Episode 131: Richard 3rd: ‘And Thus I Clothe My Naked Villainy.’

Shakespeare dramatises the life of the last Plantagenet king and create one of theatre's most spectacular villains.

The dating of the play

The quarto editions of the play

When is a history play a tragedy, or not?

The sources of the play

The influence of Seneca

Other contemporary versions of the Richard 3rd story.

The centrality of the character of Richard

A brief plot summary

The boldness of Richard’s actions

Richard as prologue and then guide in the play

Lady Anne and her reaction to Richard’s proposal

The influence of Marlowe on Richard 3rd

The role of the female characters in the play

How should we view the presence of Margaret in the play?

The curses and prophecy of Margaret

How deformity and old age can be seen to link Richard and Margaret

Richard afflicted by guilt

The theatricality of the play

Does our liking for Richard affect the morality of the play

What the lay can tell us about players and changes in Tudor society

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