The Role Of Deceit In Richard III

“All the world’s a stage…”
The role of acting, disguise, deceit in Richard III

“I am determined to prove a villain” says Richard in the beginning lines in one of the history plays of Shakespeare, Richard III. He is trying to cheat us right in the beginning with this sentence, just as he cheats and deceives everybody later, to finally become the King of England in the end. On the other hand, he is absolutely right, despite being never able to realize this: he really is just a poor man in the hands of fate with nothing else to choose. After he is done with his bloody mission, cleaning England of all the scum, his life has to come to an end. In the beginning instead of the chorus, we see Richard onstage: he plays so many roles that
eventually he ‘becomes’ the chorus. He appears with a lump and hunchback, acting as a miserable old man, trying to convince the audience about his handicap by nature. He acts so well that we actually believe that he’s handicapped; it turns out only in the final battle, where he kills five of the best warriors of Richmond alone, that the lump and hunchback might not be real. “I am determined to prove a villain” – he claims he has no other choice, being just an old man whose destiny is to be a villain, no matter what he does. This quote can be understood as being determined by fate, but it also has a strange hidden meaning, stating that he, himself has determined, decided that he will be a villain. He turns out to be quite successful in deceiving the audience, we almost feel sorry for him, even as we learn that he is planning to kill his brother there. Moreover, later on he is more successful in acting upon the characters in the play. After acting for the audience, stating that he will kill his brother, Richard’s personality immediately turns: he becomes the caring brother of Clarence, whom he wants to kill. After successfully killing his brother with directing two murderers from behind, he starts acting as a heroic lover, producing a cynical, controversial, and still, somehow typical scene with Lady Anne. She keeps turning down Richard, who tries to win her heart with wonderful and clever words, though he has just killed her husband. Moreover, he is going on and on, and – believe it or not – succeeds in putting the ring on her finger. Then he plays the role of the piece maker of the family, although he is the one who generated all the conflict behind the curtain. Afterwards he acts as a good catholic friar, as he tries (and of course wins) the votes of the citizens, so finally he can be crowned. Richard is present onstage in a huge number of acts; even when he is not there personally, he is behind the curtain, in the air, with his plans having realized. As the plot is developing and Richard is misleading everybody, we slowly realize that he is also acted upon by fate.
He is driven only by his own will. This will is simply to have unlimited power – Richard wants to become king, and for this, he is able to do anything, even when it comes to killing. And he kills a lot: there is quite a high number of people before him who would become king if the current one dies, so he has to eliminate each and every of them to make sure that the crown finally lands on his head. And he does a great job: he is far the cleverest person in the play: he plans each and every step one by one, and successfully carries his plan out afterwards. He doesn’t realize, however, that he is just another card in the hands of history. At that time, England, and especially the ruling family of England was rotten. Deep down in corruption, hypocrisy, there is not a single character that we could feel sorry for – and Richard is the one who makes order, cleans the scum, before a new order can come. That’s why, when he finally becomes the King of England, he is lost. He has played so many roles, that he just can’t switch back to being himself. Actually there never has been a Richard himself as he always played roles, acted, and disguised everybody. He is the cleverest of all, but he has a lack of conscience. A king has to represent the whole country with his strong identity, and Richard does not have an identity at
all. Richard is clearly one of the best actors, and best minds of Shakespeare’s characters; he just doesn’t realize that while he is making history, history acts upon him as well. He is destined to clear England, to make order, and to let a new order come – and in the new order, after his job is done, there is no need for such a cleaner.