Any literate person, witness to the great dramatic work, Richard the Third will surely understand that the Richard Duke of Gloucester is a very different character to the King Richard the Third they see in act 5 of the play. At the start of the play Richard vows to `prove a villain/And hate the idle pleasures of these days.' We can confidently say he succeeds in doing that - especially when we consider the judgement of other characters in the play. But, in making our judgement of him, it is worth remembering that as much as he remains a villain, there is a massive change in his persona and in his mindset - more noticeable in his final scenes. Perhaps most the most noticeable change is that Richard is dead by the end of the play.

The judgement of other Characters in act 5 is to say the...