Comparison of Richard III and Macbeth as villains

Richard III & Macbeth Comparison/Contrast

The lust for power, the thirst for ambition, and the act of murder are the driving forces behind the characters of Richard III and Macbeth. While both men are villains, they become so in very different ways. At the beginning of Richard III, Richard needs no help in becoming a villain and no assistance when it comes to devious plans and plots for murder. Macbeth, on the other hand, needs some prodding from his wife to become a villain. Both men become villains because of their thirst for ambition and their lust for power. Their characters illustrate how villains may come in many shapes and sizes but in the end, they operate on the same level and outside forces drive them. An examination of Richard III and Macbeth reveals that both men are villains because they are greedy for power and ambition and will resort to murder to get what they want.

Shakespeare uses the lust for power to arouse villainous feelings within Richard III and Macbeth. Richard is a villain from the very beginning and Shakespeare does not waste any time revealing this to us. In the opening act, we see Richard's true colors. He admits that he has laid plots against the king and Richard justifies his deformity as a reason for his bad behavior. We know this early in the play when he says that he is "deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time" (Shakespeare Richard III I.i.20) and he is "determined to prove a villain" (III I.i.30). Later in the play, he compares himself to the "formal vice, Iniquity,/I moralize two meanings in one word" (Shakespeare Richard III.i.82-3). Stephen Greenblatt notes that the vice is "wickedness personified" (Greenblatt 34). On the other hand, it takes time for Macbeth to become a villain. In fact, he could probably never have done it alone. It takes prodding from his wife and the nudging of witches to convince Macbeth to do anything but once he does commit murder, he becomes more callous and willing to do so again. Both characters are not simply killing to kill - each man lusts over the power of the throne and that lust becomes a primary force behind his behavior.

Linked with the lust for power is the thirst for ambition. Shakespeare reveals the frailty of man with this lethal combination. With Richard, we see this thirst manifest itself through various forms of bad behavior. First, he demonstrates that he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants through manipulation and outright lies. When he convinces Anne to marry him, we see his sinister side shine through. He gloats over having won her so easily - especially because she is still in mourning. He admits that he "will have her; but I will not keep her long (Shakespeare Richard III I.ii.230). Here we see that he wastes no time putting his plan to become king into action. He is manipulative as well. We see this come into action when Richard announces Clarence's death and follows it by making Edward feel guilty in front of those around them. While Macbeth has a plan, it is not something he comes up with on his own. It is only by Lady Macbeth's urging that Macbeth comes to lust after the throne and actually sees a way to make it happen. Both men are primed for murder by a simple lust for the throne.

As we have mentioned, murder becomes the tool by which both men use to get what they want. Macbeth kills Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son. Richard's victims are more vast, a list that includes Clarence, Edward, the Duke of Somerset, Elizabeth's kinsmen, and Queen Anne. While Richard's trail of victims may be more immense than Macbeth's, it is important to realize that both men are driven by the same lust and ambition. Simply put, they both want to be king. While murder is difficult enough to digest, the murder of children is simply indefensible. Yet, it is something that both men feel compelled to do. It is interesting to see how Macbeth has moved from a man that squirms at the thought of murdering someone to a man that seems to kill just to kill. We see this when Macbeth kills Lady Macduff and her son. These two individuals do not stand in the way of Macbeth's quest to the throne but he still feels as though he must kill them. At this point, we see how far Macbeth has come. With Richard, we understand more clearly why he feels as though he must kill the princes. However, it is important to note that we see a terrible wrong against mankind when both men decide to kill the innocent. Shakespeare emphasizes this by mentioning the heavens above as if to suggest that each man is acting on emotions that are not of this world. For example, after the children are killed in Richard III, the queen says, "When didst thou sleep when such a deed was done?" (IV.iv.24). Additionally, our attention is drawn to the heavens when Macduff asks, "Did heaven look on,/and would not take their part?" (Macbeth IV.iv.3.223-4). Here we see how villainous a man can become when he is obsessed with power and ambition. We also see how evil leads to more evil and a more callous heart. To support the idea of murder being born from something not of this earth, Shakespeare brings ghosts into the picture. These supernatural ghosts torment each man proposing that murder becomes too much for the human mind to bear.

One of the major differences between Richard III and Macbeth is how each character develops. Richard, as noted earlier, is open to whatever it takes to be king from the beginning of the play. However, it takes a while for Macbeth to become accustomed to the idea of being evil and committing crimes of a most heinous nature. We can see Macbeth's reluctance when he is "afraid to think of what I have done" (II.ii.66) after killing Duncan a.C. Bradley points out that the more evil Macbeth chooses, the easier it is for him to remain evil. Macbeth changes from a squeamish man afraid of murder to a man that is bloodthirsty. Bradley also notes that the witches "no longer need to go and meet him; he seeks them out. He has committed himself to his course of evil" (Bradley 286). In the end, Macbeth is not so different from Richard. Shakespeare uses the meek Macbeth to illustrate how we are all capable of evil if we allow ourselves to be motivated by an unhealthy passion for power.

As it is with most villainous individuals, we see that Richard and Macbeth end up alone in the end. We see that Richard "hath no friends but what are friends for fear,/Which in his dearest need will fly from him" (Shakespeare Richard III V.ii.20). Macbeth says that "the thanes fly from me" (Macbeth V.iii.49), and Macbeth is later described by Malcolm as a man alone, stating that "none serve with him but constrained things/Whose hearts are absent too" (Macbeth V.iv.13-14). Here, Shakespeare reveals how villains usually end up in life - alone. What we also see is how it appears that each man has executed his plan to become king and yet, somehow, that is not enough.