Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Is Richard
the hero of the play or its villain?
2. How does
Richard’s personality change over the course of the play?
3. What roles
do women play in Richard III?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. What role does the supernatural
play in Richard III? Why might Shakespeare have
chosen to populate a play supposedly based on history with so many
ghosts, curses, and prophecies?
2. How does the talent for wordplay
affect the fortunes of the characters in the play? Is skill with
words a sure sign of intelligence and capability, or does it indicate
manipulative cunning and shrewdness? Why is the ability to express
oneself so important throughout the play? Think especially about
the characters of Richard, Margaret, and the princes.
3. Compare the characters of
Buckingham and Hastings. How do their conceptions of loyalty to
their respective masters differ? What traits lead them to their
eventual executions?
4. How do the so-called window
scenes, which show us the effect of the goings-on in the palace
among the common people, broaden the focus of the play? How does
the play portray the relationship between those in power and the masses
of commoners whom they rule?
