Richard the Duke of Gloucester and eventually crowned King Richard III is deformed in body and twisted in mind. Being the villain of the play, he is evil, corrupt, treacherous, and manipulative, and will stop at nothing to become king. His intelligence, political brilliance, and smooth use of language keep the audience fascinated and his victims under his manipulative power.
The opening scene has Richard addressing the audience through a soliloquy. This establishes the setting and context of the play while drawing the audience's sympathy towards Richard who mocks himself and his deformities. In this Richard also reveals his true nature; his plot to stop at nothing for the throne; his evil and treacherous side. The audience of Richard III experiences a complex, ambiguous, and highly changeable relationship with Richard. .
Richard speaks of the war and England putting aside their armours to celebrate in peace and happiness. He reveals that because his deformities are what make him resentful and because he cannot be happy he wants to make everybody else miserable. "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days". He further reveals his intentions for seizing power for himself by setting his brothers Edward and Clarence against each other. Richard lures the audience and includes them in his evil schemes which make readers find him fascinating and occasionally overlook his evil side. .
However, Richard is not as simple and straightforward as his description of himself implies. The true motivations for his evil manipulations remain mysterious. In his soliloquy, he speaks of his bitterness at his deformities. But the play's later scenes show that Richard is physically very active, and is in quite confident in his ability to seduce women. Shakespeare consistently creates the impression that there is more to Richard than we can begin to grasp.