Richard III When Words Reveal a Deeper Struggle
Richard III: When Words Reveal Deeper Struggle Shakespeare’s characters have long been renowned as some of the most complex in the English literary tradition. In the Bard’s play Richard III, the Duke of Gloucester is indeed psychologically exquisite. ... Among Richard’s personal conflicts is his constant struggle between extremes. Richard III’s unsteady character is revealed in Act I, scene i through his contradictory expressions of rage and pleasure at the prospect of bringing destruction to his family. Richard ’s unhealthy desire for vengeance unmasks itself early though his intimations on the shadow. Richard’s mention of a shadow in the first lines of the play reveals that he has a dark view of himself. ... The motif can also be viewed as a clever type of foreshadowing, although Richard does not leave the audience in the dark for long regarding his plans to be a villain . Since he exposes himself as an evil shadowed character early in the play, readers are left with little doubt that Richard is bent on destruction; he intends to cast a dark shadow throughout the play. ... Richard’s misuse of rhetorical devices also reveals the magnitude of his inner struggle. Richard is walking in the sun and sees the shadow of his himself, but he fixates on the shadow of the handicap. In line 28, Richard moves from the idea of the shadow of his deformity to stating that he cannot be a lover. ... Richard’s error is that he uses the synecdoche incorrectly. ... The misuse is evidence that Shakespeare does not agree with Richard’s argument because he made it faulty. Instead, the error shows Richard’s distorted perception of himself.