Richard is the villainous protagonist of the play. He begins the play as the Duke of Gloucester but later becomes King Richard III after he successfully attains the crown. As part of his agenda to legitimise Queen Elizabeth I’s reign by promoting the Tudor Myth, Shakespeare depicts Richard as a physically deformed hunchback, as this deformity helps mirror his moral impairment. Shakespeare characterises Richard as an ambitious person who is “determined to prove a villain” to get the crown of England. He is a deceptive and irreligious mastermind, who is highly skilled in manipulator. His is a brilliant actor, exemplified in how he pretends to be modest and pious during Act 3 Scene 7, and is extremely skilled with wordplay, evident in how he managed to twist all of Anne’s words during Act 1 Scene 2 to woo her. There are no moral lines that he is unwilling to cross; he will slaughter innocent children and kill his wife if it means securing his position as king. He has no problems turning on those loyal to him if they get in the way, such as Hastings or Buckingham. Shakespeare also draws on concepts from medieval morality plays in the depiction of Richard, but Richard isn’t exactly a Vice character. Richard is instead portrayed more like a Machiavellian villain, hell-bent on manipulating the royal court through his humanist actions in order to claw his way to the throne.
