Shakespeare's Richard III: Hero Or Villain?

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In Shakespeare’s play, Richard III, Shakespeare portrays Richard as a hunchbacked, cruel king who murdered the two princes in the tower. Was Shakespeare telling tales like he did in many of his other plays, or was Richard actually the villain that we thought he was? Recent investigations show that he was innocent. He probably wasn’t the perfect man or a perfect king, but he wasn’t any worse than any other king in his time period.
Richard III was accused of many things, but were they all true? Dominic Selwood, a writer for The Telegraph, says “He did not murder Henry VI (Edward IV did) or his son, Edward of Westminster. He was not involved in the execution of his own brother, George Duke of Clarence (although it probably was carried out by drowning him in a butt of Malmsey wine). He did not kill his wife’s first husband, or end up poisoning her in order to marry again.” Also, “There is no real evidence that the princes in the Tower were murdered by Richard or indeed by anyone else.” says Jeremy Potter …show more content…
In the article 10 Worst Kings and Queens of England and the United Kingdom, it says “A few months after Mary was queen, a revolt broke out; it was crushed and led to the execution of the young Jane, imprisoned since Mary had come to London. Along with Jane, several hundred others were executed, mostly by being burned at the stake. (Jane and her husband Guilford were beheaded.)” This article also says that “John was excommunicated, which meant England was no longer under the protection of the church and no services could be done. Even after all that, John was hoarding as much money as he could.” There were many other rulers who did things that were as bad, or worse than
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