A Study of the Art of Seduction in Richard III: A Baudrillardian Analysis of Shakespeare’s Master Simulator

Shakespeare’s eponymous character’s movement in Richard III towards the peak of power passes through his art of simulation which is induced by seduction and annihilation. Richard’s playacting skills in feigning innocence and brotherhood while hiding villainy along with his persuasive oratory in dismantling others’ suspicions, ultimately leading to numerous murders on his behalf, entangle him in a labyrinth of a hyperreal state of being, in a Baudrillardian sense, from which no escape is possible. Richard III is seduced into a vertiginous power struggle which is but an essential form of reversibility that leads him to his own ruin. In this regard, this paper tries to study Richard III, as a character, in light of the concept of “simulacrum” in Baudrillard’s philosophy to show how he becomes the victim of a self-made loop which leads to his downfall. This study encourages similar investigations to discover hidden layers of meaning in Shakespeare’s tragedies, the ones including villains as their protagonists.