Character Analysis of Richard III

A detailed Summary of Character Analysis of Richard III

The title character in Shakespeare's Richard III is extremely interesting because he functions both as the villain of the play as well as the hero. In the very first scene of the play, Richard tells the audience that he is "determined to prove a villain" (p. 752, line 30), but he also gains the sympathy of the audience because of his deformity, of which Richard points out that he is "so lame and unfashionable that dogs bark at me as I halt by them" (p. 752, lines 22-23).

The audience is further led to believe that Richard is intrinsically evil because of his deformities. Even his own mother seems to believe this saying she has "for comfort but one false glass, that grieves me when I see my shame in him" (p.766, lines 53-54). Later, the Duchess of York laments ever giving birth to him saying, O, she that might have interc

Starting in Act IV, though, Richard becomes too cocky. By this time, he has been crowned the King, and he believes that by marrying young Elizabeth, his niece, he will have a legitimate claim to the throne. He even stops giving soliloquies to the audience, and begins to lose sympathy with them as well. There is only one fleeting moment where he shows remorse for his actions in Act V, scene iii saying, "Have mercy Jesu!"(p. 791, line 178) and "there is no creature loves me, and if I die no soul will pity me." (p. 791, lines 200-201). He then goes on to fight in the battle that he cannot win because his enemies are too strong. He has lost the sympathy of the audience, and this paves the way for a glorious rise of the new dynasty.

He later uses his powers of deceit and manipulation to have his two nephews murdered in the

Some common words found in the essay are:
IV Richard, Richard III, Lady Anne, Oppositely Richard, Duchess York, Ironically Richard, Lord Protector, , offers kill, sympathy audience,

Approximate Word count = 558
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Character Analysis of Richard III

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