New Paltz Shakespeare

Before I even began to read this play I knew this was going to be one of the more difficult pieces that Shakespeare has written. Boy was I in for a surprise. I thought I understood who all the characters were from reading the "Persons of the Play". As I got into Act one more I had to keep looking at the "Persons of the Play" because I was getting really confused with who was who and who was related to who. We have read a lot of plays so far this semester and Richard III will be one that I will remember for a while. He is one of the most meanest and selfish characters I have ever seen, a great definition of a villain by the way. Many of Shakespeare's characters have their flaws but I am able to work with them, but Richard III is one character that I won't be able to see his side of things or why he does what he does. I found him to be very manipulative too. He hates everyone he comes across and wishes them dead. All he cares about is becoming king and he can't do that until Clarence and King Edward are dead.

My favorite part of this play so far is when he talks about wooing Lady Anne even though he can't stand the site of her. Lady Anne despises him so much for killing her husband and father in law, but at first he insists it wasn't him that killed them. These two are like little children going back and forth arguing with one another it was quite amuseining to read. His intentions are nothing more than pure evil. Richard says, the readiest way to make the wench amends is to become her husband and her father. He doesn't love her at all, but he gets something out if it. He tells Anne there is a man who can love her better than her husband and she wants to know who. He tells her it is Plantagenet and she says that is her husbands name but Richard says someone else has that name and that person is him. The only reason why he killed her husband was so she could get a better husband . The thought sickens Anne and she spits at him wishing that she could spit poison, but she is still willing to argue with him instead of walking out and just leaving him there to talk to himself. It seems like Anne gets full enjoyment out of going back and forth with Richard. It is getting her absolutely no where because he could sit there for days and tell her how Beautiful she is. It was her beauty in the first place according to Richard that made him kill King Henry and her heavenly face that set him to work. Towards the end of Act one scene one we see the Lady Anne is beginning to let her guard down and is starting to believe all of his lies. When Anne curses Richard and asks that the gods punish him he begins begging to explain himself. He then takes the sword and tells Anne to pierce his chest but she can't bring herself to do so. Even though she can't stand him she won't be the one to kill him. She becomes so weak at the end of this scene that she tells Richard that he can bring King Henry's body to his final resting place. Just before all this she could have ripped his heart out now she is becoming rational with him. This part bothered me so much because I couldn't believe she would fall into one of his traps, I thought she would have stayed strong. I am interested in seeing how this relationship will progress and how many more of his lies she will believe before she figures the truth out or even if at all.