Kind of wondering where I'm at =/
While Richard wants to be King, he is not entirely motivated by power
Shakespeare’s play, Richard III, depicts a malevolent central character is driven to become a Machiavel. Richard stops at nothing in his bid for the “golden fee”; no weaknesses emerge as he gleefully manipulates the world around him such that he stands at the very top. Yet Richard, who appears to be motivated primarily by an unshakeable lust for political power, is not overly attached to the throne itself. Rather, he is more interested in the means, the plotting and the villainy, rather than the ends. It is important to Richard that he practices his capacity to execute his arbitrarily chosen role of villain, having no other appropriate role as a “lump of foul deformity” existing in a “weak, piping time of peace.” As a consequence, Richard is forced to uphold his own values against the laws of his society as well as the notion of divine judgement, having chosen to define his own reality. Yet despite his determination to construct his own world and belief that the world is clay to be moulded with his own hands, Richard is in some ways a victim of his circumstances and his past. He is driven by external forces outside of his influence to become what he is. Not even Richard can escape the mechanisms of his world.
The initial stages of the play are marked by a Richard who seems to be solely fixated on his ambition for ‘England’s chair.” Unlike many of the characters he conquers, he has no earthly attachments. Richard has no avarice for “corrupting gold”, in fact he is quite unhesitant in offering Buckingham the “earldom of Hereford” so as to disband his morality and align Buckingham with his cause. Neither does he fear the loss of his own life, as shown when he “dares an opposite to every danger” towards the play’s denouement. Not even his own conscience can dampen his resolve, being dismissed by Richard as “but a word that cowards use.” Richard’s quest for the throne consumes his existence. It is not a dilemma to Richard that every step towards his ambition is a living man, starting with his naïve brother, Clarence, and ending with the foolish Hastings; he celebrates King Edward IV’s death as his “[leaving] the world for [Richard] to bustle in.” The numerous character defects which Richard exploits in others in order to erase or circumvent opposition to his mission, such as Hastings deluded sense of security, do not afflict Richard. His willingness to murder even his beloved brother Clarence, without experiencing so much as the slightest pang of remorse, illustrates his utter lack of appreciation for the world as it is, not even the laws which confine its inhabitants. Hence there is no internal barrier hindering Richard’s ascension, which results in the eventual demise of any external barrier to his aspiration. Richard’s unparalleled ambition to attain Kingship conquers all.
Yet his unbridled hunger to magnify his political sphere of influence is only a symptom of a deeper yearning to “prove a villain.” Aiming for the throne is only a means by which Richard can practice his villainy. Richard in fact, delights in plotting, dissembling, and malevolence, all methods he employs to further his political aims, for their own sakes. It is only natural then that Richard seeks the throne, as it is most appropriate project for Richard to undertake so as to engage in his hobbies. Often in his soliloquies, Richard invites the audience to share in his amusement at the foolishness and weaknesses of his victims, including “plain, simple Clarence,” as well as appreciate the ingenuity of his “inductions dangerous.” Having “no delight to pass away the time” in the “weak piping time of peace”, Richard resorts to iniquities for pleasure. As such, he revels in distorting the moral order of his world: he intends to make amends for berefting Anne of her husband by “[helping] thee to a better husband.” Richard’s “winter of discontent” at his passive function in King Edward IV’s reign drives Richard to define his own role of “villain”, enabling him to be infinitely variable in the facades he adopts in his bid for power. By rejecting King Edward IV’s society and endeavouring to construct his own world, Richard is able to seduce Anne, “all the world to nothing,” despite previously being unable to “prove a lover.” Richard seeks to mould the world to his own ideals, wherein Vice is rewarded with prizes such as the “corrupting gold” proffered to Tyrrell. His pursuit of political supremacy is therefore, a product of his desire to build a reality wherein he can relish the craft of Vice.
It is his capacity to “prove a villain” that Richard cannot bear the loss of. He highly values his determination to pursue a course which he has defined for himself, and to subsequently stand by the consequences until the very end. Thus earthly riches and political power are of little significance to Richard, in comparison to his ability to continue to tyranny, as accentuated by his cries in the midst of battle: “A horse! A horse! My Kingdom for a horse!” Richard must inevitably clash with the forces that govern the world whose moral order he is trying to subvert. Despite his insistence that “Tear falling pity dwells not in [his] eye”, Richard is nonetheless forced to acknowledge his conscience as “a thousand several tongues” all condemning him “for a villain”. in spite of being so vile that his own mother denounces his existence as “[making] the earth [her] hell,” Richard is still subject to the concern, innate in all human beings, about right and wrong. His resolve to maintain his malevolence, however, is so powerful that not even his own conscience can block him from honouring his initial decision to “undertake the death of all the world.” There is never a moment where Richard repents, whereas even his most competent and vile henchman, Buckingham, succumbs to the temptation to perceive his demise as “the determined respite of [his] wrongs.” In scoffing at divine justice and mortal laws, Richard is forced to establish his own set of principles. It is his fortitude to adhere to his ideals and maintain his choice of villainy that impels him to valiantly face his demise.
Despite his involvement in a lengthy string of criminal acts being a conscious choice, Richard is in many ways compelled by his circumstances towards such a resolution. Being “curtailed” of “fair proportion” and thereby being unable to “prove a lover”, Richard has no role to play in the absence of war. King Edward IV’s society therefore, is partially responsible for Richard’s choice, having inflicted the misery of monotony upon him. Thus Richard must become King in order to destroy this unpleasant reality. He furthermore, cannot avoid the transformation of his ambition into despotism once he has become “the Lord’s Anointed”; He becomes ensnared in a vicious cycle of violence, wherein “he is so far in blood that sin will pluck on sin.” Comitting to tyranny is not entirely Richard’s own choice, in fact he is unable to control his own behaviour following his coronation – Catesby is able to perceive that Richard is “angry” since he “gnaws his lip.” Despite Richard’s insistence that he can control his environment, he is in actuality, a slave of his past. Just as he cannot elude the confrontation with his conscience for his wrongdoings, Richard also cannot escape the influence of his past as “the wretch’st thing.”
Richard’s aspiration for “England’s chair” is a direct consequence of his dissatisfaction of being “the wretched’st thing” within England’s society under King Edward IV’s rule. He is propelled by his desire for a new world he can “bustle in”, wherein he can take pleasure in the execution of Vice, his most consummate art. Nothing, not even his own conscience, can attenuate his determination for this pursuit. And it is his determination to continue what he started, his quest to “prove a villain”, Richard treasures over all other virtues. Kingship is not his fundamental aim; it is the opportunity to shape his own reality that motivates Richard. The value of human will cannot be denied.
Word count: 1350
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