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 …show more content…
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
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 …show more content…
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