Shakespeare establishes a relationship between Richard and I through the opening soliloquy, which presents Richard as an ugly, disabled and excluded from sportive tricks, ladies and being a normal human being. Richard comes across as an evil but smart person, which is attractive to the audience. This invites sympathy towards Richard and builds up a link with the audience. In Act one Scene one Richard’s opening soliloquy, sets out the events leading up to the start of the play it also tells us what Richard thinks about himself and what he intends to do about his problems.
Because during the soliloquy Richard expresses his inner desires only to the audience so they feel as though they are part of Richards mind and his thinking. “Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York” (Act one Scene One) This helps make him attractive because if the audience are relating to his thinking then he becomes more close to them. Just after this, Richard puts into action the first part of his overall plan to rule England by tricking the king into thinking that Clarence would try to take over the throne.
This shows the audience Richard’s ruthlessness because through his actions he is putting his own brother into prison. But because of the soliloquy just before this the audience know that this is going to happen so are probably not surprised but at the same time are wondering how the events will unfold. As Richard has confided with them they are attracted to him at this stage. In Act one Scene two Richard tries to court Anne even though he has killed her Father and Husband.
When the conversation begins between him and Anne it appears as though he will get nowhere because Anne starts by saying things like “Foul devil” and “Villain” but Richard steadily gained Anne’s trust by use of persuasive actions and being able to confidently persuade her without any inkling of his true intentions. “With all my heart; and much it joys me too, To see you are become so penitent” (Act one Scene two) By doing this he has shown the audience that he can persuade and convince anyone, even someone who has suffered at the hands him and also that his very amoral because he is charming a woman whom he has destroyed the life of so much.
Which would in my view make him seem if not attractive a very interesting character to the audience. In Act three Scene one Richard greets Prince Edward with Buckingham, Catesby and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The prince wonders why there are not many people waiting to greet him, Richard tells him, “God keep you from them, and from such false friends! ” (Act three Scene one) This is a lie because the false friends are Rivers and Grey who did nothing wrong except to be in his path to being king.
The prince believes him and finds out that is mother and brother are in the sanctuary. How Richard can lie to the prince would defiantly affect the view of Richard from the audiences view because the prince believes anything that Richard says this would make Richard seem attractive as he has lots of cunning and depth. When in Act three Scene four, some of the main characters meet in a council-room in the Tower of London. Richard expresses his acting skills when he condemns Hastings to death for things that he did not do.
But before he goes ahead with this, he acts normal then with no warning of what was to come he accused Hastings of treachery and plotting to kill him, “Off with his head! Now, by Saint Paul I swear” (Act three Scene four) The audience most probably excepts this as earlier on Hastings had told Catesby that he would not support Richard. However, what they do learn from what he says and does is that he can act very well and be cruel and kind within seconds of each other, all of the factors make him attractive because he is cold-blooded but can hide this so well.