Richard Gloucester is the younger brother of Edward IV, King of England at the opening of the play. Essentially, Gloucester wants to become King himself, and the play details his infamous and notorious rise to power as he systematically eliminates all those who oppose him or stand in his way of the crown. Gloucester opens the play with one of the most famous opening speeches of a Shakespearean play, Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York. The discontent of which he speaks is a reference to the civil wars often referred to as the War of the Roses, which have just come to a temporary halt. These wars for control of England were fought in the mid-Fifteenth Century between the Lancaster family and the York family. As you may see, at this point the Yorks are winning, and the eldest son, Edward, is now King. It becomes his task to structure a peace that will be long lasting. As Gloucester continues his speech, which is really a soliloquy, it becomes clear that he will not be a part of that peace process since it does not serve his purpose. Instead he tells us "I am determined to prove a villain/And hate the idle pleasures of these day."

One of the reasons Gloucester will not get with the program is owing to his physical condition.He is apparently a hump back with a clubbed foot and a slightly deformed arm. This physical handicap is the result of congenital defects or perhaps a premature Caesarian delivery. In the Renaissance a deformed body was supposed to be the emblem of a deformed conscience. Thus, Shakespeare's contemporaries would have expected morally unbalanced behavior from a physically handicapped man. They certainly get it in this play! Right from the beginning when Gloucester's older brother, Clarence, is arrested and hustled off to the Tower. Gloucester is outwardly sympathetic, "Brother, good day. What means this armed guard." He very well knows what it means because he has conspired earlier to have Clarence incarcerated. ...