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10 William Shakespeare: Richard III The plot: What happens in the play? a) Read the summary of Shakespeare’s Richard III and make a diagram that shows which steps follow each other. b) Describe the turning point of the play. 1 – The plot begins The House of York has won the Civil War against the House of Lancaster. Richard wants to succeed his sick brother Edward IV as England’s new king. The rightful heirs to the throne, however, are Richard’s brother, Clarence, and Clarence’s sons. Richard tricks the weak king into locking up Clarence on account of treason. Soon afterwards, Richard hires murderers to kill Clarence. 2 – More plotting Richard is aware that he will need a queen if he is to become king. Right after Lady Anne curses Richard for having killed her husband in the war, Richard pretends to be hopelessly in love with her, telling Anne that he killed her husband so that he could marry her. Soon after Edward demands that his wife Elizabeth, Richard and all the lords promise to love and support one another, the sick king dies. 3 – Killing Claiming to want to protect Clarence’s sons, Richard has them taken to the Tower. Another plot by Richard leads to the execution of Elizabeth’s brother and her son. Lord Hastings turns against his friend Richard when Lord Buckingham organises a public meeting in which Richard is apparently forced to accept the crown. King Richard then has Hastings beheaded. Buckingham is ordered to kill the princes in the Tower, but he disobeys Richard and flees to Richmond, who has organised an army to fight against the new king. Richard has someone else kill the princes in the Tower. 4 – Dying Richmond and his men want to end Richard’s tyrannical reign. The night before the forces clash on Bosworth Field, the ghosts of Richard’s victims appear and predict his awful death. The same ghosts wish Richmond good luck. Although Richard feels safe with his large army, he loses his horse, cannot escape the enemy and is killed by Richmond after shouting, “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” Richmond is crowned Henry VII after the battle. Comment on the play Comment on the summary of the play and discuss which section you think is most interesting. Reading: Richard’s opening soliloquy – His discontent, his plot Read Richard’s opening soliloquy and highlight the details of the setting. What does Richard say about the time, the place, the people and the problems that set the scene for the play? 1  2  3  10 3.7 144 Shakespeare live Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv