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"Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue."

-Washington Irving

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Richard III - synopsis

The royals of Lancaster are in a time of peace and joy. That is, all except Richard III, the hunchbacked outcast of the family. After murdering her first husband, he manipulates Lady Anne into marrying him. He then has his brother killed and lets the blame be placed upon his other already ill brother which hastens his death. This leaves him as the interim king until the two young heirs grow up, but Richard has them executed as well. With all of England now against him, a rebellion is already in the works. Desperate to salvage his power, Richard arranges a marriage between him and his young niece, the daughter of the former Queen Elizabeth. Before the marriage can happen, Richard has a dream in which the ghosts of all he has killed come forth and tell him he will die the next day. As foretold, Richard is killed during the rebellion the next morning, and his successor returns peace to England and marries Elizabeth instead.

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Other Shakespearean plays

Hamlet Macbeth Romeo and Juliet King Lear Twelfth Night The Merchant of Venice Othello A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Taming of the Shrew

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Context of Richard III

Richard III was created in the Renaissance era during the 16th century in England. The renaissance was the transition from the medieval world to the modern world. The influence of the artistic and philosophical renaissance spread over every aspect of life, including literature. It was characterised by the acknowledgement of the human being as an individual and the nature of being human, in contrast to the previous medieval era which ignored this idea in favour of viewing humanity as a whole. This new way of thinking consistently shaped Shakespeare’s crafting of Richard’s character, motivating him to explore the mind of a twisted villain and what causes a person to become that way. Niccolo Machiavelli’s concept of villainy known as the Machiavellian villain is evidently incorporated into Richard III as well because his heinous actions are motivated by such deep and human traumas that it nearly justifies them. Villains of this kind were not previously as common, as the medieval era displayed villains that were objectively evil and always bad, so Shakespeare’s ability to conjure sympathy and understanding for such a terrible person from his audience was a relatively new concept. Additionally, Richard III was a real historical figure and an enemy of the queen, as she was a descendant of the man who overthrew him. This greatly affected the evolution of Shakespeare’s version of him, because the queen was a fan of his and for her to stay in favour of him he had to flatter her and insult her enemies. This caused his character to be not entirely historically accurate and portrayed as significantly more evil than he may have really been. 

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"Time's glory is to calm contending kings, to unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light."

-William Shakespeare

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How and why has it shaped the world?

Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known historical plays. It introduced a villain whose immorality festered out of a tragic life, dividing audiences between sympathetic understanding and hatred. It established a new archetype based on Machiavelli's existing one which writers would be inspired by for centuries. The play is so complex that it has been studied by experts in literature and is commonly used at universities. To this day it remains so popular that it has been adapted into several movies, including one starring Benedict Cumberbatch that was nominated for 3 awards. In particular, its influence is due to its creative and insightful new ideas of what makes a villain. Richard's character is so well-written and deeply understandable that it has entrenched itself into the world of literature as an iconic and frequently analysed villain.

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Villain profile: Richard III

Richard, both the protagonist and antagonist of the play, has been an outcast for his whole life. Born a hunchback, he is the strange and alienated brother of the family. Never fitting in with his siblings, never being able to enjoy what others enjoyed, and a lack of close relationships has left him bitter and spiteful. He feels that he deserves revenge and justice and that to finally shine he needs to ensure that others suffer. However, he fails to see that his fate is partly due to his own complacency in wallowing and allowing himself to be dejected and alone, worsening his own problem. He feels entitled to the power that comes with kingship after a tragic life and will do anything to achieve that. He goes on a rampage, murdering members of his family including young children and trying to marry his niece. But no matter what he does to others, he finds he cannot base his kingship on fear and tyranny. His downfall is his obsession with harm and revenge and his sick sense of what is right. Richard spends his life never trying to change his situation or create a promising future, perpetuating his pain and directly causing his own downfall.

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Key moment: opening soliloquy

Richard III opens upon Richard himself, alone and giving an angsty speech about his troubles. He describes each pleasure experienced by his family that he must miss out on because of his appearance, in particular, sex and love. Despite joy and excitement for all other members of his family, Richard laments that “I, in this weak piping time of peace, have no delight to pass away the time, unless to see my shadow in the sun and descant on mine own deformity.” This is an obvious reflection of how his disability has held him back, yet the brooding tone insinuates that he is a bitter regurgitation of suffering and exclusion, perhaps shut out, or perhaps withdrawing himself from the world. This is also suggested in “But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks, nor made to court an amorous looking glass; I, that am rudely stamped.” Shakespeare’s skilful application of alliteration gives the words a sense of being spat out with anger. Meanwhile, his description of himself is self-pitying, adding to his spiteful and jealous image. His descent into villainy caused by years of depression is captured when Shakespeare succinctly states that “And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover to entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determinèd to prove a villain and hate the idle pleasures of these days.” This line is contrasting, initially beginning with added depression and pity before suddenly switching to hate and villainy. This is accentuated with both sentences ending in similar ways, an attempt by Richard to present his immorality as logical. This opening soliloquy wholly summarises the cause and effect of Richard’s villainy and is an essential moment in understanding his character.

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How has Shakespeare represented villainy and immorality through Richard III?

Shakespeare’s dramatisation of the historical villain King Richard III authentically examines the driving factors behind villainy and immorality. It portrays the age-old villain driven by personal resentment and spite in a new manner that is deep, philosophical, and considers the human condition, influenced by these heartfelt ideals of the Renaissance. Richard is an insightful representation of outcasts and black sheep. Born into a prestigious and happy family, he is hunchbacked and impotent, leading to a life of dejection and aloneness. Eventually, he becomes tired of this miserable fate and plots to take power. He murders his own family, sets them against each other, manipulates a lady into marrying him, and even kills his young nephews before finally being overthrown and killed in a rebellion against his tyrannic rule. In a monologue, Richard introduces himself as “I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion, cheated of feature by dissembling nature. Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time into this breathing world, scarce half made up.” He employs graphic visual imagery with great emphasis on his physical deformities to invoke shock and disgust from the audience, while simultaneously having deep sympathy for a life lived in such a state. Moral conflict is masterfully established as Shakespeare writes “Was ever woman in this humor wooed? Was ever woman in this humor won? I’ll have her, but I will not keep her long.” Through repetition, the audience is instantly torn between feeling sorry for Richard, unable to find a wife, and disgust for the manner in which he describes having and keeping a woman like an object. This is a clear representation of Shakespeare’s motivation for this composition, an exploration of whether personal tribulation is reason enough to justify immorality. However, this internal moral conflict is quickly annulled with the line “Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead, And I would have it suddenly performed.” Here, Richard blatantly and emotionlessly states that he would have his young nephews killed without reluctance, as they are the heirs to the throne he holds. This is Shakespeare’s powerful demonstration of all Richard would do to retain his power, despite the princes not even being a threat. It is a defining moment in the play that establishes Richard as an inarguable villain and takes his acts past the point of justification, no matter how much he has suffered in the past. Flawlessly, Shakespeare has explored the motives of a villain as well as the limits of justifiability, inspiring moral questions from the audience that further shaped the development of the Renaissance.

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Tsugumi Ohba's 'Death Note'

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Synopsis

A smart and popular high school student in Tokyo named Light Yagami finds a mysterious black book called the Death Note which can kill anyone whose name is written in it. Light decides to take on the identity of Kira, a twisted do-gooder whose intent is to cleanse the world of criminals by murdering all of them. He quickly gains notoriety, and an equally genius detective known as L is assigned to work to uncover him. Schemingly, Light manipulates Misa Amane, a fiercely devoted fan and famous model, into becoming his girlfriend by letting her believe he loves her while actually using her for the second Death Note that she owns. He allows the detectives to suspect she is Kira twice, both times causing her capture and near execution until a failed plot leads to Light’s identity being revealed and subsequently his death. It was written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.

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Other notable animes

Attack on Titan Kakegurui One Piece Demon Slayer Tokyo Ghoul