Richard III

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses ableist language common during the Elizabethan era to describe Richard’s curvature of the spine.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is the protagonist and villain of Richard III. He is the younger brother of King Edward IV and George, Duke of Clarence. While in the past he supported his brother Edward in his war to take the throne from King Henry VI, he eventually becomes ambitious for the throne himself. Richard is experienced in battle and Lady Anne Neville recalls that he was instrumental in the death of her previous husband, Prince Edward of Westminster, at the Battle of Tewkesbury.

Richard’s cunning and his strength in combat is contrasted with his deformed body. At the beginning of the play, Richard bitterly describes how he does not thrive at court during peacetime, claiming that he is “not shaped for sportive tricks / Nor made to court an amorous looking glass / I, that am rudely stamped” (1.1.14-16). Since Richard is not handsome, he is unable to enjoy peaceful courtly culture, and therefore he resolves to become a villain and seize the throne from his brothers.

Throughout the play, other characters describe Richard as having a hunched or misshapen spine.