Richard III Research Paper

Hangry Richard with an Appetite for Revenge The early years of a person’s life are one of the most important stages to one’s development; it is a time period where each experience fortifies the person’s future. Unfortunately, if a child is treated poorly during this time, then when they are an adult, they may harbor a lot of resentment. This is exactly what happens to Richard in Shakespeare’s play Richard III. As a child, Richard was verbally abused and bullied by his family, specifically his mother, the Duchess of York, because of his disabilities. As a result, Richard was destined to become a vengeful, cold, tyrant. However, Richard is not a power hungry individual like most people believe, he is only seeking power to hurt the people

Richard, at a young age was scary, deceitful, arrogant, and wicked. As a result his mother called him names like a “[wretched] thing” (2.4.____) and “thou toad” (4.4____).

These words really resonated with Richard and effected his psychological development. For instance, In Richard’s opening monologue, he describes himself as “deformed, [and] unfinished” (1.1___). He believes he is so physically inadequate and ugly “That dogs bark at [him] as [he] halt by them” (1.1___). Because of his abnormalities and the exploitation of these abnormalities by his family, Richard is “determined to prove a villain” (1.1___).

All of the name calling, shaming, and bullying lead to a series of unfortunate events that cultivated Richards climb to power. When Richard finally became of age and had the means to take the crown, he took every opportunity he could, no matter the cost, to take revenge. It all begins with Richard’s plans mapped out in the beginning of the play:

Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,

By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,

To set my brother Clarence and the

The reason is twofold. The first being, if Richard killed the Duchess of York before he was king, his brothers would have either exiled him or executed him for committing such a crime against their mother. Secondly, if Richard had just killed his mother from the beginning, she would have gotten off to easy. Richard’s mother would not have had to suffer as much as she did, if she was just exiled. Instead the Duchess of York witnessed the death of everyone one of her living family members, including her favorite children and grandchildren. Now the Duchess of York must live alone, with no family, no love – just like Richard did as a