Richard Hastings In William Shakespeare's Richard III

In this passage from William Shakespeare’s Richard III, Richard ingeniously portrays himself as a transparent man through creative wordplay and deceitful actions. As such he is able to effortlessly manipulate Hastings into initiating his own death. Throughout the passage, Hastings continuously misreads Richards's true character and as a result, foolishly ignores the many warnings given to him. He was ignorant to the fact that he is but another stepping stone towards Richards's journey to the crown. Hastings believes Richard to be an honest man with nothing to hide based on how he presents and carries himself in front of others, which proves to be a very costly misassumption. Richard is an intelligent man who often changes how he portrays himself
At the beginning of the passage, he does not perceive Richard as a threat, because he was happy and welcoming, but by the end he comes to realize Richard’s true intentions all too abruptly. Hastings comes to an awakening that Richard is a power hungry man who is fuelled by his greed for the throne, after it’s too late, showing the themes of power and greed. In the beginning, Hastings begins with his confident statement “His Grace looks cheerfully”, referring to Richard and continues on to state “For by his face straight shall you know his heart,” here Shakespeare has used irony to covey just how when people believed they understood Richard he surprised them. Richard is able to cloak his true intentions and thoughts, which protects him from being in a venerable position. He is always in control of the conversation at all times and pushing the blame to others. Hastings judged Richard for how he presented himself while Richard was consistently scheming. Hastings' biggest mistake was to underestimate Richard and what he was capable of which led him to his death. Hastings did not think before he spoke and was ignorant and unaware he was walking towards his death, while Richard was determined to eliminate anyone that came in his way towards the crown. Yet, cunningly Richard never put himself in a position of risk where he would be suspected. Hastings can be perceived as a foolish man, as he walked into a trap after being given several warnings, the most obvious being Stanley’s dream which foreshadowed Hastings death as