28th Annual Student Research Conference
The Personality of Richard III
Maeve A. Grogan
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
In Shakespeares Richard III, it's safe to assume that Richard is portrayed the villain. Although he isn't necessarily an evil character, his opening monologue displays him as a character wanting to bring misery to others. He implies that he will do anything to become king, even if that means bringing agony to people. However, throughout the play, Shakespeare almost encourages us to sympathize with Richard despite the grief he has caused. Readers may not condemn Richard even though he is portrayed as a very cold human being. Peter Byrne says, "Richard acts to achieve his own secret agenda, and if he is acting for us as much as for anyone else in the play then are we, perhaps, his dupes as well?"(Byrne 1). This paper will explore Richards complex personality and go into depth about how Shakespeare almost fooled his audience into understanding Richard like he is a normal protagonist.
Keywords: Richard III, Shakespeare, Protagonist , Evil, Personality
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 402-3
Location: VH 1010
Time: 3:00