he is playing the part of a Machiavellian villain, although the duplicitous manner in which he does it enthrals and captivates his audience.

When confronting the Woodvilles, Richard refers to himself as "a plain man", who

"cannot flatter and look fair,
Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive and cog"

He acts as if he is the innocent victim of their condemning, whilst the audience are very aware that he is a master of all these things, which again adds to their fascination of Richard as a character.

Another prime example of Richard playing master "dissembler" occurs when he completely fools Lord Hastings into believing Richard to be a true and honest man. Hastings naively proclaims:

"I think there's never a man in Christendom
Can lesser hide his love or hate than he"

He has clearly been hoodwinked by Richard's masterful acting.

Richard lures Hastings into a false sense of security:

"Than my Lord Hastings no man might be bolder.

His lordship knows me well and loves me well."

By flattering Hastings, Richard tricks Hastings into thinking that he is in no danger and that Richard is not hiding anything from him. Richard then has a sudden change of mood, from being friendly and courteous to outrageously angry, seething about those: "that do conspire my death with devilish plots". Shakespeare uses harsh plosives to highlight Richard's spontaneous foul temperament. Richard's comment of Hastings "knowing him well" is deeply ironic: the audience can only marvel when a short time later Richard sentences Hastings to death.

Richard and Buckingham also use the language of acting when planning how to deceive the Mayor and Catesby. Richard asks Buckingham,

"canst thou quake and change thy colour?
Murder thy breath in middle of a word?"

Buckingham is confident in his own ability to dissemble by claiming,

"I can counterfeit the deep tragedian.."

Shakespeare also uses props and stage directions to enhance the humour, when Richard and Buckingham are apparently defending themselves to make others believe an attack from Hastings' army is imminent: they stand in, " rotten armour, marvellous ill-favoured". The costumes described would make it obvious to the audience that they are acting.

Richard and Buckingham's quick interchanges also heighten the sense of melodrama:

"Lord Mayor "
"Look to the drawbridge there!"
"Hark, a drum!"

They exaggerate so as to induce panic and fear into those around them. The repetition of "look" and "Lord Mayor", combined with the use

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