So, just who is William Shakespeare? Better question, why are his plays so great?

I was asked to write about these two questions in conjunction with Trinity Repertory Company's production of Shakespeare's play "Richard III." I thought that this would be an easy assignment; I love Shakespeare and love telling other people why they should love it, too.

My main selling point for why you should love Shakespeare is that he always wrote for the masses in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Despite what you think about Old English, and the stuffy images and stereotypes it conjures, Shakespeare's language was common for the time period in which it was written, and the plays include more than a few sexual innuendos, vulgarities and funny scenes. They're just hidden inside a language from long ago that not many people understand now. Similarly, the succession of kings and history that he includes in an entire group of his plays, aptly referred to as The Histories, is knowledge that common people would have understood.

My followup to this point is that, who doesn't like a love story with a happy ending, or who can't go for a good thriller now and again? Going to see one of Shakespeare's plays was like going to the movies in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. Chances are you've seen a romantic comedy, also known as "chick flicks," where the main characters marry at the end usually amid funny plot twists and turns. Read or go see a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Twelfth Night" or any other comedy Shakespeare wrote, and you'll notice the very same things.

Similarly, check out "Richard III," formally titled "The Tragedy of Richard III." It has also been considered by some to be a history, but you'll see a play whose main purpose is to kill off most of the characters, kind of like your classic horror/suspense flick except with kings and noblemen instead of tough cop characters or gangsters. Out of Shakespeare's entire repetoire, "Richard III" is among the bloodiest of tragedies with a high body count at the end. Not much to love there, right?

Wrong! While death is never an uplifting subject, the path to destruction can often be entertaining. "Richard III's" main character - Richard, Duke of Gloucester - manages to meddle in the lives of every character in the play, leaving a trail of death and deception in his wake that includes three kings among other noblemen and women.

So, why bother going to see if it you already know what's going to happen? Because it emphasizes and contrasts one man's extreme ambition to be king - and hold all the power that accompanies that title - with what he's willing to do to accomplish his goal. Richard is ruthless in his conniving and scheming throughout this tragedy that highlights betrayal, family loyalty and corruption, but does keep the audience informed about his plans through witty dialogue during soliloquies (monologues to the audience the other actors can't hear). With this device, he becomes the quintessential villain - power-hungry, two-faced, sneaky, deadly - but also one you just can't help but like a little bit because he's so clever - even though you want to call out to the other actors not to abide by his plans.

Richard's likability diminishes as the play continues, though, and as a reader or audience member, you're happy to see him get his comeuppance in the end. And, while all the main characters may be deceased at the play's conclusion, there is hope with the instatement of Richmond as the king that order and peace will be restored.

One of the best things about going to see a Shakespearean play today is that you never know quite how the director is going to stage the play and in what time period it will be set. I've seen "Timon of Athens" set in 1920s Art Deco-era America, and I've seen the purest of "King Lear" performances on a bare stage without many props. Shakespeare staged his plays at The Globe in London, which was a round theater with three tiers of seating and lots of standing room for the "groundlings," who paid a penny to enter.

Trinity Rep in Providence is currently presenting a production of "Richard III" which uses a stage that looks destroyed, as though it is part of a post-industrial wasteland where scraps of metal and rock lie discarded haphazardly. The actors mainly wear military uniforms, but do alternate between other costumes depending on the scene.

Richard, played by Brian McEleney, traditionally becomes more decrepit as the play progresses. The character isn't a healthy one to start off with - perhaps Shakespeare's design to show him as sick both mentally and physically. In the Bard's version, Richard has a hunched back, a deformity that becomes more pronounced as the play wears on. In Trinity's production, Richard became more robust with a less pronounced deformity as the play went on. This could be interpreted in a number of ways. It could be a commentary on the character, or maybe he just got caught up in the excitement and forgot to become more ill.

This is the main reason I love Shakespeare: Every time I see or read one of his plays, I get something new out of it or I interpret it in a different way. It could be something I missed in previous shows or readings, or just a new way of analyzing a scene. Either way, it reminds me to think critically, which is a good skill to have for life in general.

So, learn to get past the heavy language and start to appreciate the drama and plot that are as entertaining as any major film - but better because it's being played out right in front of you.

Maybe you'll come to love Shakespeare, too. JESSICA KOSOWSKI is the Sun Chronicle's Living Well editor. She can be reached at 508-236-0331 or at jkosowski@thesunchronicle.com.