Richard III (play) facts for kids

A painting by Hogarth of a famous actor of the 1700s, David Garrick, as Richard III

Richard III is a history play written by William Shakespeare. It is one of Shakespeare's most famous and popular plays. Shakespeare probably wrote Richard III around the year 1593. The play was first printed in a book in 1597.

Like other history plays written by Shakespeare, Richard III is about people and events from earlier in English history. The real Richard III was king of England from 1483 to 1485. Shakespeare used the history books of his own time to create his play, though many modern experts do not think those early histories, or Shakespeare's play, are accurate and free of bias.

Richard III is different from many plays, because its leading character is a villain, not a hero. In his play, Shakespeare shows the king as a cruel tyrant who does many evil acts, before he is defeated in battle and killed by Henry Tudor. Tudor then becomes Henry VII of England, the next English king and the first of the Tudor dynasty.

Shakespeare lived and wrote before modern ideas of freedom of speech and freedom of the press had become accepted. The English government of Shakespeare's day practiced censorship of books and plays. Elizabeth I of England, who was queen from 1558 to 1603, was the granddaughter of Henry VII and the last Tudor ruler. Her government saw Richard III as a villain and the man who replaced him, Henry VII, as a hero, and censored any other point of view. If Shakespeare had wanted to write a play with Richard III as a hero, he would not have been allowed to do so.

A famous movie version of Richard III was made in 1955. Laurence Olivier directed the movie and played the leading role. Other movie and television versions, and many modern stage productions, have also been done.

Images for kids

Titlepage of the First Quarto of The Tragedy of Richard the third
A scene from Richard III, directed by Keith Fowler for the Virginia Shakespeare Festival in Williamsburg, site of the first Shakespearean performances in America. (Here Richard is stabbed with a boar spear by the Earl of Richmond.)
Queen Margaret: "Thou elvish-mark'd, abortive, rooting hog!" Act 1, Scene III. The boar was Richard's personal symbol: Bronze boar mount thought to have been worn by a supporter of Richard III.
C. 1884 poster advertising an American production of the play, showing many key scenes
African-American James Hewlett as Richard III in a c. 1821 production. Below him is quoted the line "Off with his head; so much for Buckingham", a line not from the original play but from adaptations.
Print of Charles Kean playing Richard III, from a mid 19th century performance of the play