How Is Richard Presented As A Villain

In the play 'Richard III', the characters are an important part in the story. The characters of any story are the main reason the story advances. The characters and their personalities also play a major role in deciding the plot. In 'Richard III', William Shakespeare, the author, uses Richard's intelligence, wordplay, and wit to advance the story and characters.
There is no doubt about the fact that Richard is the villain of this play. He is also the protagonist, which is the leading character of any work of literature. Clearly, Richard wastes no time putting his evil plans into action. His first step out many more to come, was that he needed to get rid of his older brother, Clarence, since he was next in line for the throne. He tells us
he's manipulated King Edward into believing a prophesy warning that Edward's heirs will be murdered by a family member associated with the letter 'G'.Since the Duke of Clarence's real name is George, he is jailed and charged with treason. Clarence is now locked up in a tower due to Richard's ambition to get to the throne. Richard uses his intelligence in this story many a time, usually for evil-doing and violence. In the play, Richard hires two murderers to kill his brother, Clarence, so that he could be one step closer to having the crown and the throne for himself. Clarence's real name is George, but he is called Clarence throughout the play because he is the Duke of Clarence. He is also the next person in line for the throne. This action reveals to us just how clever he really is because he sends somebody, other than himself, to go murder his brother. In the play, in scene one, Act 4, page --- the first murderer makes the following statement “ Thy brother's love, or duty, and thy fault, prove us hither now to slaughter thee.” The first murderer is explaining to Clarence that his beloved Brother Richard, also known as Gloucester, has sent the two of them, the two murderers that is, to brutally murder him. Richard's intelligence advances the play in this part because if he were to have killed Clarence himself, he risked being caught. That would mean that he would lose his opportunity to become king. Likewise, that would mean that the story would no longer advance because the protagonist, which is Richard III, would be either in jail or he would've been executed by the royals.
Another reason that this tragic play advances is because of Richard's wordplay. Wordplay is,just as one would guess, a play on words. In Act one, scene two, Lady Anne enters into the scene with the coffin in which King Edward IV lies in. In that scene Lady Anne is crying and mourning for the loss of her dear husband. Then to her mortification Richard, or Gloucester, enters the scene. She begins to shout insults at him,“Foul devil, for God's sake, hence, and trouble us not;For thou hast made the happy earth thy hell,Fill'd it with cursing cries and deep exclaims. If thou delight to view thy heinous deeds,Behold this pattern of thy butcheries,” Lady Anne then proceeds to accuse him of murdering her husband, King Edward IV, “And, by despairing, shouldst thou stand excused;
For doing worthy vengeance on thyself,Which didst unworthy slaughter upon others.” Richard responds to her statement by asking her if she was accusing him of murder. To which she responds to by saying that she is, in fact, accusing him of murdering King Edward IV along with many other innocent people. Then instead of Richard feeling belittled, he gathers the audacity to propose to Anne, while her husband's lifeless body lies right beside them in a coffin. Of course, this catches Anne off guard. After a long time Eventually, she takes the ring that Richard had offered to her and agrees to marry him. Richard uses wordplay in this scene to get Lady Anne to marry him, even though she knows that he was the person who killed her husband. This scene is very important to the advancement of this play. If Richard wouldn't have proposed to her, then he would still be steps away from his beloved throne.
In Act one, Scene three, Richard interrupts a meeting that was put on by the queen for herself and her family members.
He states that people hate him because he doesn't show false flattery, like everybody else does. In this occasion he is angered because of the meeting with King Edward. The meeting was to discuss the fact that he doesn't get along with any of them. At First Richard, implies that it is ridiculous for them to think that he hates them, but then goes on to say why he does. According to him, he hates them because they take all the fame, and that pretty much leaves the rest of the nobles in the shadow. He also voices his own opinion of Queen Elizabeth. He says that he thinks that she married into the royal family for her personal interest, not for love. Richard then turns his frustration on Queen Margaret, who has suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. He tells her that it's her own fault that she suffers. He also brings up the fact that she was always ill-mannered to his father, among other . Then when Margaret curses Richard, he takes it lightly and turns her own curse against her. He feigns compassion and encourages everyone to forgive Margaret out of the goodness of their hearts. These series of events further advances the story because now he has the nobles thinking that Queen Margaret is to blame for all the misfortunes in their aristocratic
family.
The characters in Richard III are an important part in the story. They make the story come to life and they help advance the story in many ways. In this play, William Shakespeare does a good job of using Richard's Intelligence, wordplay, and wit to advance the story and characters.