Module A - King Richard III and Looking for Richard Notes PDF

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English Advanced notes - King Richard III and Looking for Richard Notes...

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INTRODUCTION ➢ Texts provide a distinct channel into their distinctive social, cultural and historical contexts. ➢ This inevitably endows the texts with meaning and purpose, thereby providing responders with unbounded responses to cultural inquisition as they reflect upon their own context and values. ➢ Through considering the intertextual connections between similar texts of differing epochs, an individual’s personal response may be enriched by differing perspectives, thus shaping meaning. ➢ The exploration of the contextual and inherent within both William Shakespeare’s 1592 play, King Richard III , as well as Al Pacino’s 1996 docu-drama film, Looking for Richard , enables both texts to be intertextually connected in such a way that, through comparison, similar concepts, such as Richard’s pursuit of power, as well as the tension between determinism and free will, may be shaped and reshaped over time. ○ This enables such ideas to transcend time from the the Elizabethan era to the postmodern epoch, whilst having differing contexts, perspectives and audiences.

POWER ➢ The distinct portrayal of the archetypal villain across differing time, place and culture of the composer, leads to a contrasting expression of the Machiavellian pursuit of power that inevitably subverts traditional moral code. ➢ Shakespeare disrupts the moral framework of Elizabethan England, as he abandons traditional theocentric ideals of divine providence. ○ This is seen through his characterisation of the antagonist, Richard, who strives for unbridled power through concealing his demonic interior with a benevolent mask. ➢ It is through such performativity that Richard is able to pursue his lust for the crown, which is seen through his manipulation of characters, particularly Lady Anne. ○ “Was ever woman with this humour wooed? Was ever woman with this humour won? I’ll have her, but I will not keep her long” (Act 1, Scene 2) ■ The dramatic irony of Richard’s soliloquy is evident through anaphora, which highlights the rhetorical nature of Richard’s scheming and manipulation not only on Anne, but as Phyllis Rackin notes, he “performs a similar seduction upon the audience”. ● This calls audiences to evaluate the quality of Richard’s machinations and the aesthetic under which he operates. ■ Also, the ironic cynicism of the final line coupled with the juxtaposition of “have” and “keep”, and the high modality in “will not”, reflects the Elizabethan value of the chaos that will ensue if one disturbs the natural order. ● The disturbing of the natural order is seen as Richard is characterised as “the slave of nature and the son of hell” (Act 1, Scene 3). ○ Biblical allusion emphasises Richard’s defiance of religious dogmas through his corruptive power and desires, as he enacts his plans to be king. ■ Evident in Act 4, Scene 2, where he states that “I must be married to my brother’s daughter, / Or else my kingdom stands on brittle glass”, where the metaphorical language emphasises Richard’s cynistic rhetoric.

➢ Pacino’s visual interpretation of Richard’s villainous machinations evident within King Richard III enables the text to become accessible to a contemporary audience. ➢ This enables the modern audiences to better understand, what Pacino deems, “this thing that gets between us and Shakespeare” . ○ A contemporary unfamiliarity with the Elizabethan value of anti-nihilistic morality emphasises how King Richard III is valued differently in an ever-evolving society. ■ This causes Pacino to recontextualise Richard’s yearn for power for a contemporary audience, seen in his stichomythic quarrel with Anne as “Those eyes sweet lady have infected mine” . ● Here, Pacino utilises romantic parody with a crescendo of discordant non-diegetic music, along with close-ups of Richard’s controlled face, juxtaposed with long shots of a vulnerable Anne. ○ Through this, Pacino evokes sensory imagery to portray to the audience a male predator / helpless female dichotomy that challenges contemporary values of equality and feminist thought. ○ It also presents an intellectually and psychologically flawed Richard, rather than evil, which is in line with modern perceptions of diabolism. ■ Pacino accentuates Richard’s diabolic machinations through black costuming coupled with chiaroscuro lighting throughout various reenactments of soliloquies, which creates a shadow motif that epitomises the darkness of Richard’s identity. ● This causes the audience to reflect upon Richard’s deviant mind, emphasising, as Pacino states, “He has let the pursuit of power totally corrupt him”. ➢ Thus, Pacino adapts Elizabethan ideals of power to allow a contemporary audience to visualise Richard’s dark disposition.

DETERMINISM VS FREE WILL ➢ The actions of an individual can be as a result of free will or determinism, depending on time, place and culture that present diverse values. ➢ Through Richard’s demise within King Richard III, Shakespeare reflects on the existing tension between the precepts of providentialism within the theocentric Elizabethan epoch, and the emerging intellectual interest in humanism and free will. ○ This is seen in Richard’s opening soliloquy where he states, “Since I cannot prove a lover, I am determined to prove a villain” . ■ Shakespeare use of high modality and antithesis within this paradoxical statement epitomises the tension between the precepts of determinism and the ability to control one’s fate. ● This enables Richard to defy God’s order, thereby challenging traditional audience’s worldview, as “His primary meaning is that he controls his own destiny.” (Janis Lull) ○ By choosing to control his own fate through egocentric discourses, Richard’s malicious acts consume his thoughts, thereby leading him to become psychologically fragmented, as he states “Is there a murderer here? No. Yes. I am.” (Act 5, Scene 3). ■ Such a psychological struggle stems from Richard’s transgression of the Elizabethan moral framework, evident in the biblical allusion within “March on, join bravely,/ If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell” (Act 5, Scene 3). ➢ Thus, through the use of language forms and feature, Shakespeare adheres to his context as he sparks negative connotations of Richard’s choice of free will over determinism, in order to incite within the traditional audience the corrupt nature of subverting dogma.

➢ Pacino’s film reinterprets notions of providentialism and determinism within an increasingly humanistic secular society of no absolute truths, where individuals are masters of their own destinies. ➢ Thus, the docu-drama omits religious rhetoric and is thus open to interpretation to enable the audience to construct their own meaning because, as Pacino states, “A person has an opinion. It’s only an opinion. It’s never a question of right or wrong”. ○ Here, Pacino is influenced by modern understandings of psychoanalysis and postmodernism as he presents numerous possibilities and complexities of Richard, as his callous acts lead to a fragmentation of the mind. ➢ Such fragmentation of the mind is capitalised by Pacino within a postmodern climate through his characterisation of Margaret as a “sort of ghost of the past” . ○ Voiceover coupled with a frenzied montage of the play and climatic discordant music with juxtaposing screams and whispers, emphasises the fall of the value of determinism and a rise in the modern age of free will, whose discourse can lead to the tragic fall of the individual. ➢ Thus, Looking for Richard illustrates the contemporary belief that there is no fear in divine retribution, however, callous and immoral acts may tarnish one’s identity. ○ This is because, within the modern context, punishment is seen to come from one’s psychological fragmentation and guilty conscience, rather than being sanctioned by God....