Richard III is a play by William Shakespeare. It was probably written around 1593.[citation needed] It is labeled a history in the First Folio, and is usually considered one; but sometimes it is called a tragedy, as in the quarto edition. Richard III concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy (also containing Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, and Henry VI, Part 3); and depicts the Machiavellian rise to power, and subsequent short reign, of King Richard III of England.
