CONTENT

1. AT A GLANCE

2. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: LIFE & WORK

2.1 Biography

2.2 Contemporary Background Politics and society Culture and the theatre Niccoló Machiavelli

2.3 Notes on Other Important Works The tragedies The comedies The history plays The sonnets

3. ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATIONS

3.1 Origins and Sources Historical sources Artistic sources – Senecan tragedy

3.2 Summaries Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V

3.3 Structure

3.4 Characters Main characters – House of York Richard, later King Richard III King Edward IV George, Duke of Clarence Duchess of York Queen Elizabeth The young Prince Edward The young Duke of York Boy and Girl The Woodvilles Marquess of Dorset Lord Grey Earl Rivers Women of the House of Lancaster Old Queen Margaret Lady Anne Other nobles Earl of Richmond (Henry Tudor) Lord Hastings Lord Stanley Supporters of Richard Duke of Buckingham Sir Richard Ratcliff Sir William Catesby Lord Lovel Sir Robert Brakenbury Earl of Surrey Duke of Norfolk Further characters

3.5 Notes on themes The history plays: genre and themes The themes of Richard III Morality, immorality and the laws Ambition & power

3.6 Style and language Rhetoric Black comedy Boar imagery Extreme language and imagery

3.7 Interpretations Power and manipulation Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard

4. RECEPTION

5. MATERIALS The Globe Theatre in London Some useful information

6. SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SOURCES & REFERENCES INDEX