Richard III Summary | Play by William Shakespeare | Neb English Support Class 12

Neb English Support Class 12

Richard III Summary | Play by William Shakespeare | Neb English Support Class 12

Richard III by William Shakespeare

SHORT STORYLINE

Richard III by William Shakespeare 

Richard wants to become king no matter who he has to kill to get the throne; he kills everyone who stands in his way; spooky ghosts appear; and Richard is killed at last.

SHORT SUMMARY

Richard III by William Shakespeare 

Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester longs to be King of England and uses all manner of manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal. He murders his brothers, nephews, and any opposition to being on the throne of King Richard III. Finally, Henry of Richmond raises an army, kills Richard in battle, and becomes King Henry VII.

DETAILED SUMMARY

Richard III by William Shakespeare

Act I

The play Richard III follows the events depicted in Henry VI, Part 3. Richard of Gloucester, brother of King Edward IV, is determined to win the crown of England for himself at any cost. His main plot begins when he romantically pursues a widowed woman, Anne. He woos her when she accompanies him in the funeral procession of his father-in-law, King Henry VI (whom Richard assassinated). Anne is unable to oppose Richard's advances and becomes Duchess of Gloucester. Richard imprisons his older brother, Clarence, in the Tower of London. Clarence tells his jailer the dream of his drowning. Shortly afterwards, Richard's hired killers kill him and place the body in a cask of wine.

Act II

King Edward IV is ill, and Richard is appointed to rule in his stead, assisted by Lord Hastings and the Duke of Buckingham.  Three women mourn their state: Margaret, Henry VI's former queen; Queen Elizabeth, wife of Edward; and the widowed Duchess of York, Richard's mother. Margaret curses Richard and the kingdom a lot.

Act III–IV

To counter any claim to the crown, Richard imprisons his nephews, the young Prince of Wales, and his brother in the Tower of London. Buckingham aids Richard's rise to power by helping to persuade the Lord Mayor and the people of London to support his faction. When illness kills Edward, his brother is proclaimed King Richard III.

Richard has Lord Hastings, the Lord Chamberlain, executed for trying to thwart him. Richard also sends a killer to smother the princes in the tower in their sleep. Buckingham doubts Richard's role in the deaths of the young princes. Then, when he is denied an ancient post, Buckingham tries to raise an army against Richard. Richard captures and kills him. Meanwhile, Richard seeks Elizabeth of York, Edward IV's daughter, as a new wife to secure his position as king. His current wife, Anne, has been murdered.

Act V

The Earl of Richmond, Henry Tudor, is the heir to the Lancastrian claim to the throne, and he assembles an army in France to oppose the tyrannical rule of Richard. Both armies meet at Bosworth, in Leicestershire. The night before the battle, his victims' ghosts appear in Richmond and curse Richard, blessing him for battle. Richmond kills Richard III on Bosworth Field and is also proclaimed Henry VII of England. He plans to finalise the 'Wars of the Roses' by marrying Elizabeth of York and becoming the main link between the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster.

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ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE SUMMARY

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