the throne. He does not care how his actions affect others; he is only concerned
with his own welfare. He dismisses and disregards other individuals easily. The
face that Richard’s first fatality is his own brother Clarence shows the degree of
evil Richard is willing to surpass. He kills Clarence which gives him a more likely
chance of becoming king:
“This day should Clarence be closely mewed up”
Another face of Richard is the anti-family man, he pretends to be a loyal and
family orientated man and as he is an excellent judge of character he uses
individualistic manipulation. He manipulates his brother Clarence into a false
sense of security and love and when Clarence is imprison, Richard lies to
Clarence and promises to get him out of jail:
“I will deliver you, or else lie for you”
Clarence has so much faith in his brother now, as Clarence leaves the stage the
audience can truly see what type of person Richard is, in his soliloquy:
“Simple plain Clarence, I do love thee so,
that I will shortly send they soul to haven”
Richard plans to kill his brother and Clarence is oblivious to Richard’s malicious
plans, Clarence even defends Richard:
“O, do not slander him, for he is kind”
Richard possesses numerous negative and contemptuous qualities. Richard is a
very charismatic and charming person, this links up with manipulation.
Shakespeare’s use of paradox allows Richard to be perceived as a wooer:
“Never came poison from so sweet a place”
He uses poetic words to flatter women and lure them to himself:
“A divine perfection of a woman”
He is portrayed as genuine and sincere that even Lady Anne is unable to resist
him. Richard’s ability to seduce Anne is extraordinary because he murdered her
husband and her father, although she ultimately gives into him, she opposes him
at first and despises him:
“Blush, blush, thou lump of foul deformity”
Richard uses his charm in this situation to woe her:
“Your beauty was the cause of that effect
Your beauty, that did haunt me in my sleep”
Richard’s persistence with Anne after he calls her an “angel” and claims that her
“beauty was the cause of that effect”. He gradually manages to make her
believe that it was his intense and excessive love for her which causes him to kill
her husband and father. This was shown by her acceptance to wear his ring.
Anne was in mourning for her father and husband, she was weak and frail, this
made it easier for Richard to woe her. He was aware she was abundant with
grief and anger, instead of consoling her he managed to confuse her and after
bantering with her an flattering her she was wooed:
“Was ever woman in this humour wooed?
Was ever woman in this humour won?”
This shows Richard is gaining some positive self-esteem. Richard is in control of
the situation and of Anne, he I amazed, shocked and very delighted:
“And yet to win her! All the world to nothing!”
Richard is surprised by his own attainment as he feels physically adequate:
“And I no friends to back my suit at all
But the plain devil and dissembling looks?”
Richard develops his confidence in manipulation, control and inexorable, his self
image after winning Anne over:
“Since I am crept in favour with myself
I will maintain it with some little cost”
This is Richard’s self-love intensifies.
Richard has the ability to lie and act convincingly. He hides his true
personality and intentions. He has struggled immensely to gain the throne that
he is willing to kill anyone in his way without any remorse. When he is, offered
the throne he cleverly makes it seem like he does not want it nor has he ever
wanted it:
“If I should be? I had rather he a pedlar
Far be it from my heart, the thought thereof!”
This makes Richard seem sincere to the characters as he did not want t accept
the throne, therefore manipulating them, as they would not suspect him for
Clarence’s death. Richard is able to play different roles such as an honest man.
He acts like he is worried about the Queen and her power over the King:
“We are the Queen’s abjects, and must obey”
Richard is discreetly manipulating everyone to turn against the Queen, he does
this diplomatically as to appear as if he is concerned rather than greedy for
power.
Religion was very important in the Elizabethan era, to have evil tendencies
or called the “devil” made you an outcast and are punished in your present and
afterlife. The majority of people would do anything possible to ensure they would
go to heaven. However, Richard showed no trepidations or signs of apprehension
art the prospect of offending God with his callous actions. Richard seems to be
challenging God; this is shown through his defiance of God by choosing when
people should die. Richard only allows his fears of God to surface when he was
concerned about his battle against Richmond at the very end:
“Have mercy, Jesus!”
This is because Richard has had the final realization of the possibility of death
and, momentarily displays fear and consternation. He shows no remorse for his
murderous behaviour but is affected by the thought of punishment by God,
which is out of his reach and control. Richard mentions God once and then is
preoccupied with himself once again:
“Alack. I love myself.”
Throughout the entire course of the play, Richard defies the social norms of the
Elizabethan society by not believing in God and for challenging him.
Richard does not allow himself to get involved with anybody, he does not
truly expose his true personality and no one discovers the “real” Richard. He is
unable to maintain relationships, not even with his own family. This is shown by
his slaughtering of his own brother, Clarence. Richard’s bond with his mother is
not strong and she has no compassion for him:
“Thou toad, thou toad, where is they brother Clarence?”
The Duchess of York who is Richard’s mother, has lost all faith in her son and is
aware he would be villainous and merciless enough to murder his own brother.
She feels that Richard has disregarded her and hold no respect for him and will
never forgive him for murdering her two sons:
“My damned son that they two sweet sons smothered.”
This shows she prefers her two other sons to Richard, the audience question
whether it may be his relationship with his mother that leads Richard to his
actions. She is harsh when revealing her feeling with him:
“Thou cam’st on earth to make the earth my hell.”
She tells him that he has been trouble since his birth:
“A grievous burden was they birth to me;
Tetchy and wayward was they infancy.”
Richard then feels that he has been a burden on his mother all these years and
perhaps out of his contempt and disdain for his own life. He decides to become
and anti-hero, now the audience has come sympathy for him to some extent. We
hear the troubles he faced in his childhood and his relationship with his mother,
now the audience begins to question his sincerity.
Richard possesses a coveted trait of motivation, he has the incentive and
determination to carry out his plans carefully and cautiously as he executes his
victims perfectly. His killing of his two nephews is an example, Richard lures
them into the Tower very slyly:
“If I may counsel you, someday or two
Your highness shall repose you at the Tower”
Richard lures his nephews, who are innocent and fall into a false sense of
security, Richard acts like he is loving and is looking out for them. Richard is so
motivated in his quest for power and claim of the throne because he is a villain
and was rejected from his mother and this can cause him becoming bitter and
resentful. He does not use this charm and incentive personality to make positive
changes to his life but he does not stop at anything to get to the throne.
The ways that the other characters portray Richard inevitably have an
effect on the audience. As Richard is constantly said to be villainous and is seen
in a censorious light, it is very likely that the audience will be persuaded by the
conviction of other characters. He is seen pessimistically by other characters,
Anne describes him as:
“Thou lump of foul deformity.”
This shows she has no respect for him.
Queen Margaret holds nothing but abhorrence and detestation for Richard:
“A murderous villain, and so still thou art.”
Richard was also described by his mother as a “toad”.
The disapproving behaviour towards Richard by many characters in conjunction
with Richard’s pitiless actions, pushes the audience to feel the same way.
Shakespeare has created a villain and anti-hero with numerous traits,
personalities and façades which make it hard to distinguish who this villain is.
The villain is obviously Richard III. Through his soliloquies, the audience is able
to have an insight to how insensitive, cruel and vindictive Richard is. His
deformity and family background may have caused Richard to become very bitter
and consequently cause him to resent life and became a villain. His actions
cannot be excused because they are not morally accepted in society. I believe
Shakespeare has regurgitated other villain from his previous plays and deformed
this one. He shows a love hate relationship, we are as the audience is impressed
by Richard as he has the ability to charm and manipulate his victims. His
ruthlessness leaves no vulnerability to make him human and suffer the
consequences of his actions, we hate him yet we are fascinated by him.
Richard’s scheming helped him come into power by other people failing to
prevent him. Shakespeare created a character that we can only believe is
fictional has he is so captivating. Richard can be compared to Hitler because he
succeeded through his extremist personality. William Shakespeare created a
complex, controversial and multi-personality character which will be remember
for years to come.
Bibliography :
Richard III by William Shakespeare
York Notes Advanced
AS Psychology book
www.richardiii.net
