The Titular Character Of William Shakespeare s Richard IIi

The titular character in Shakespeare’s Richard III is a man whose body has been weakened and warped by nature, and so must rely on his wit and cleverness to survive. Throughout the play, Richard uses wordplay and persuasive language to convince others to support him or at least cease working against him. Overall, Richard believes that his ability to use language makes him superior to others in the courts of London, as is evident in the following selection: â€Å"Was ever woman in this humour wooed?/Was ever woman in this humour won?† (Shakespeare 1.2.230-231). Richard perceives himself as being capable of feats previously thought impossible due to his supposedly excellent understanding of rhetoric and discourse. Richard of Gloucester is†¦show more content†¦The response that one of these murderers gives to Richard is extremely telling, however. He states that â€Å"Talkers are no good doers; be assured/We go to use our hands and not our tongues† (1.3.349 -351.) These men have no desire to speak to Clarence, as such a conversation would only get in the way of their work. If anything is to be accomplished, they must focus on using the strength of their arm rather than that of their words. The men ultimately do choose to have a dialogue with Clarence due to the prodding of their consciences, and so completely ignore Richard’s warnings about speaking to Clarence (1.4.159). Clarence does attempt to convince these assassins of his innocence, stating that the king â€Å"sends you not to murder me for this, for in that sin he is as deep as I† (1.4.212-213). Clarence is arguing that the king would be wrong for executing him for the sins of battle, as the king would be as much as fault in that regard as Clarence is. The murderers give a curt denial, stating the following: â€Å"Relent? No. ‘Tis cowardly and womanish† (1.4.261). The man who states the previous line, and slays Clarence, never intended to change his mi nd. Neither Richard nor Clarence’s words influenced the decisions of these murderers, who were only motivated by coin (1.4.123-124). When Anne and Elizabeth utter curses toward their most bitter enemies, it seems that they believe that