Richard III, Opening Speech - Comment on the effectiveness of the speech as an opening (prologue) to the play.

... Richard III, Opening Speech Comment on the effectiveness of the speech as an opening (prologue) to the play. Consider the main characters, information being given to the audience as well as the setting and plot. Richard III is a historical play and we are drawn to this factor from Richard's speech at the opening of the play. Shakespeare uses Richard's character as his main device for setting the scene. As it is a play the audience would see Richard entering on a bare stage and this alone would leave an effect of them which would soon be reinforced by the speech he is about to give. The speech itself is delivered in a soliloquy, a device that is well associated with Shakespeare. It reveals the inner most thoughts of the character, exposing their true nature and their state of mind. The first words of his opening speech, "Now is the winter of our discontent" This

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