Richard III (Folger Shakespeare Library) Reviews

• Richard the Evil Hearted

  
  By AMKZHBOK7VMQR on 2005-09-13
  Shakepeare's Richard is evil and manipulative to such an extreme degree that even his physical deformity cannot match up to the inner deformity that is revealed to the reader/audience in his private soliloquies. Having been portrayed as a conniving usurper to power by Thomas More during the early Tudor era he is actually savaged by Shakespeare and his legacy in historical terms has become one with the characterization that the bard gave us.
  
  Richard is a muderous liar who kills anyone who gets in his way and he is contrasted with the righteously portrayed young Henry VII who returns from France to set things right.
  
  The play is a wonderful read and study in Machiavellian manuevering for powers sake.
  
  From the setting up of his brother Clarence to the murder of the young Princes in the Tower Richard who takes the audience into his confidence gradually becomes as appalling a character as Shakespeare ever created.
  
  Much of what is later revealed of the capacity for people to scheme against their fellows in Claudius and Iago in the respective tragedies of Hamlet and Othello is begun here in Richard III.
  
  

• Richard III, the Perfect Villain, my hero

  
  By on 2006-06-21
  This is the greatest of Shakespeare's plays.
  
  The hunchbacked and ruthless title villain is what all villains have ascribed to be and yet can never attain.
  
  "Now is the winter of our discontent
  Made glorious summer by this son of York."
  
  With those famous words begineth the play and the introduction of the character who spake them: Richard III. In the great opening monologue, he reveals his plots and his bitterness toward the world that looked away from his ugliness in disgust.
  He stabs at the world and looks to the crown as his ultimate prize.
  
  This play contains my favorite Shakespearian quote: when Richard says:
  
  "A Horse! A Horse!
  My kingdom for a horse!"
  
  Oh yes, the perfect villain. Caligula, Nero, Commodus, Ivan the Terrible, Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Vlad the Impaler...
  
  
  

• Richard III

  
  By A27Q89LHUZ4SE9 on 2007-09-21
  The book is sold at a bargain price, but the font is too small for easy reading, and the paper is of poor quality.
  
  

• Classic Shakespeare (i.e., sheer genius)

  
  By ASSCA9IS0GWF5 on 2007-11-22
  It may not be Hamlet, but Richard III is still one of the finest works of literature ever created, in any medium. It's a classic piece of Shakespearian (and therefore, literary) character development, full of irony, wordplay, nuance, tension, imagery, and jaw-dropping poetic virtuosity. Shakespeare's Richard III is simply one of the most hypnotic and effectively portrayed characters of all time- he's a calculating, ruthless, cooly charismatic megalomaniac with bitter past and a knack for heroic feats of rhetoric. He's the quintessential antihero, a thoroughly despicable human being who is nonetheless incredibly fun to root for. Witnessing his swift, ruthless rise to power is a sheer visceral rush, and his monologues are deftly conceived works that drip with side poetry, cutting humor, and an almost charming sort of egotism. Reading or watching the play, one feels like they're the wicked king's confidante and co-conspirator, being allowed the unique privilege of peering into the amoral genius' twisted soul. The experience is exciting and cathartic. Of course, there's more to this play than one great character- the plot (which offers a seething glimpse of a chaotic post civil war England) is complex and engrossing, and sees Shakespeare hurling satirical darts at the corruption and pretensions of the nation's leaders. By allowing Richard to succeed by appealing to the greed, lust, and folly of those around him, Shakespeare sends a powerful warning about the cyclical nature and bottomless pitfalls of political villainy and oppression. At the same time, he paints a grim portrait of the ultimate outcomes of greed, egotism, selfishness, vengeance, and megalomania that still rings true to this day (and will probably do so until our species is extinct). Classic.
  
  

• Fast and Easy

  
  By A2WVV7FI5MR4Y4 on 2007-01-12
  I received my book quickly and in great condition. I had no problems buying this book from here. :)
  
  

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