Richard III is by far one of Shakespeare's most memorable characters. It is said that with Richard, Shakespeare was able to completely unleash his creative beast and show the world the full power of his genius. For those who are familiar with Richard's appearance in Henry VI, it was obvious from this play that he was a tyrant noticeably different than any other historical rebel mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. Richard can be compared to the likes of a Machiavellian figure or even a Vice (devil) due to his modern form of rule through tyranny. Richard III's famous opening soliloquy provides us with insight into his diabolical personality, as well as his motives, while his post-nightmare soliloquy proves Richard to be more human then we had expected through his guilty conscience and sudden doubts.
With Richard III, Shakespeare was influenced by the de casibus form, which was a term coined by Giovanni Boccaccio, which chronicled morality stories about the fall of authoritative men. Richards lustful journey for the crown begins with a revealing speech: Now is the winter of our discontent/ Made glorious by this son of York. (I.I.1-2) These first two lines alone acquaint us with Richards extreme jealousy and diligence while his brother, King Edward IVs leadership of the country continues to strive. Richard quickly gives us an excuse for his menacing behavior by contributing it to something that is not under his control: I that am rudely stamped and want loves majesty/ To strut before a wanton ambling nymph/ I that am curtailed of this fair proportion/ Cheated of feature by dissembling nature/ Deformed, unfinished sent before my time (I.I. 16-20) Richard blames his evilness on his crippling defect, as well as his unfortunate inability to love due to it. Now that the war has finally come to an end, Richard is bored and has nothing better to do but to cause chaos because without it, he is powerless and miserable. Due to his deformity, Richard feels that he would have to try much harder than any other normal person to reach his goals. He doesnt think being the good guy can help him in any way, so he turns to the destruction and annihilation of anyone who gets in the way of his ambitions.
"I am determined to prove a villain/ And hate the idle pleasures of these days/ Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous/ By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams. (I.I. 30-34) The plot that Richard is referring to is his idea of killing his brother Clarence who is next in line for the throne. He does this by proclaiming to Edward that G of Edwards heirs the murderer shall be. (I.I. 40) The king realizes that the accusation is in reference to George, Duke of Clarence (his brother). The irony is that the reader soon finds out that Richards intention of using G in his speech was for a double meaning. He knew the king would assume he was speaking of George, even though he really meant himself, Richard of Gloucester who would evidently be King Edwards real killer.
Richards eloquence with language allows readers to sympathize with him and root for him, even knowing that hes the bad guy. For this reason, Richard can be considered a Machiavellian figure of literature. A Machiavel is a character that believes that his own individual desires are more important than confining to the tradition ways of life and dealing with other people. In turn, he is an egomaniac with no concept of responsibility or morality and is a force to truly be reckoned with. Richards Machiavellian characteristics that are eagerly shown in the first soliloquy point out that he is extremely intelligent and can persuade anyone that he is being outright and truthful, no matter what situation he is in. He is a great manipulator who never has a real plan of action and uses improvisation and discord to his benefit by causing even more chaos.
Richards actions to get the crown encompass his true malevolence and even interpret him as an allegorical version of the devil (Vice). He is obviously the embodiment of all evil, killing his own family and innocent children with no remorse at first. Richard even reminisces that he is the traditional Vice character and seems proud of it, therefore making him worse than we could have ever thought. Along with being spineless, Richard continues to have a sarcastic sense of humor about everything, often making jokes about his intentions and inviting us to celebrate with him when he proves to be successful. As we see Richard become more evil, his comical entertainment continues to keep you intrigued. When Richard starts to lose his sense of humor, as well as his power, we see the beginning of his collapse which is certainly not as appealing as his rise.
In the second half of the play, it is evident that Richard is about to lose control over everything he worked hard for because of the noticeable absence of his beautiful soliloquies. Richard no longer has time to think things through because he continually goes from one crisis to the next. His authoritative nature begins to extinguish along with his confidence which can be greatly showcased with his post-nightmare soliloquy.
With Richards monologue, we finally see his long-awaited remorse for his wrongdoings. Have mercy, Jesu!-Soft, I did but dream/ O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me?/ The lights burn blue. (V.V. 132-134) He is being haunted by the ghosts of the people whom he has killed and suddenly has an overwhelming attack of guilt. Richard interrogates himself and realizes that the isolated state that he has always kept himself in is the cause of the extinction of his accomplices and those around him. Richard loves Richard: that is, I am I. (V.V. 137) He knows that he only has himself at this point and his allies have betrayed him because his actions were becoming too harsh. He continues to argue with himself and bounces back and forth from self-love to self-loathing. Richard is unsure of himself and his conscience rears its head when he exclaims Guilty! Guilty! (V.V. 153) when reflecting over the many sins he has taken part of on his own accord. Richards confession almost brings him to the depths of despair that his victims had hoped for but he reasserts himself after his loss of confidence to prepare to defend himself in the battle that is about to ensue.
There are two ways that we can look at Richards demonic personality through the soliloquies that were presented; one can be determined as embodying the characteristics of the devil while the other deals with his exhibition of authentic human qualities (i.e. pangs of guilt over all the turmoil he has caused). When juxtaposing these two qualities, it is quite clear that Richards morals finally kicking in are not descriptions that would fit a devilish figure. Shakespeares intent was to include a psychological dimension of Richard to further complicate the play. Once Richard starts causing too much havoc and weve lost our compassion for him, he becomes more human to us when reflecting on the ethical aspect of what he has done, thus making him likeable again. The calm, cool Richard that we were introduced to in the first part of the play would not be distressed over the fact that no one loves him or that the ghosts of those he murdered were haunting him in his dreams. The point is that the human proportion of Richard collides with the allegorical devil in disguise theory proving that Richards evil manifestations are actually a product of the abnormalities that he was given at birth. The contrasting soliloquies in the play truly represent the many personalities of Richard III and show his strength in what he represents and just how far hell go to get it, even while dealing with his wretched hunchback and physical unattractiveness.
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