Source: "Shakespeare's Richard III and the Soul of the Tyrant," in Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 20, No.3, Spring, 1993, PI'. 275-84.

[Frisch contrasts Richard's lust for control over other people with Caesar's ambition for greatness. He contends that unlike Caesar, Richard is not interested in the well-being of his country, in building empires, or even in achieving glory for himself. Instead, Frisch observes, Richard wants power for its own sake, and when he finally becomes king, his motivation is reduced to securing his power by killing anyone who might question his right to rule. Frisch further suggests that as the play progresses, it becomes apparent that "Richard does not really know what he wants. He does not know his own mind."]

Caesar's many successes. . did not divert his natural spirit of enterprise and ambition to the enjoyment of what he had laboriously achieved, but served as...