William Shakespeare’s most recited works are of his plays, which have been studied and performed for hundreds of years. His works include both masks of drama—tragedy and comedy. However, many people are left to wonder if the “tragedy” of Richard III should be considered an actual tragedy because it is seems unfit to consider Richard, a tyrant, to be a tragic hero; however, it would seem even more ridicules to consider the play a comedy. Shakespeare’s Richard III, is considered a tragedy because Richard’s character and his actions subtly reveals some of the elements of tragedy, including a tragic character flaw, the revelation of hamartia, and the arousal of catharsis.
In the beginning of Richard III, it immediately becomes apparent that Richard’s character and many others are going to suffer because of his tragic flaw, which is being “Cheated of feature by dissembling nature / Deformed, unfinished, sent before [his] time” (Shakespeare 1.1.9). Since we learn about Richard’s disfigurement, feelings of pity arise, therefore forcing the audience to sympathize with Richard, blaming his projected evil acts of injustice on his sad inability to “prove a lover / To entertain these fair well-spoken days” ( Shakespeare 1.1.11). Because Richard is planning to commit acts of injustice through jealousy and “in deadly hate” (Shakespeare 1.1.11), his tragic character flaw is revealed which is a major element in tragedy.
Hamartia represents Richard’s tragic flaw, which represents his weakness that leads to his demise. His personality reflects the absolute hatred he feels towards his relatives because of his own deformities. The resentment he feels because of his disfigurement and social rejection, powers Richard to become “subtle, false, and treacherous” (Shakespeare 1.1.11). Even though Richard is a complete villain, his character still manages to make the audience sympathize with him because it seems that Richard’s tragic flaw is the cause of his treacherous behavior, also known as hamartia, which is one of the founding elements of tragedy.
The feeling of catharsis is another major aspect of tragedy, which is some sort of emotional release, which takes place in Richard III. As Richard is visited by the ghosts of all the peoples deaths that he is responsible for, his guilty conscience is revealed, directing the audience’s view by highlighting his pitiful demeanor and future death through the curses of those ghosts: “Bloody and guilty, guilty awake / And in a bloody battle end thy days / Think on Lord Hastings. Despair and die!” (Shakespeare 5.3.285). It becomes apparent that Richard is going to die at the hands of Richmond—and Richard invoked it on himself. The play does not intend for us to feel much for the slain characters, it aims for the audience to feel exhilarated after Richard’s death because he was such a miserably disfigured villain, that he needed put out of his misery because he will continue to enforce his wrath until everyone is dead. Poor Richard, he was doomed from the day he was born.
Richard’s character can be understood as a tragic hero in Richard III because even though he is a villain, his tragic flaw is believed to be the cause of that. Richard is a man of noble stature who is responsible for his own downfall. His death is not a pure loss because it puts an end to the “War of the Roses” by “[uniting] the white rose and the red” (Shakespeare 5.5.303), in other words the York and Lancaster families. Although Richard does not resemble a typical tragic hero, his perplexing demeanor does represent some of the elements of tragedy. Shakespeare’s Richard III expresses a tragic character flaw, reveals hamartia, and arouses catharsis.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Richard III (Folger Shakespeare Library). Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine Eds. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1996.
In the beginning of Richard III, it immediately becomes apparent that Richard’s character and many others are going to suffer because of his tragic flaw, which is being “Cheated of feature by dissembling nature / Deformed, unfinished, sent before [his] time” (Shakespeare 1.1.9). Since we learn about Richard’s disfigurement, feelings of pity arise, therefore forcing the audience to sympathize with Richard, blaming his projected evil acts of injustice on his sad inability to “prove a lover / To entertain these fair well-spoken days” ( Shakespeare 1.1.11). Because Richard is planning to commit acts of injustice through jealousy and “in deadly hate” (Shakespeare 1.1.11), his tragic character flaw is revealed which is a major element in tragedy.
Hamartia represents Richard’s tragic flaw, which represents his weakness that leads to his demise. His personality reflects the absolute hatred he feels towards his relatives because of his own deformities. The resentment he feels because of his disfigurement and social rejection, powers Richard to become “subtle, false, and treacherous” (Shakespeare 1.1.11). Even though Richard is a complete villain, his character still manages to make the audience sympathize with him because it seems that Richard’s tragic flaw is the cause of his treacherous behavior, also known as hamartia, which is one of the founding elements of tragedy.
The feeling of catharsis is another major aspect of tragedy, which is some sort of emotional release, which takes place in Richard III. As Richard is visited by the ghosts of all the peoples deaths that he is responsible for, his guilty conscience is revealed, directing the audience’s view by highlighting his pitiful demeanor and future death through the curses of those ghosts: “Bloody and guilty, guilty awake / And in a bloody battle end thy days / Think on Lord Hastings. Despair and die!” (Shakespeare 5.3.285). It becomes apparent that Richard is going to die at the hands of Richmond—and Richard invoked it on himself. The play does not intend for us to feel much for the slain characters, it aims for the audience to feel exhilarated after Richard’s death because he was such a miserably disfigured villain, that he needed put out of his misery because he will continue to enforce his wrath until everyone is dead. Poor Richard, he was doomed from the day he was born.
Richard’s character can be understood as a tragic hero in Richard III because even though he is a villain, his tragic flaw is believed to be the cause of that. Richard is a man of noble stature who is responsible for his own downfall. His death is not a pure loss because it puts an end to the “War of the Roses” by “[uniting] the white rose and the red” (Shakespeare 5.5.303), in other words the York and Lancaster families. Although Richard does not resemble a typical tragic hero, his perplexing demeanor does represent some of the elements of tragedy. Shakespeare’s Richard III expresses a tragic character flaw, reveals hamartia, and arouses catharsis.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Richard III (Folger Shakespeare Library). Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine Eds. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1996.