Richard of Gloucester: The Making of a Villain
First appears: Act 1, Scene 1
Richard of Gloucester is the younger York brother who starts to show, in Part III, exactly what he is becoming. He kills Henry VI in the Tower. He plots against his brothers. He announces himself, in a long soliloquy, as a man born to dominate: someone who will set his mind on the crown because he cannot achieve ordinary happiness.
His soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 2 ('I can smile, and murder whiles I smile') is one of the earliest great villain speeches in English drama. It is also self-aware in a way that makes him more frightening, not less.
He is not yet the fully formed Richard III. But the blueprint is here.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile, And cry 'Content' to that which grieves my heart,”
Richard of Gloucester — Act 3, Scene 2
“I am myself alone.”
Richard of Gloucester — Act 5, Scene 6
Themes
Other Characters in Henry VI, Part III
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