I chose this gif because it is from the 2015 film adaptation of Macbeth. As I read the remainder of King Richard for class, I was surprised to find myself thinking that at its basic level I find it rather similar to Macbeth. While there are certainly enough key differences to mark them as two different stories, there's quite a few points I found reminiscent of each other:
- During a time of peace, the titular character (Richard/Macbeth) ends up plotting to murder his way to the throne and become King
- Said character hires murderers to kill someone close to him (in Richard's case, Clarence, in Macbeth's, Banquo) as part of this plot
- They also then kill the King
- (I'll grant you, this one's a little bit of a stretch; Macbeth literally stabs King Duncan, while Edward dies of illness; Richard's news of Clarence's untimely death is implied to cause Edward's health to deteriorate critically, but this still makes the 'murder' indirect)
- After their ascent to the throne, Macbeth/Richard become increasingly paranoid and rapidly alienate what allies they had, leading to a full-on rebellion
- There is a final battle in which Macbeth/Richard are killed by the man who then takes the throne, Malcolm/Richmond.
