Compare and contrast the characters Francis Underwood (House of Cards) and Richard of Gloucester (Richard III)

House of cards and Richard III both are the dramas that perform in the government and politics. One is an American TV show while the other one is a historical play wrote by Shakespeare. Francis Underwood is the main character in House of cards, and he is the Democratic majority whip in the United States House of Representatives. Richard III is the last king of the House of York and the Plantagenet dynasty. Why am I comparing them? The reason is that most people think Francis Underwood is the character based on Richard III. However, I have different thought about them. They, in general, have very similar personalities and characteristics. They both like holding power, and they don’t have belief or faith in god. On the other hand, they are different in some specific areas. The most significant parts are human nature and credits.

First of all, Francis Underwood and Richard III are extremely similar as they both like holding and increasing their power. “There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain. The sort of pain that’s only suffering. I have no patience for useless things.” (Season 1 Episode 1). It shows how Francis is trying to increase his power and reputation in House of Cards. He learns from the mistakes, and he uses those mistakes to destroy his competitors so that he can control his own power. In Richard III, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is as same as Francis. He wants to be the king of England, so he always tries to make a plan to get rid of his brothers and their children. Furthermore, after Richard III was the king, he was still making strategies to erase everyone who threats his throne. Therefore, controlling the power makes Francis Underwood and Richard III look very similar to each other.

In addition, the other similarity between Francis Underwood and Richard III is no belief or faith in god. In public, they pretend they absolutely believe in god. However, they actually use belief as a tool, not to pray. “There is no solace above or below. Only us — small, solitary, striving, battling one another. I pray to myself, for myself.” (Season 1 Episode 13). Francis doesn’t believe there are angels or evils. Only human can change his or her own life. Also, Praying to god doesn’t help him to solve his problems. In Richard III, Richard use religion as a tool to be a good person in the public. “Be not you spoke with, but by mighty suit. And look you get a prayer-book in your hand, and stand between two churchmen, good my lord, for on that ground I’ll make a holy descant.” (Shakespeare 86). Thus, Francis Underwood and Richard III are not the truly religious people.

In contrast, one of the differences between Francis Underwood and Richard III is human nature. In House of Cards, Francis Underwood has a few real friends he made while he was studying in the Sentinel. He actually has no request to them; everything he does with those friends is chatting, dancing, singing, and drinking together. It’s just like normal people treating their friends. At this situation, we can realize that Francis still has some good nature. On the other hand, Richard III has no friends in the whole play. He doesn’t believe anyone but himself. He seems people either enemies or allies that are useful to him. For instance, after he became the king of England, he still murdered his brother’s children even though they were too young to threat his throne. Richard III wouldn’t care about their age; he just thought they would come back and take his throne one day. Because of his evil nature, many people were afraid of him and escaped from him. As a result, compared to Francis Underwood, Richard III has no any good human nature.

The most significant difference between Francis Underwood and Richard III is their credits. In the TV show, House of Cards, when Francis always makes promise with people, he will take whatever he has to achieve it. “I take care of my own, and you’ve proved yourself to be valuable. I would like you to be part of my security detail once I get confirmed.” (Season 1 Episode 13). Otherwise, he doesn’t make promise with others that he can’t provide from the beginning. “I cannot control changing global landscapes! And I will not be cornered into making promises I cannot deliver!” (Season 1 episode 9). On the other hand, Richard III doesn’t care about the how important promises are. He thinks that solving problems for him is a duty. “And is it thus? Repays he my deep service with such contempt? Made I him king for this? O, let me think on Hastings, and be gone to Brecknock, while my fearful head is on!” (Shakespeare 101). In the show, Richard promised duke of Buckingham that he would receive a huge reward after Richard became the king. Nonetheless, Buckingham got nothing back. Consequently, Richard III has extremely low credit compared to Francis Underwood’s credits.

In conclusion, Francis Underwood and Richard III, basically, are comparable. In public, Francis Underwood is a character that is based on Richard III, but I found out their human nature and credits are very different. Personally, I think Francis Underwood is a new version of Richard III. Francis has all advantages that Richard has, but he just has few disadvantages from Richard. As what we know from the above, Francis absorbs those pains and makes him strong.