William Shakespeare used many devices to tell his
stories, or to tell others stories in his style and words. One of
these devices was his use of characters. I his plays, the reader
can find similarities between roles, each play having characters that perform
a specific role. In his histories this is shown very well.
But another thing also comes into play in his histories: How they actually
relate to history itself. Shakespeare's characters in his histories
are mostly based on their historical counterparts, but he has taken
a bit of dramatic license with them. Many of the characters have
been polarized, their personalities sent to extremes to provide better
contrasts, as well as to proviced a more entertaining play. If Richard
was only ambitious without the evil, his witty asides would lose their
wit and humour. Shakespeare knew how to write to the audience, yet
still tell a relatively true story. His characters have been dramatized,
but are still based upon history.