Richard III--History

"The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight. Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.What do I fear? Myself? There’s none else by.Richard loves Richard; that is, I am I. Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.Then fly! What, from myself? Great reason. Why:Lest I revenge. Myself upon myself?Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good That I myself have done unto myself?O no, alas, I rather hate myself For hateful deeds committed by myself.I am a villain." (V.v.134–145)

This passage is so extremely important to the play, so inarguably essential to both the plot and characterization. After his visitation with the ghosts that haunted his sleep, Richard made this speech. This is the first, and only, moment in the play when Richard shows the slightest shred of doubt or regret. At this point, Richard becomes "human", showing human qualities for the first time in the entire plot. Though he is alone, he is unable to find comfort in his solitude. He realizes that he is the person he should most fear. Richard's initial reaction to this realization is to run away, only to realize that he cannot run from himself, his efforts would be futile.
It is not only important to analyze the meanings of the words spoken here, but also the words themselves. Shakespeare characterizes Richard in this passage through descriptive diction. Blue, the color of the light protruding into the room, is a key word. The word blue is often used to describe feelings of doubt or sorrow, which is exactly what Richard is feeling at this point. The word "cold" is used to describe Richard's sweat. The use of this word is omni-purposeful. It makes reference to the cold-blooded nature of Richard's prior actions. Also, it refers to Richard breaking out in a cold sweat; a "cold sweat" typically exemplifies dfear, nervousness, or panic. In this case, Richard is feeling all of the three. Finally, the word "cold" carries a negative connotation even without any meaning attached to it. It is used to help set the ominous tone. The word "dead" is used to describe midnight. This is ironic because Richard is brooding over all of the deaths that he has caused. Also, perhaps "dead" is used as a type of foreshadowing of his impending death. Creative wordchoice on Shakespeare's part...

History
Richard III is a well-known and well-received history written by Shakespeare. He incorporated factually correct English history with his own fictional flair. For example, Richard in real life, was not deformed--Shakespeare made him that way in the play to allow for a deeper chraracter development, more complex. Shakespeare tailored history in a manner that would best suit himself societally, and that would give his plays greater meaning. RIchard III was written while Queen Elizabeth ruled England. Elizabeth openly let her anger at Richard be known, so Shakespeare played up his character to be evil and villainous, mainly for her benefit. To say otherwise would have been foolish on his part. By tweaking reality ever-so-slightly, Shakespeare's Richard III was more believeable than pure fiction, and more entertaining than pure fact. By combining subtle comedic irony, tragic loss, and overpowering violence, Shakespeare created a historical masterpiece.

What I think...
I enjoyed this play; not that I love reading Shakespeare for pleasure exactly, but I found the characters in the play particularly intriguing. The character that I was most impressed with was, obviously, Richard. His insanity was at a level greater than Kurtz in Heart of Darkness. His character was simply so brutal and sociopathic, constantly acting without regard for human life. His strive to satisfy his own ends at the cost of others is reminiscient of Machiavelli's "The Prince". One effect that I greatly appreciated was how Richard engaged the audience. His narratives and monologues gave the reader incite that other characters in the play did not have. This helped bring the reader directly into the mind of Richard, giving a view into his insanity that is almost too close for comfort. This helped evoke fear and similar emotions, for the reader often knew what was coming while the victims did not. I did struggle, however, digesting the complex family lines throughout the story. The family blood lines just made me work harder to understand exactly what was going on. After understood though, it ceased to be a problem.