thoughts..."

He is cunningly hinting that the Woodvilles are responsible for Clarence's death. Richard is quick to shift the blame and remove any suspicion which others may have of him. He also pretends to cry in front of Clarence's children, as described by Clarence's son:

"he wept,
And pitied me, and kindly kissed my cheek"

This is deeply ironic as it was Richard who was responsible for Clarence's death.

When wooing Lady Anne, Richard draws upon different techniques of deception, namely the art of rhetoric and in particular his skill of flattery. He transforms her religious imagery when she says to him "Oh, wonderful, when devils tell the truth!", with a spontaneous response: "More wonderful, when angels are so angry." His words mirror Anne's, Shakespeare's patterning of words and punctuation increases the pace of the dialogue and emphasises Richard's speed of reaction. He also converts her animal imagery from an insult to a compliment. When she wishes that her eyes, "were basilisks', to strike thee dead", Richard responds immediately:

"I would they were, that I might die at once,
For now they kill me with a living death."

He is also lying when he pronounces that he is experiencing "living death", so intense is the torture of her beauty. The audience knows that he does not truly feel this way at all, yet Shakespeare's use of death imagery further intensifies Richard's already deeply persuasive language.

Even when she spits at him, he does not hesitate to use it to his advantage, taking the opportunity to comment on the beauty of her mouth:

"Never came poison from so sweet a place."

He has masterfully used the language of love to describe something as unromantic as spitting. The juxtaposition and direct contrast of "poison" and "sweet" reinforces Richard's incredible power with words. He has cleverly transformed Anne's vile action into an opportunity to admire her further. He continues to use the art of flattery to great effect, especially when he uses emotional blackmail against Anne. He persuades her that he is innocent, "my guiltless shoulders", and that he was doing the right thing in killing Edward to win her love.

Richard has no apparent conscience: he did not even cry when his younger brother Rutland was murdered, or when his father died. He boasts that:

"My manly eyes did scorn a humble tear."

However, he sheds crocodile tears merely to win Anne's affection, as he claims:

"Those eyes of thine from mine have drawn salt tears".

Here,

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