Richard III Villainy Quotes
How does Shakespeare explore the theme of villainy in Richard III?
Richard III is an historical play written by William Shakespeare during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, depicting the contentious rise to power of King Richard III of England and his short reign as King. Richard III is the final play in a cycle of eight plays written by Shakespeare dramatizing English history from 1398 to 1485. The theme of villainy is intricately explored throughout the play as one of its main themes. Shakespeare effectively explores the theme of villainy through the use of dramatic techniques such as character soliloquies and literary techniques such as symbolism. These techniques enable Shakespeare’s ideas of villainy to be developed and explored, which …show more content…
Richard as a character, is the most evil character in the play, plotting and manipulating ways around obstacles in his path to power. He is often called different animals, which was very degrading. His emblem historically was a boar, a much darker and less grand emblem compared to his brother Edward’s emblem of the sun. The symbol of a boar is perhaps the most obvious symbol in the play and is associated with evil throughout the plays entirety, which refers back to the theme of villainy and evil. Throughout the play Richard, the villain, is often referred to as ‘the boar’ symbolizing the evil about him. In the time of Shakespeare, the boar was a commonly hunted animal, and audiences at the time would have associated it with violence and untamed aggression. A good example of Richard being compared to a boar is in Act 5 Scene 2 when Richmond uses imagery to describe Richard as a ‘wretched, bloody and usurping boar’ Richard, just as boars trample the ground, crushed civil liberties and the happiness of citizens. A second example of animal symbolism is Margaret’s comparison of the villainous Richard to a ‘bottled-spider‘ ‘Whose deadly web ensnareth thee about?‘ (Act 1 Scene 3). This powerful animal symbolism is an effective technique used by Shakespeare to highlight the theme of villainy, as it is consistently referred back to throughout the whole of the
Richard III is an historical play written by William Shakespeare during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, depicting the contentious rise to power of King Richard III of England and his short reign as King. Richard III is the final play in a cycle of eight plays written by Shakespeare dramatizing English history from 1398 to 1485. The theme of villainy is intricately explored throughout the play as one of its main themes. Shakespeare effectively explores the theme of villainy through the use of dramatic techniques such as character soliloquies and literary techniques such as symbolism. These techniques enable Shakespeare’s ideas of villainy to be developed and explored, which …show more content…
Richard as a character, is the most evil character in the play, plotting and manipulating ways around obstacles in his path to power. He is often called different animals, which was very degrading. His emblem historically was a boar, a much darker and less grand emblem compared to his brother Edward’s emblem of the sun. The symbol of a boar is perhaps the most obvious symbol in the play and is associated with evil throughout the plays entirety, which refers back to the theme of villainy and evil. Throughout the play Richard, the villain, is often referred to as ‘the boar’ symbolizing the evil about him. In the time of Shakespeare, the boar was a commonly hunted animal, and audiences at the time would have associated it with violence and untamed aggression. A good example of Richard being compared to a boar is in Act 5 Scene 2 when Richmond uses imagery to describe Richard as a ‘wretched, bloody and usurping boar’ Richard, just as boars trample the ground, crushed civil liberties and the happiness of citizens. A second example of animal symbolism is Margaret’s comparison of the villainous Richard to a ‘bottled-spider‘ ‘Whose deadly web ensnareth thee about?‘ (Act 1 Scene 3). This powerful animal symbolism is an effective technique used by Shakespeare to highlight the theme of villainy, as it is consistently referred back to throughout the whole of the