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Shakespeare's Richard III: Diabolical Villain

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Every good story needs some form of conflict, and what better way could there be to create conflict than a villain? Classic playwrights and those of today use villains as a device to create diabolical plots and schemes for protagonists to overcome. But William Shakespeare didn’t just let the antagonist be easily beaten by the hero. One of his most notable villains is Richard in Richard III. Richard is a ruthless, ambitious character who would stop at nothing to gain the crown of England. Shakespeare’s definition of evil can be explored through this diabolical villain of the historical play Richard III by analyzing Richard’s actions and character traits. It is most notable within Richard III, that Shakespeare exaggerates Richards’s deformities; …show more content…
Richard does this by whispering to the king while in a drunken stupor “… a prophecy which says that ‘G’ of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be.” (2) Edward automatically assumes “G” means his brother George, Duke of Clarence, readers can infer that “G” really stands for Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Consequently, Edward sends George to the tower, where he is trapped. Richard is then able to send assassins to kill Clarence, making it look as though it was done by the Kings orders right when Edward was about to take back the sentence. Here, he takes care of his two largest obstacles in one fell swoop, as now the sickly King Edward dies of grief believing he had killed his …show more content…
Once he has their trust, and he captures himself the title of the Princes Protector, he has only two more obstacles in the way. Ironically, the new Protector for the young prince commands the death of the two royal children, and they are smothered in their sleep. Though do to this command, Richard also loses Buckingham, his one and only loyal henchman, as Buckingham pauses on the decision to kill the children.
Shakespeare allows all of these events to take place by giving Richard the ability to plant thoughts and fears into the minds of the other characters. From Act 1, Richard begins pinning characters together, relishing in the conflict. Although Richard is one of the most notable of Shakespeare’s villains, this trait of deception is something Shakespeare gives to almost all of his

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