Easy To Read Shakespeare. Classic William Shakespeare Series. King Richard Iii By William Shakespeare. Richard Iii Is A History Play By William Shakespeare, Believed To Have Been Written In Approximately 1592. It Depicts The Machiavellian Rise To Power And Subsequent Short Reign Of Richard Iii Of England. The Play Is Grouped Among The Histories In The First Folio And Is Most Often Classified As Such. Occasionally, However, As In The Quarto Edition, It Is Termed A Tragedy. Richard Iii Concludes Shakespeare's First Tetralogy.