Can Shakespeare’s Richard III be referred to as a “Machiavellian villain”? An analysis of the final play of the Henry VI series.

Many of the evil characters in Shakespeare’s plays are referred to as “Machiavellian villains” or “Machiavels”, yet display behaviour which does not correspond to what Machiavelli advised in his famous treatise, Il Principe. Furthermore, if Machiavelli’s argumentation in Il Principe is examined closely, much of it could be said to apply to characters who do not constitute the antagonist of the story. The caricature of King Richard III of England in Shakespeare’s Henry VI series is an example of one such character: in spite of becoming the antagonist of the towards the end of the story, the choices he makes during his conquest to power and his reign cannot be said to correspond to the advice Machiavelli offered in Il Principe. Any behaviour on the part of the characters which does recall Il Principe is not confined to the antagonist. The aim of this thesis is to examine the extent to which the behaviour of the antagonist can really be referred to as “Machiavellian”, as well as to shed light on why such antagonists were equated with Machiavelli in light of how Il Principe was received and understood in the sixteenth century. It will examine the situation in the British Isles, as well as in Continental Europe.