“The character of Richard III is the incarnation of evil, yet, if he were merely a characture of wickedness the play would lose dramatic impact. Richard must display at least some attractive or sympathetic qualities, or the audience would lose interest in him.” Discuss. The character of Shakespeare’s Richard III is complex, and cannot be categorised as simply ‘evil’. Richard is, for all respects, the play – and the depths and mysteries of his character …showed first 75 words of 1028 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1028 total…his status as the main character and the pivot point of the play, he is too developed to be one dimensional. If he were, the play would loose it’s dramatic impacts because his character is, in a basic sense, the play. In addition to this, the depth of his character means that, even if he is evil, we are able to be interested in him and his story without some attractive or sympathetic qualities.