Consider the presentation of Evil characters in Poetry: Shakespeare’s “Richard III”, Robert Browning

... orse. This is also very suggestive, as the duke reveals he wants to be powerful like Neptune and his new wife to be the sea horse.

Browning deliberately uses 3 very harsh 'k' sounds in the last line. They bring out the cruelty in the Duke's character, and almost resembles large iron doors closing, as if they were trapping the new wife in with the Duke:

"Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!"

The fact that the last word is 'me' is very significant as it re-enforces the Duke's egotism and self-centredness.

It is my opinion that Shakespeare wanted to reflect the medieval idea that an evil mind must dwell in an evil body, and he reflects Richard's evilness very cleverly through his poetry. He uses a soliloquy because it is a great poetic device to reveal characters, as Richard speaks his thoughts out aloud to us. He is a man who seems devoid of feelings and he reveals himself immediately to the audience, so we soon find out he is ruthless and totally arrogant:

"And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover

To entertain these fair well-spoken days,

I am determined to prove a villain…"

"I that am curtailed of this fair proportion,

Cheated of feature by dissembling nature…"

The entire soliloquy is based on a series of contrast such as war and peace, softness and hardness and masculinity and femininity:

"Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York…"

"To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,

He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber&# ...