How we cite our quotes: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the Norton edition.
Quote #4
They do me wrong, and I will not endure it:
Who are they that complain unto the king,
That I, forsooth, am stern, and love them not?
By holy Paul, they love his grace but lightly
That fill his ears with such dissentious rumours.
Because I cannot flatter and speak fair,
Smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive and cog,
Duck with French nods and apish courtesy,
I must be held a rancorous enemy.
Cannot a plain man live and think no harm,
But thus his simple truth must be abused
By silken, sly, insinuating Jacks? (1.3.1)
Here Richard declares how unfair it is that he hasn't been blessed with the ability to act, "flatter and speak fair, / Smile on men's faces." The audience knows that he's full of it, of course – Richard is the ultimate political actor.
Quote #5
But then I sigh; and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil:
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ;
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil. (1.3.28)
Once again Richard tells us he's pretending to be something he's not by acting the part of a godly man. Interestingly, he describes himself as a Machiavellian figure. Shakespeare was interested in the writings of the Italian philosopher and poet Niccolò Machiavelli, whose book The Prince (1532) was a "how-to" guide for rulers about holding on to power. Machiavelli argued that being a successful leader has nothing to do with being a nice person or doing the right thing. Instead, it's about being inventive, manipulative, charismatic, crafty, and willful. As a "machiavel," Richard basically role plays his way to the crown.