How did shakespeare portray Richard III?

Answer 1

Not really. Shakespeare described Richard as hunchbacked, with a "withered arm". If the skeleton discovered under a carpark really is that of Richard III, as the people who discovered it claim, neither of those is true. The skeleton showed no weakness in either arm, and although the spine was twisted, it would not give a hunchbacked appearance. Likewise, portraits of Richard do not show him as hunchbacked, and there is nothing to indicate any abnormality in his arms. (Indeed, as Richard was universally acknowledged as a great warrior, it is unlikely that either his sword-arm or shield-arm would be crippled). So, the grotesque Quasimodo-like figure Shakespeare presents to us is a fictional figure of Tudor Propaganda.

Answer 2

Shakespeare portrayed Richard as a deformed and ugly hunchback who would do anything to become king. Through his soliloquies in Henry VI Part 3 ("Ay,

Edward will use women . . .") and Richard III ("Now is the winter of our discontent") we know that he feels he cannot play the flirting games of the court and so determines to plot his way to the crown. He sees himself as, and proves himself to be, a sly manipulator of the opinions of others, inveigling his brother Edward to incarcerate his other brother Clarence, and making it look like he has to be forced to take the crown when it is exactly what he wants. He is even able, in a wonderful and bizarre scene, to persuade Lady Anne (who in the play is mourning the death of her father-in-law

and husband both of whom Richard killed) to set aside her hate and marry him. The theatrical scene in which he accuses Hastings also shows his ability to use stagecraft to manipulate others.

Through all this, he shows no loyalty for anyone, killing off members of his family, including his two brothers, his two nephews and his wife without remorse, and doing the same for his erstwhile ally Buckingham. He is utterly selfish and totally without conscience.

Everyone should know that the historical accounts from which Shakespeare drew this picture were written by Tudor historians trying to make the extremely flimsy claim to the throne of Richmond, later to become Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth's grandfather, look better than it was by making Richard, the guy he replaced, look worse. Historically, Richard was not deformed or ugly and was extremely devoted to his brother Edward, much more so than his brother George Duke of Clarence was. In all likelihood the only people he could have murdered were his nephews, the "Princes in the Tower". There is no evidence at all about the princes, giving a base for his enemies to work off of.