Richard III: A Machiavellian Fox?

Abstract

Among all of Shakespeare’s sordid and despicable characters, King Richard III remains one of England’s most hated and debated monarchs. Richard III was depicted both in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, onstage and in historical books, in the English popular memory and by most researchers as a Machiavellian fox; a pure portrait of a bloodthirsty monster of Senecan revenge tragedy, an opportunist, and a most treacherous ruler able to squash any potential rival or kin relative on his way posing his eyes on the crown. It is worth remembering that the pejorative accounts that tainted the reputation of Richard III for centuries and were transmitted through different epochs in England was not purposeless. This paper aims to turn an analytical eye on King Richard III as a Machiavellian fox. It first attempts to unveil the circumstances during which his name and status have been notorious, to finally become “a cliché” for any sordid demeanor.