Throughout Shakespeare's Richard III, the title character causes the deaths of many people, including his closest family and friends. These many deaths cultivate in the dream sequence where all the ghosts of those Richard killed come back to haunt him and encourage Richmond. The two men's dreams show the enormity of Richard's wrong doings. The ghosts warnings foreshadow Richard's death and show how much he deserves it after the deaths he caused.
The entire genre of Shakespeare's histories, especially Richard III, is far from actual history. This story in particular may have been scued to make Richard much more horrible than he ever actually was- due in large part to the ruling family at the time of its writing (descendants of Richmond- Richard's eventual killer). Queen Elizabeth's family comes off looking like the heroes of a lifetime through the way Shakespeare portrays Richard and Richmond as well as the other minor characters.
The entire genre of Shakespeare's histories, especially Richard III, is far from actual history. This story in particular may have been scued to make Richard much more horrible than he ever actually was- due in large part to the ruling family at the time of its writing (descendants of Richmond- Richard's eventual killer). Queen Elizabeth's family comes off looking like the heroes of a lifetime through the way Shakespeare portrays Richard and Richmond as well as the other minor characters.
My personal opinion of Richard III and the entire history genre in general is that, despite the untrue aspects it is a very interesting way to learn about key players in history. Even though the actions of Richard, Buckingham, Richmond, and others may not have actually occurred as written, being able to imagine that they were true events since the people were real adds another dimension to the play.
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