In William Shakespeare’s history Richard III, the title character clearly has his flaws. In his quest to seize royal power, Richard eliminates any obstable in his path by any means necessary. The malicious deeds done in order to secure his power, including ordering the deaths of multiple family members, provoke readers to debate whether Richard understands love. Though Richard claims that he “cannot prove a lover,” due to his deformity, and therefore becomes a villain, he does indeed know what love is, or at least what love looks like. He expertly constructs the persona of a lover when the circumstances present themselves, in this play with the courting of Lady Anne and convincing Queen Elizabeth to consider the marriage of him to her daughter.
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Richard undergoes an crisis, debating whether or not he loves himself. To the reader it seems that Richard does himself know what love is himself. However, several times in his life he has managed to fake his way through feeling love. Richard first thinks he loves himself, then, crying out, he concludes “I rather hate myself for hateful deeds committed by myself. I am a villain.” (V. iii. 190-192) The internal struggle continues until Richard surmises that indeed he is unloved, and rightfully so, he is a horrible person, and no one will pity his death. At this point, Richard’s realization that he is unloveable displays that he has some knowledge of what love means, deeper than just his perception of what love looks like. He has mastered the flattery and mannerisms of a lover. He can effectively lure in a mate, but only for selfish motives. Richard’s genuine self does not know how to genuinely love. By this time in the play, he has caught a glimpse of what it truly means to feel love, but never did get to feel …show more content…
But Richard had none of this. Had Richard known what love feels like, he likely would not have dishonestly wooed Anne and had her killed in favor of a more advantageous wife. He also may have felt committment to his family and not eliminated them in his path to power. All of the major “what-ifs” are insignificant, however, in the acknowledgement that Richard knows what love looks like, but not what it is.
What Richard knows of love is the outward appearance of love. He doesn’t understand the sacrifice, honesty, attraction, and committment that comprise a loving relationship. In this case, seeing is just not enough, experience is the key to opening up one’s heart to feeling this . Growing up in a family where even his own mother didn’t show or feel love to him explains why Richard doesn’t know what love means, but it certainly doesn’t justify his heinous actions throughout the play that any decent human being wouldn’t
Richard undergoes an crisis, debating whether or not he loves himself. To the reader it seems that Richard does himself know what love is himself. However, several times in his life he has managed to fake his way through feeling love. Richard first thinks he loves himself, then, crying out, he concludes “I rather hate myself for hateful deeds committed by myself. I am a villain.” (V. iii. 190-192) The internal struggle continues until Richard surmises that indeed he is unloved, and rightfully so, he is a horrible person, and no one will pity his death. At this point, Richard’s realization that he is unloveable displays that he has some knowledge of what love means, deeper than just his perception of what love looks like. He has mastered the flattery and mannerisms of a lover. He can effectively lure in a mate, but only for selfish motives. Richard’s genuine self does not know how to genuinely love. By this time in the play, he has caught a glimpse of what it truly means to feel love, but never did get to feel …show more content…
But Richard had none of this. Had Richard known what love feels like, he likely would not have dishonestly wooed Anne and had her killed in favor of a more advantageous wife. He also may have felt committment to his family and not eliminated them in his path to power. All of the major “what-ifs” are insignificant, however, in the acknowledgement that Richard knows what love looks like, but not what it is.
What Richard knows of love is the outward appearance of love. He doesn’t understand the sacrifice, honesty, attraction, and committment that comprise a loving relationship. In this case, seeing is just not enough, experience is the key to opening up one’s heart to feeling this . Growing up in a family where even his own mother didn’t show or feel love to him explains why Richard doesn’t know what love means, but it certainly doesn’t justify his heinous actions throughout the play that any decent human being wouldn’t