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King Richard 111 And Homer's Odyssey Term Paper

Richard III and the Odyssey The focus of both, Shakespeare's "Richard III" and Homer's "The Odyssey," is the struggle between good and evil. Each work shows the consequences of following temptations and how in the end good triumphs over evil.

Richard is evil personified. Due to his lack of any compassion or humanity there is no other conclusion to draw except that Richard is psychopathic. He is basically a serial killer with a self-promoting plan (Shakespeare 1996). His every intention is to be in complete control at any cost, nothing and no one is going to stand in his way. Although in the beginning Richard might easily be taken as simply a jealous cripple out to take revenge on his older brother, by the end of the play, he has become a monster, the epitome of evil, feeding on power and death in a mad frenzy to obtain his goal (Shakespeare 1996). Like most...

He lures by gaining sympathy for his physical condition and is convincing that he is unloved because of his deformity (Shakespeare 1996). His strongest challenger is the Earl of Richmond, who finally gathers forces to battle Richard for the throne. Throughout, Richard has no remorse for any of the murders, however, the night before the battle with Richmond, all the people he has killed visit him in a dream. They curse him and tell him that he will die in battle the next day and the next morning Richard is indeed killed in battle (Shakespeare 1996). Richmond is crowned king and marries the young Elizabeth, and England is promised an era of peace. It is as if Richard believes he is justified in the murders, victimized and isolated because of his deformity by those who should love…

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Homer. The Odyssey. Noonday Press. November 1998.

Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Washington Square Press. 1996.
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