taken to the Tower – apparently for their own protection – and with the help of the Duke of Buckingham he seizes power. To make his position more secure, Richard has the princes in the Tower murdered. Disposing of Lady Anne, he plots to marry his niece, Elizabeth. 30 In the meanwhile the Earl of Richmond (of the rival House of Lancaster) has gathered up an army and invades to end Richard’s tyrannical reign. The night before the Battle of Bosworth Field the ghosts of Richard’s victims appear and predict his awful death. Although Richard feels safe with his large army, he loses his horse and cannot escape the enemy. After his uttering: “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” he is killed by the Earl of Richmond. Once the battle is over, © Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2010 | www.klett.de | Alle Rechte vorbehalten Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. abgegolten. sind Kopiergebühren Die gestattet. Unterrichtsgebrauch eigenen den für Vervielfältigung die ist Druckvorlage dieser Von vorbehalten Rechte Alle | www.klett.de | 2010 Stuttgart GmbH, Verlag Klett Ernst © Solutions 1. Individuelle Lösung 2. Richard III is based on true historical events and therefore it is not purely fictional. Plays which are more or less based on historical events are called history plays. 3. A classical play consists of 5 acts: 1. the exposition, 2. the complication of the story, 3. the climax, 4. the dénouement and 5. the finale. The exposition introduces the characters (protagonist, antagonist and others), the basic conflict and the setting. The second act, the complication of the story, develops additional conflicts that prevent the protagonist from reaching his/her goal. The third act contains the climax or turning point which brings about change. In the fourth act the action falls and leads to the solution of the conflict, which turns out to be a catastrophe for the protagonist in the fifth act. 4. Real-life Richard III tried to get the best for himself, not caring at all about anybody else. This weak trait of character made him an ideal protagonist for a play because it is easier to develop conflicts when controversial figures are involved. Writing about someone’s flaws is also a means of offering indirect criticism. 4. Why was Richard III a topic of interest for writers? for interest of topic a III Richard was Why 3. Briefly explain the structure of a classical play. classical a of structure the explain Briefly 2. Why is Richard III a historical play? historical a III Richard is Why 1. Read the plot summary, take notes and prepare to give a two-minute talk. two-minute a give to prepare and notes take summary, plot the Read Understanding the text the Understanding Houses of York and Lancaster. and York of Houses Elizabeth’s hand in marriage – thus signalling an end to the longstanding conflict between the the between conflict longstanding the to end an signalling thus – marriage in hand Elizabeth’s Richmond is crowned Henry VII. On this occasion he makes public that he intends to ask for for ask to intends he that public makes he occasion this On VII. Henry crowned is Richmond 35 2 Shakespeare – live.
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