Richard's Loss of Self in Richard IIIThe attack of "conscience" that King Richard suffers in Act 5, scene 5 of Shakespeare's Richard III ( 133-157) can be seen as the psychological climax of the play, fundamental both for Richard's development as a character and for the final success of the play. Richard's struggle to reconcile the many different roles he attempts to play into a single unified self, reflected in the tone and composition of his speech, adds depth and humanity to his character; at the same time, his ultimate failure to maintain his "self-made" identity simplifies the work in a way that allows the author to satisfy his audience by punishing the villain and reaffirming the worldviews that Richard's character seems to challenge (Luxon). As he examines his own vision of himself, Richard finds his identity at a breaking point and is forced to rely on the same ideas he has used to his advantage to judge himself. While the king, who seemed to be above the "affliction" of the "cowardly conscience" (5.5.133) is overwhelmed by the many different conceptions of who is presented in the play, the audience cannot help but feel a mixture of sympathy and relief. Richard's "love" (5.5.141), the core of his identity, is threatened by the "fear" (5.5.136) his conscience instills in him. For much of the play, the statement "Richard loves Richard" (5.5.137) functions as the character's motivation ‹ Gloucester constantly acts for his own "gain" (1.2.162). The many "outward appearances" (Luxon) that Richard projects in the work are often contradictory, as he himself admits when he states that "he looks like a saint when he is older". [he] recite[s]...... middle of paper ......ea of ​​sin and punishment. By having Richard convict himself with the same principles he used to elevate himself, Shakespeare is able to satisfy the audience without threatening their belief system. While Richard stops believing, as the first murderer does, that conscience is a "blushing, shame-filled spirit that mutinies in a man's bosom... [that] every man who means to do well strives to trust himself himself and live without it" (1.4.130-135) to see it as something that can actually "afflict" (5.5.133) and "condemn" (5.5.149) him, the "humanist" the possibilities" that his character presents are "contained" (Luxon). Works CitedLuxon, Thomas. Lessons and Study Questions, Summer 1997.Shakespeare, William. Richard III. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. ( New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1997), 515-600.