| RIII Richard | RL Richard |
| Wrong-Righter (Destroyed morally impure) | Wrong-Righter (Destroyed the Woodvilles, who were attempting to take over the government) |
| Nemesis', or God's, executioner | Protecter against one-king tyranny in Rome |
| No illusions about motive, all for power | Wants power, actually does some good in England |
| Almost Devil-like in evil, enjoys evil for evil's sake | Usuper, but the level of evil that he perpetrated was nothing compared to that which is portrayed in some histories as well as Richard III |
| Evil is very definite in the play
(ex. Having his nephews killed) |
Evil is ambiguous
(ex. Supposition that he had his nephews killed) |
| JC Brutus | RL Brutus |
| Wrong-Righter | Wrong-Righter (equivocal) |
| Protector against one-king tyranny in Rome | Protecter against one-king tyranny in Rome, as well as position in Roman Senate |
| Does what he does to fight a possible tyrant, even though they are close friends | Does what he does to fight a possible tyrant, as well as to protect his position in the Senate, even though Caesar had pardoned him in the past |
| Good intentions, if not a good practical application, overall pure motives | Good intentions, if not a good practical application, motives are possibly pure and possibly selfish |