by Aidan McCarthy, Blogging Circle 2
While many of Shakespeare’s more secondary villains will often use brute force, mindless raised voices, and nerve to achieve their goals (i.e. Demetrius from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Rodrigo from Othello), it seems that his most memorable and sinister villains are masters of physiological manipulation. Using their false words of comfort, and back door wheeling and dealing to con those who are less cunning and weaker than they are to attain their ultimate end goal. Richard, Duke of Gloucester is no exception to this, and he might just be the ultimate example in this case.
At the beginning of the play, he shows himself to be bitter and twisted over his self-proclaimed deformity, and finds himself to be unfit for a world that is engulfed in peace.
“But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking glass; I, that am rudely stamped and want love’s majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph; I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them— Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to see my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity.” (1.1.lines 14-27)
However, he manages to use his mastery of language and manipulation to his advantage over others. While learning of Clarence’s imprisonment in Act I, he manages to display thoughtfulness and concern for his current situation,
“Well, your imprisonment shall not be long. I will deliver you or else lie for you. Meantime, have patience.” (1.1. lines 114-116)
Richard seems so convincing in his consolation of his brother that we as the audience are almost led to believe him ourselves, we already forget that he has promised to himself and us, the audience that his brother Clarence would be but another fatality in his ultimate scheme. This is just another example of his unwavering and uncompromising manipulation. It is almost as if he as a character is playing multiple other characters within the play, purely towards the deception of others. His manipulative ways take an even darker and more disturbing turn in Act I, Scene II, when he attempts to convince Lady Anne to marry him,
“I would they were, that I might die at once, For now they kill me with a living death. Those eyes of thine from mine have drawn salt tears, Shamed their aspect with store of childish drops. These eyes, which never shed remorseful tear— No, when my father York and Edward wept To hear the piteous moan that Rutland made When black-faced Clifford shook his sword at him; Nor when thy warlike father, like a child, Told the sad story of my father’s death And twenty times made pause to sob and weep, That all the standers-by had wet their cheeks Like trees bedashed with rain—in that sad time, My manly eyes did scorn an humble tear; And what these sorrows could not thence exhale Thy beauty hath, and made them blind with weeping. I never sued to friend, nor enemy; My tongue could never learn sweet smoothing word. But now thy beauty is proposed my fee, My proud heart sues, and prompts my tongue to speak. Teach not thy lip such scorn, for it were made For kissing, lady, not for such contempt. If thy revengeful heart cannot forgive, Lo, here I lend thee this sharp-pointed sword, Which if thou please to hide in this true breast And let the soul forth that adoreth thee, I lay it naked to the deadly stroke And humbly beg the death upon my knee. Nay, do not pause; for I did kill King Henry— But ’twas thy beauty that provokèd me. Nay, now dispatch; ’twas I that stabbed young Edward— But ’twas thy heavenly face that set me on. Take up the sword again, or take up me.” (1.1.lines 149-169)
The entirety of this scene perfectly encapsulate Richard’s masterful use of manipulation. It is apparent from the outset of the scene that Lady Anne holds incredible disdain and hatred for Richard, threatening to at one point kill him with a sword pointed to his chest, but through sheer cunning and his beautiful use of language and acting, she agrees to marry him. He is able to play upon people’s most sensitive and deepest held emotions, and does so all whilst every word that he speaks is nothing but an absolute lie. Again, he is a character in a play playing another character for whichever suitor is unlucky enough to hear his poisonous and deceitful words.
Lady Anne is an interesting case with Richard’s manipulative nature, considering she never once believed in Richard’s supposed reformed state. From the very moment we are introduced to her character, she is grieving the death of her husband and is cursing Richard because she knows he’s responsible for it. Unlike Buckingham, who follows Richard up until he is forced to flee (from there he forms an army against Richard), Lady Anne was a character who, in my opinion, only relented to their marriage because she had no other options. Her husband was dead and she had free opportunity handed to her, even if she knew she’d remain restless with Richard up until her death. But, although he does smooth talk her, I don’t quite think she was manipulated. I just believe she was stuck in an impossible situation.
I certainly agree that Richard’s timing is a big part of his master plans. He attempts to woo Lady Anne right when she is mourning the loss of her husband and father-in-law. In fact, she is standing right in front of her father-in-law’s corpse when Richard woos her. He knows she has nothing else to lose and attempts to use her negative emotions to turn things around for him for his selfish desires. The same goes for Queen Elizabeth. She is angry and upset over the loss of her children. Yet, Richard swoops in and decides to promise her grandchildren and uses her dark emotions to his benefit. He knows these women have lost everything and is smart and evil enough to know he can use that fact to his advantage.
I agree with you that Richard has almost perfected manipulation and language. But, I would argue that he is not always believed. I think that at first, he is great at it–tricking everyone left and right. But, now, I feel as though people listen to Richard because they fear him; they know what he is capable of. His track record has led everyone, even his own family, to question, doubt, and dislike him. He had a gift, but he squandered it by using it for evil far too many times. Richard’s reaction to Clarence’s imprisonment illustrates everyone blindly believing him at the start of the play. Clarence could not believe his own brother would hire hitmen to kill him–he is in serious denial–and then Edward IV ridicules the rest of the family from not stopping him from executing his brother (he blames himself). Richard is the cunning serpent that nobody knows to point their finger to… yet. Then, as the play progresses, we see everyone learn to distrust him. This is clear when Elizabeth, the Duchess of York, and Lady Anne are barred from seeing the young princes in the tower of London; they immediately know it is Richard’s doing. His own mother, the Duchess of York, even curses him and her own womb. As for Lady Anne and Richard’s followers, they obey and “believe” him purely out of fear, knowing what he is capable of.
I think that we definitely see instances of Richard manipulating characters through his use of psychologically manipulative tactics, but I would argue that those tactics are not what helps Richard get what he wants. Richard kills a lot of people in this play, and I think that his own toxic violence is what helps him get ahead in the play. Richard does not have a cunning conversations with the people that anger him, and instead he kills them. He seems to think that murder is the only thing that will get him in power, which is a very cowardly way to win the crown.
Aidan,
I completely agree with your point that Richard is like a character playing other characters. Whatever the situation calls for, he will adapt to it to gain the advantage. I know we talked about the logistics of Lady Anne’s acceptance of Richard’s proposal in class, but I was still very surprised at her decision; he did help kill her husband, after all. In a way, Lady Anne plays her part in becoming a character to maintain her social influence–even though it results in her death. It just goes to show what lengths people will go for power and status, something still true in today’s society.
I have mixed feelings about Richard being a manipulator when it comes to Anne specifically. I wasn’t bothered by any of the other manipulation in the play, or whom he manipulated except for Anne. If we were to think of that scene, or that exact moment of the play with a modern view it would seem different. The way I saw it with that spin is that he essentially preyed on a very vulnerable woman, a woman who had just lost her husband. Richard not only preyed on her vulnerability to manipulate her with his words, but he also crashed a funeral to do so. Anne was very wary about him, so I don’t think he manipulated her as well as he thought even though she does end up marrying him. But hey, what woman wouldn’t want to marry a king?
Nice post! I definitely agree that Richard uses some pretty harsh manipulative tactics in this play. It is clear that he is able to manipulate Clarence to make him believe he cares about him. He is also able to slightly manipulate Queen Elizabeth into discussing her daughter with him. However, I do think that much of his success comes from eliciting fear in his victims, and that is particularly true with Lady Anne. At first, I was confused as to how he is able to woo her so easily, but after discussing the scene in class, I think it is safer to say that she is scared of him, rather than she actually believes his words. I would say Iago in Othello is a much better manipulator than Richard, because he truly drives his victims insane with the lies he tells them. I would honestly like to see Iago try to convince Richard of something entirely false, and see if Richard gives him a run for his money.
I’m so glad you brought up Richard’s theatricality, Aidan–I think that’s a big part of what makes his brand of manipulation so interesting. Despite the fact that he frequently soliloquizes to *us* about his inner machinations, in his public life, as Hastings says, it’s thought that “there’s never a man in Christendom / Can lesser hide his love or hate than he, / For by his face straight shall you know his heart” (3.4.51-53). His performance is apparently so convincing that he’s pulled the wool over the eyes of the majority of the court (with the very notable exceptions of those he has personally, undeniably wronged–Elizabeth and her brothers, Margaret, and Anne come to mind–or the only person who can see straight through him: his mother).
I don’t know if you’ve seen Ian McKellen’s version of his opening soliloquy (if you haven’t: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjJEXkbeL-o), but part of the reason I love his rendition is that when he “notices” the camera (around 2:10), his mood brightens tremendously (and somewhat hilariously)–he’s overjoyed at finally having a captive audience to whom he can rant about his genius. It makes you think about the bitterness and emptiness that would result from living such separate internal and external lives (which is one of the reasons I love his post-haunting soliloquy so much!).
Aidan,
I loved your analysis of Richard as a manipulator. His character is incredibly interesting because while he seems to be separated from the general population (both by his appearance and social shortcomings), he still has this incredibly brilliant insight into the minds of everyone around him. He knows exactly what makes them all tick and uses every word that slips from his lips to twist their desires into his own. He’s brilliant in such a terrible way and his way of speaking and manipulating the other characters was absolutely brilliant!
I think you touch upon a very important idea here. “While many of Shakespeare’s more secondary villains will often use brute force, mindless raised voices, and nerve to achieve their goals (i.e. Demetrius from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Rodrigo from Othello), it seems that his most memorable and sinister villains are masters of physiological manipulation.” I think this is very true and I think Shakespeare does this because his works are often an analysis of evil. Though Rodrigo for example uses typical means of aggression, I don’t think he is meant to be seen as inherently evil. I think thats why Richard is such a powerful character as was Iago. These character’s have complex psyches and I think Shakespeare certainly uses this to analyze the existence of evil. Evil seems to closely tie into manipulation for Shakespeare as both Richard and Iago can be seen as master manipulators.