Similarities And Differences Between Macbeth And Richard III

William Shakespeare is widely recognized as the greatest influence in English literature. He was an English poet, actor and playwright. Shakespeare's extant work consists of many plays, sonnets and narrative poems. His plays are one of literature's greatest legacies, which are divided into many genres such as histories, tragedies and comedies. From famous tragedies like Macbeth and Richard III, there are many similarities as well as differences. These similarities and differences are shown in the stories plot, the character's personalities as well as actions and also how Shakespeare included the role of the supernatural in both the plays. Starting of with each stories plot, both stories are about power. Both the characters become kings and they rise to power by killing the current …show more content…
It is sometimes mentioned that Macbeth expands Richard's figure. Starting from the most obvious personality of the two, they are both ruthless killers. Both characters have a lust of power and there is nothing that would stop them from killing people who are in their way. They also kill the people who have trust in them. In Richard's case, he murders his nephews. Although, the story of the disappearance of Richard's nephew still remains a mystery, many assume that Richard killed them in order to secure his hold on the throne. Whereas in Macbeth's case, he murdered his ally in war, Banquo. Macbeth actually hired a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son but Banquo's son managed to escape. On the other hand, the two characters have one difference in terms of personalities. Richard III is manipulative, he does not let anyone control him, he does not do what people tell him to do and he does everything according to his own desires. While Macbeth is the opposite, he is easily manipulated. As an example, at first he did not dare to murder the king to take over the throne but it was until his wife, Lady Macbeth urges him to do