and "masculine aggression runs rampant" (Moulton 255). Richard, refusing to subordinate himself to the peacetime hierarchy, announces that he is determined "to prove a villain" (1.1.30). In this opening soliloquy, Richard introduces "the theme of guilt and expiation that is to pervade the play" (Clemen 6). He characterizes himself as supremely "subtle, false and treacherous" (1.1.37) and reveals his part in the arrest of his brother, the Duke of Clarence.
Richard the King dominates the play, having almost one-third of the lines. Through his asides and soliloquies he also captures the audience: "[Richard] reveals himself so intimately that we become his accomplices: in sharing his keen delight in villainy, we share his guilt" (Hamilton 192). On the surface, Richard is the model of the righteous prince, expressing sorrow and regret for evil deeds more than anyone else in the play, begging forgiveness and blessing those who offend against him. This is the persona he has crafted to gain the confidence and support of those around him. Indeed, his acting "becomes the structural principle of the dramatic action" (Rackin 55). Richard knows better than anyone else in the play what is good and what is bad, and he exploits his knowledge of both to advance his struggle: "Richard is fascinating even in his villainy. He has wit, cleverness, adroitness, a mordant humor all his own, and courage of the highest order . . . . He is not simply another bad man" (Craig 76). Richard's twisted exterior suggests he is as twisted morally as he is physically, and his innermost thoughts, at odds with his public declarations, must be twisted and turned in a similar way.
Richard is a strong male figure, full of the element of fire which the Elizabethans held to be the essential ingredient of action and of masculinity. The three parts of Henry VI portray weak and unmasculine kings. Richard is their opposite. He is all aggression, all action. Moral niceties...