How Does Shakespeare Present Richard As A Hero

It’s evident that Shakespeare characterizes Richard III as a villain, but it seems that he intends for the audience to construe Richard’s “iniquity” as a consequence of his environment. Across three plays, Richard develops a sort of psychopathy, fueled by his ambition to become England’s king, and all as a result of his reputation as a noble monster, one that’s rumored to be ugly, inside and out. Granted, no audience will excuse every action of Richard’s because of his past, but somehow every time it finds its way into Richard’s list of motivations, which creates a tug of war between sympathy and resentment towards him. It’s not that Richard deserves to be labeled all-out evil, but he appears at times to have reason allowing him to be and to do so. What he is is human; what he is not is a monster. And how Richard acts is the rebound of how he’s been treated his entire life. When the audience first meets Richard, Shakespeare juxtaposes him with his oldest brother, Edward, who in comparison to Richard, shows the audience his royal incompetence. Richard’s presentation of himself as courageous and resolute contribute to this. When the brothers testify on behalf of their father, for
And it’s because it reminds me more so of his father, the late York, than the conniving Richard whose actions I’ve grown to approve. “I am determinèd to prove a villain / And hate the idle pleasures of these days” declared Richard, a line that reminds the audience of his father’s madman soliloquy, suggesting that Richard is a re-characterization of York in some respect. All of which I see as uninviting. A comparison of Richard and his father and the suggestion therein that they’re similar devalues Richard as a relatable villain. Shakespeare depicts Richard as conniving, calculated, and witty, but he depicts York as too patient and too compromising, something that results in a weaker outlook on