SparkNotes - Richard III

Put the pieces together with our easy-to-read translations. Soon youll be reading Shakespeares own words fearlesslyand actually enjoying it. No Fear Shakespeare pairs Shakespeares language with translations into modern Englishthe kind of English people actually speak today. When Shakespeares words make your head spin, our translations will help you sort out whats happening, whos saying what, and why.

Later, he becomes King Richard III. He is evil, corrupt, sadistic, and manipulative, and willing to stop at nothing to become king. His intelligence, political brilliance, and dazzling use of language keep the audience fascinatedand his subjects and rivals under his thumb. BuckinghamRichards right-hand man in his schemes to gain power. A willing accomplice in Richards murders and machinations, Buckingham is almost as amoral and ambitious as Richard himself. King Edward IVThe older brother of Richard and Clarence, and the king of England at the start of the play. King Edward IVThe older brother of Richard and Clarence, and the king of England at the start of the play.

Edward was deeply involved in the Yorkists brutal overthrow of the Lancaster regime, but as king he is devoted to achieving a reconciliation among the various political factions of his reign. He is unaware that Richard attempts to thwart him at every turn. ClarenceThe gentle, trusting brother born between Edward and Richard in the York family. Richard has Clarence murdered in order to get him out of the way. Clarence leaves two children, a son and a daughter. Queen ElizabethThe wife of King Edward IV and the mother of the two young princes (the heirs to the throne) and their older sister, young Elizabeth.

After Edwards death, Queen Elizabeth (also called Lady Gray) is at Richards mercy. Richard rightly views her as an enemy because she opposes his rise to power, and because she is intelligent and fairly strong-willed. Elizabeth is part of the Woodeville family. Her kinsmenDorset, Rivers, and Grayare her allies in the court. Dorset, Rivers, and GrayThe kinsmen and allies of Elizabeth and members of the Woodeville and Gray families. Rivers is Elizabeths brother, while Gray and Dorset are her sons from her first marriage.

Richard eventually executes Rivers and Gray, but Dorset flees and survives. AnneThe young widow of Prince Edward, who was the son of the former king, Henry VI. Lady Anne hates Richard for the death of her husband, but for reasons of politicsand for sadistic pleasureRichard persuades Anne to marry him. Duchess of YorkWidowed mother of Richard, Clarence, and King Edward IV. The Duchess of York is Elizabeths mother-in-law, and she is very protective of Elizabeth and her children, who are the Duchesss grandchildren. MargaretWidow of the dead King Henry VI and mother of the slain Prince Edward. MargaretWidow of the dead King Henry VI and mother of the slain Prince Edward.

In medieval times, when kings were deposed, their children were often killed to remove any threat from the royal line of descentbut their wives were left alive because they were considered harmless. Margaret was the wife of the king before Edward, the Lancastrian Henry VI, who was subsequently deposed and murdered (along with their children) by the family of King Edward IV and Richard. She is embittered and hates both Richard and the people he is trying to get rid of, all of whom were complicit in the destruction of the Lancasters. The princesThe two young sons of King Edward IV and his wife, Elizabeth, their names are actually Prince Edward and the Duke of York, but they are often referred to collectively. Agents of Richard murder these boysRichards nephewsin the Tower of London. Young ElizabethThe former Queen Elizabeths daughter. Young ElizabethThe former Queen Elizabeths daughter.

Young Elizabeth enjoys the fate of many Renaissance noblewomen. She becomes a pawn in political power-brokering, and is promised in marriage at the end of the play to Richmond, the Lancastrian rebel leader, in order to unite the warring houses of York and Lancaster. Ratcliffe, CatesbyTwo of Richards flunkies among the nobility. TyrrellA murderer whom Richard hires to kill his young cousins, the princes in the Tower of London. RichmondA member of a branch of the Lancaster royal family. Richmond gathers a force of rebels to challenge Richard for the throne.

He is meant to represent goodness and justice and fairnessall the things Richard does not. Richmond is portrayed in such a glowing light in part because he founded the Tudor dynasty, which still ruled England in Shakespeares day. HastingsA lord who maintains his integrity, remaining loyal to the family of King Edward IV. Hastings winds up dead for making the mistake of trusting Richard. StanleyThe stepfather of Richmond. Lord Mayor of LondonA gullible and suggestible fellow whom Richard and Buckingham use as a pawn in their ploy to make Richard king. VaughanA friend of Elizabeth, Dorset, Rivers, and Gray who is executed by Richard along with Rivers and Gray.