Reviews

Richard III by William Shakespeare

p_t_b's review against another edition

4.0

richard becomes way more murderous and less funny between act iii and iv. this play has some great speeches and repartee but not that much actually happens, apart from all the murdering. the dialogue btw clarence and murderers no. 1 & 2 is a personal fave. also old queen margaret mega-scolding everyone is good too.

lamblikeme's review against another edition

3.0

bored to tears, beautiful words great words.

perleerose's review

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Another Shakespeare class book- I really enjoyed all the murder and violence in this history. Richard III feels much more engaging to me and his inner ramblings are some of the best bits. I did struggle with the wide cast of characters. Once the two sides were clearly divided it became a bit easier for me. 
I also think my reading and overall feelings were tainted by the fact that I had to rush through over half the book.
'My tongue should to thy ears not name my boys/Till that my nails were anchored in thine eyes,'

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, and Gaslighting

upsidedown10's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This wasn't my favorite of Shakespeare's plays, but I do love a character who comes out page one and says 'I am a villain'. I enjoyed just how evil and conniving Richard was and I love how he is our main character. I think that the balance between him being a villain and him being the main character is perfect. I don't think that this one will stick with me, but I had a good enough time with it.

poisonenvy's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My grandma has often talked to me about Richard the III, but this is my first time ever reading it.  It was far more interesting than I had expected, and I enjoyed it quite a lot.  The exchange between Richard and Elizabeth in Act 4, Scene 4 was really masterfully done, and the play really comes alive in the last couple of acts. 

I had no real sense of... time though? The pacing was strange, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out whether or not all these events truly happened on the heels of one another or if there was supposed to be more time between them.  I think I would also like to be a little more up in the know about the acutal history that happened rather than Shakespeare's propaganda haha. 

Warnings for ableism and whatnot.  

jachinheckman's review against another edition

5.0

Richard is the original disney villain. Every single thing out of his mouth is perfectly despicable. He is such a loatham creature he makes Cruella Deville look like a fun quirky aunt.

m4rinette's review against another edition

1.0

pas aimé du tout mdr la fin? wtf pourquoi tout ça bref! j'espère vraiment que le cours rendra le livre intéressant

stimo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

annabellawk's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lanterns's review against another edition

funny tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

i feel like old plays of this stature (shakespeare being the bulk) are always something i struggle to get a ton out of simply because of the fact that they can be difficult to truly understand if you aren’t being properly translated each scene’s significance. it borders reading something in another language—which is already challenging enough alone—but you also have to take into account the whole other time period/location of the play. in all this was the typical anti-hero plot which we can definitely give shakespeare a heap of credit for, though nothing that happened here was all that surprising or intriguing. it would be a fun play to see on stage!