Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare written between 1592 and 1594. It is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays and his second longest. The play depicts the rise of King Richard III of England, also known as Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Shakespeare portrays Richard as a Machiavellian tyrant who uses lies and violence to unjustly seize the throne during a politically turbulent period of England’s history known as the Wars of the Roses. The play is notable for its use of a villainous protagonist and the frequency of soliloquies and asides, through which Richard reveals his secret plans to the audience. This work has remained popular since its first performance and has been adapted into films starring Basil Rathbone, Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen, and Al Pacino.

This guide uses the version available online from The Folger Shakespeare Library.

Content Warning: This text contains ableist language common during the Elizabethan era to describe Richard’s curvature of the spine.

Plot Summary

Richard III opens with Richard, Duke of Gloucester, bitterly reflecting upon the reign of his elder brother, King Edward IV of the House of York. Richard, feeling that his “deformed” spine will make him a pariah during peacetime, resolves to become a villain and claim the throne of England for himself. He begins by going to visit his brother George, Duke of Clarence, who has been sent to prison in the Tower of London after the king became suspicious of a prophecy claiming that someone called “G” would murder his heirs. Richard promises to help George, while secretly scheming to have him killed in prison. Richard then goes to seduce Lady Anne Neville, daughter of his old enemy, the Earl of Warwick, and supporter of the recently deceased King Henry VI. While Anne hates Richard for his role in the overthrow of Henry VI and the fall of the House of Lancaster, he uses his rhetorical skills to persuade her to marry him.

At King Edward IV’s court, the lords are deeply divided and many are suspicious of the influence granted to the male relatives of Queen Elizabeth. Queen Margaret, the widow of King Henry VI, returns from exile and curses the royal family as revenge for her husband’s and son’s deaths. She warns the nobles about Richard’s malevolence, but is ignored. Richard later orders two murderers to go to the Tower of London and kill his brother George. George is awake, having had a disturbing nightmare that Richard accidentally knocked him off of a ship and he drowned. While the murderers initially fear to commit the sin of murder, they are tempted by the money, stabbing George and then drowning him in wine.

King Edward IV is attempting to make amends between the nobles before he dies of an illness, but upon hearing the news of his brother’s death, he grows angry at his allies and leaves. Shortly after, he dies, and Queen Elizabeth becomes terrified that her family will lose all influence at court. Richard has made an alliance with the Duke of Buckingham, who orders the young Prince Edward to come to London and stay at the Tower of London until he is crowned. Richard is named the Lord Protector, meant to hold the throne until his nephews come of age.

Richard, however, schemes with Buckingham to present himself as a more pious, wise, and qualified candidate for the throne. After his plan to take the throne is condemned by Hastings, another noble opposed to Queen Elizabeth’s faction at court, Richard has Hastings executed. Richard and Buckingham then work to spread a rumor that King Edward IV’s sons are illegitimate bastards and they attempt to persuade the common people of London to support Richard. In the end, Richard orders James Tyrrell to kill the young princes so that they will never pose a threat to his power.

Buckingham begins to realize that Richard is tyrannical and will not grant him the land he initially promised. He defects and attempts to raise an army against Richard. Many other lords defect to Henry, Earl of Richmond, another candidate for the throne currently in exile. As Richard prepares to fight off Richmond’s forces, he kills his wife Anne and then attempts to arrange a marriage with Princess Elizabeth, his own niece. Queen Elizabeth stalls him and Richard is cursed by Queen Margaret and his mother, the Duchess of York, for his actions.

Richard and Richmond meet in battle at Bosworth Field. Richard is beset the night before the battle by disturbing dreams in which his murder victims warn him to despair and die. The ghosts then appear to Richmond and predict his victory. Richard wakes up terrified, realizing that his evil actions have not benefited him. During the battle, he is knocked off of his horse and then killed by Richmond, who becomes the new King Henry VII and marries the Princess Elizabeth. This concludes the Wars of the Roses and the feud between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, beginning the new Tudor dynasty in England.