My Thoughts on Richard III

After much reflection on the play, Richard III, my general reaction is that this play is different from all his other's one because, yes while it slowly showcases the main character's downfall it also makes it pretty clear that Richard is not easy to sympathize with unlike his other plays, we still seem to be compelled by him: Why is that? For me I found Richard a fascinating character simply because his motive was so mysterious. We know he wants power and that he's hell bent on getting it, but what will he do with all that power? He seems to have no plan beyond the goal of achieving power and I believe that's what makes Richard so dangerous and terrifying. All through out the play, Richard is all calculation and sneaky manipulation, to put it simply Richard has delusions of grandeur and clearly cannot understand the difference between right and wrong: however, this is all up until Richard achieves the throne because beyond achieving that? He grows desperate and unhinged. He sees the ghost of those he's killed and it shows how far gone he really is. I believe the reason we saw the ghost of his victims because it's meant to reiterate the underlying theme of justice. When we see all of this from Richard's perspective, we as the reader can truly understand how wrong and perverse Richard's actions really are versus his enemy Richmond who receives good omens and hopes of a long bloodline of rulers. This is a sharp contrast to Richard who seems to know that he is reaching his end and is truly terrified for the first time in his life. I actually felt satisfied with a Shakespeare ending for once which was a first for me. I feel like Richard got what he deserved in the end for he is merely a shell what he used to be.  I surprisingly really enjoyed this play and I am glad I read it.