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The Soliloquies Of Richard In Richard Iii Essay, Research Paper

The Soliloquies of Richard in Richard III

Throughout the notable play of Richard III, soliloquies, speeches which Richard, The treacherous protagonist speaks to himself and to the audience, play very outstanding and significant roles. As through the villain hero’s soliloquies, we are presented the material that cannot be realistically delivered in dialogue. They enable our understanding of the unmasked Richard and enable our appreciation of the play, as they reveal Richard’s isolation, reveal the information on the plot which are the background and atmosphere of the story, and Richard’s treacherous plan, reveal Richard’s inner thoughts which appear clear to us the deformities of his mind and also reveal his self-knowledge.

The first scene of the play begins with a soliloquy which emphasizes Richard’s isolation as he appears alone and even bitterly depicts his deformity as “rudely stamp’d Deform’d, unfinish’d “. His deformity can indicate the disharmony from nature and viciousness of his spirit. Richard’s deformities both physical and mental exclude him from the world around him. He is separated even from his family as he says, “Dive, thought’s down to my soul”, when he sees his brother, the Duke of Clarence, coming. He is unable to share his thought with his own family as he is plotting against them. He has no true relationship with anyone because he only knows how to use and abuse or victimize people around him. He uses his superior wit and inferior deformity against others.

His isolation is obviously seen when he dreams as he is completely alone, unloved and loveless. He is too vicious and despiteful to even he himself can love his own self,

“There is no creature loves me;

And if I die, no soul shall pity me:

Nay, wherefore should they, since that I myself

Find in myself no pity to myself?”.

His deformity and isolation combining with the boundless ambition and egotism could possibly be the cause of his thirst for the throne that is not belonged to him.

Richard’s soliloquies play another role in providing the background and atmosphere of the play. As Richard’s first soliloquy introduces us the background of the story and the atmosphere of this scene that now the long years of the Lancastrian supremacy are over. The house of York is in its glorious ascendant leading by King Edward IV. Everyone is bliss with happiness and glory except Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who is isolated because of his own jealousy and deformity. The “weak piping time of peace” offers him no chance for the only kind of activity for which an ugly hunchbacked is fitted. Unable to caper nimbly in a lady’s chamber to the lustful tinkling of a lute, he is bored. Thus, to relieve the boredom and to serve his own ambition, he determines to prove a villain, “subtle, false and treacherous”.

Moreover, the soliloquies he has made throughout the play can clearly manifest his treacherous plan to seize the throne and can inform us the progression of his scheme. The first soliloquies and the next one reveal us his Machiavellian plan he has elaborately plotted against the first target, Clarence, his third brother. Richard craftily removes one obstacle in his path by turning the King’s hatred against Clarence. The soliloquy in I, ii, 228-264 reveals more about his plan that he will insure his position by marrying Lady Anne, widow of Prince Edward, son of the murdered Henry VI. He is heartless as he wants to win the lady’s hand for the sole purpose of his pursuit of the crown. His next step is to make Lord Hasting and Lord Buckingham believe that Queen Elizabeth and her allies cause the misfortune of Clarence. This evidence is in I, iii, 224-338.

Then we learn from his soliloquy, III, vi, 106-109, that his next move is to take some secret order to remove any threat from Clarence’s heirs by imprisoning his son and arranging poor marriage for his daughter whereby her social position is considerably lowered. Also, he plans to prevent others from contacting the princes who are locked up in the Tower. In the next soliloquies, he reveals his next step that he will marry young Elizabeth, King Edward IV’s daughter, in order to secure the safety of his position. Apparently, he has no mercy or sympathy even to his nieces and nephews.

Moreover, nevertheless, the soliloquy, IV, iv, 36-43, gives us the idea of how Richard is obsessed with his bloody plan. He reckons what he has accomplished so far. It seems like he takes pleasure from doing so.

However, as Richard’s soliloquies reveal more and more about his malicious scheme, they, meanwhile, reveal more and more about the deformity of his mind that it is full with sarcasm, egotism, deception, hypocrisy, villainy Machiavelli, cold-blooded cruelty and wicked pleasure. We know the unmasked Richard from his soliloquies as they are speeches made when he is alone – it is the only time that he can reveal his thoughts, his mind and his true self.

Fronting with his victims or his tools, he professionally uses the art of deception with histrionic ability to victimize or use them. With that art of him and his self-congratulating soliloquies spoken in the very moment and crisis of joyful exultation on the success of his deception, they reveal to us his hypocrisy, villainy Machivelli and wicked pleasure. For instance, in I, ii, 228-264, after he wins Lady Anne’s hand or in I, I, 117-120, after he, pretending sympathy, advises Clarence that the jealousy and hatred of the Queen are responsible for his imprisonment. Richard even gives false promise to help his victimized brother. In fact, we know all from his soliloquies that it is just a lie and all Clarence’s doom is one of Richard’s stratagems to make way to the throne. He is insincere, loveless

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