Fit To Be King

Paper Summary:

The author compares and contrasts the rule of the two kings in Shakespeare plays, "Winter's Tale" and "The Tragedy of King Richard III." The theme running through both plays is that power corrupts, and this is the theme that runs through both of these plays. King Richard is portrayed as an absolute ruler destroyed by his thirst for absolute power. King Leontes, is a king more paranoid than perhaps even Lear who refuses to believe even the gods who say that his wife and friend are not involved in an adulterous relationship. He is also an absolute ruler who believes that he knows even better, than the gods themselves.

From the Paper:

"Shakespeare s Richard is a thoroughly rotten villain. This is made clear to us in Act One, scene 1. Angry over the limits of his physical deformity, and, perhaps, the low social status accorded him as the very sparest of spare heirs, Richard vows to overcome his limitations. In line 30 of this speech, Richard says, I am determined to prove a villain. Most would agree that these are not the words of a person who has the best interests of his fellow human beings at heart. If one needs further proof, Richard goes on to describe a plot that pits his two brothers, Clarence and Edward, against each other hopefully resulting in both brothers deaths."

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