This comprehensive edition of King Richard III offers all the features associated with the Arden Shakespeare. Richard is one of Shakespeare's great villains and the play that bears his name is one of his most popular in performance and in classrooms.
Richard III is one of the great Shakespearean characters and roles. James R Siemon examines the attraction of this villain to audiences and focuses on how beguiling, even funny, he can be, especially in the earlier parts of the play. Siemon also places King Richard III in its historical context; as Elizabeth I had no heirs the issue of succession was a very real one for Shakespeare's audience. The introduction is well-illustrated and provides a comprehensive account of the play, critical approaches to it and its varied stage history.
'James R. Siemon, aided by a crack team of general editors (Richard Proudfoot, George Walton Williams and David Scott Kastan), has produced a nearly perfect edition of the play...(a) supremely engaging edition.'
