"The tragedy of Richard III lies in the progressive isolation of
             From the very opening of the play when Richard III enters "solus",
             the protagonist's isolation is made clear. Richard's isolation progresses
             as he separates himself from the other characters and breaks the natural
             bonds between Man and nature through his efforts to gain power.
             The first scene of the play begins with a soliloquy, which
             emphasizes Richard's physical isolation as he appears alone as he speaks to
             the audience. This idea of physical isolation is heightened by his
             references to his deformity, such as "rudely stamp'd...Cheated of feature
             by Dissembling Nature, deformed, unfinished. This deformity would be an
             outward indication to the audience of the disharmony from Nature and
             viciousness of his spirit. As he hates "the idle pleasures of these days"
             and speaks of his plots to set one brother against another, Richard seems
             socially apart from the figures around him, and perhaps regarded as an
             outsider or ostracized because of his deformity. His separation from is
             family is emphasized when he says "Dive, thought's down to my soul" when he
             sees his brother approaching. He is unable to share his thought with his
             own family as he is plotting against them. Thus, we are given hints of his
             physical, social and spiritual isolation which is developed throughout the
             play. But despite these hints, he still refers to himself as part of the
             House of York, shown in the repeated use of "Our".
             The concept of Richard's physical isolation is reinforced in his
             dealings with Anne in Act I scene ii. She calls him "thou lump of foul
             deformity" and "fouler toad" during their exchange. Despite these insults,
             she still makes time to talk to Richard, and by the end of their exchange,
             she has taken his ring and been "woo'd" by him. After Richard has
             successfully gained the throne, he isolates himsel...