Why is Shakespeares play so popular?
Its superbly written with wonderful speeches. Its a very good yarn. The characterisation of Richard is so compelling. He is the archetypal trickster, an anti-hero whom we should hate but we cant. Baddies are always so much more interesting than goodies. He invites the audience to join with him in his career to the throne and confides in them, inviting them to be complicit in his villainy. He is such an out-and-out villain that audiences find themselves fascinated by him, despite his crimes. But his determination to prove a villain belongs to the realms of psychology rather than histor We should bear in mind that the play is the culmination of a hundred years of propaganda against the last Plantagenet king and the playwright used the character created by Sir Thomas More who was one of the earliest exponents of the Tudor myth about the life and character of Richard. To learn more about Shakespeare play and its depiction of Richard click here.
