Richard III Study Questions

• What do you learn about Richard's character in his opening speech?  Are you attracted to his character or repulsed by it--or both?  Do your feelings about Richard change as the play develops?
• Can you identify distinctive characteristics of Richard's rhetoric?  What kinds of metaphors and images does he use?
• Compare 1.2 to 4.4.  What is similar about these scenes?  What is different?
• Why do you think Anne allows herself to be seduced by Richard?  Is this believable?  Do you, as a reader, want her to be seduced?  Why or why not?
• To what extend do Richard's sinister actions depend on elements of drama and theater?  Can you identify metatheatrical elements in the play?
• Compare the language and behavior of Richard to Richmond in Act 5. What do you think Shakespeare is trying to achieve, dramatically and thematically, with Richmond's final speech?