How did Thomas More’s History of King Richard III influence William Shakespeare?

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Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger, showing More in dark robes and a black hat, wearing a gold chain of office, seated against a green and yellow draped background. — Thomas More *Sir Thomas More*, oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527; in the Frick Collection, New York City.

Thomas More’s History of King Richard III, written between approximately 1513 and 1518, served as a foundational source for William Shakespeare when he composed his play Richard III.12

Shakespeare was specifically indebted to More for his vivid characterization of the monarch as a tyrant. More’s work, which is considered the first masterpiece of English historiography, provided the narrative framework and historical perspective that helped shape Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard as a villain defined by his commitment to murder, treason, and dissimulation.13