In Shakespeare’s King Richard III, Richard acts as the epitome of evil throughout the play, plotting to the throne and instigating violence throughout the play. On multiple occasions, the play, Richard explicitly states his villainy to the audience, “And thus I clothe my naked villainy with odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ; and seem a saint, when most I play the devil.” Here, Richard’s metaphor highlights how he possesses the ability to manipulate audiences to hide his villainous nature, reflecting the machiavellian values common in Shakeseares day. Shakespeare’s embodiment of Richard’s evil may have emulated the vice, often representative of pure evil in medieval mortality plays. Richard’s unrelenting evil may also have been motivated