Module A - Richard III & Looking for Richard Essay PDF

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Hasan Mohammad

Module A Essay

A comparative study of two texts enables the responder to reflect on the factors which motivate and shape our actions in life. The struggle for power and the quest to uphold a moral façade is explored in a comparative study of Shakespeare’s historical play, Richard III, and Al Pacino’s docudrama Looking for Richard, through the depiction of the characters as detached from, and embittered with, their own humanity. The two texts didactically converge on the perennial v irtues of integrity, compassion and humility while scrutinising the acquisition of power and authority. Conversely, scrutiny of the contradictory forces of humanism and determinism imparts an incongruity of context, inviting reflection on what motivates our actions in life as individuals undergo the process of dehumanisation in reaction to the world around them. Both texts are ultimately products of vastly contrasting contexts; however are linked by an underlying exploration of human nature and identity. The sacrificing of the values of honesty and integrity consequent to the pursuit of power cultivates insight as to how the struggle for power influences the human psyche. Dispassion engendered by the fervent pursuit of power is evident in the characterisation of King Richard as a medieval Vice character in Shakespeare’s King Richard III. Richard is characterised as a “formal Vice, iniquity” a reference to the contextual Morality plays; such is juxtaposed to the portrayal of the Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth and Margaret who are symbolic of the three Marys from the renowned Resurrection Plays. Effectively, Shakespeare’s Richard is not merely an ambitious villain but the personification of metaphysical evil and these attributes find themselves realised throughout the exaggeration of his physical deformity. Richard’s struggle for power is epitomised within his opening soliloquy, “I am determined to prove a villain”, a lluding to his loss of values and morals, and consequently, encouraging audiences to determine how the pursuit of power ultimately shapes his eventual downfall. Additionally, Shakespeare’s condemnation of Richard’s struggle for power is further seen as he directs Buckingham to murder the princes in Act  4 Scene 2, “I  wish the bastards dead,” - another indication of his descent into immorality, elucidating to the audience that Richard’s thirst for power is the cause of this dehumanisation. Both parallels and differences can be drawn in Looking for Richard, as Al Pacino’s and Shakespeare’s work converge to highlight the pursuit of power as being a driving force for our decisions. In a contrasting approach, Richard’s deformities in Looking for Richard are downplayed, and a loss of humanity and compassion due to the pursuit of power is characterised as being the result of an individual’s short-sighted betrayal of their supporters in order to secure their position of power – a typical contemporary view on politics

Hasan Mohammad

Module A Essay

during that time. The inaccessibility of Shakespeare to a modern audience is demonstrated in Pacino’s voxpopuli, revealing the public’s distaste to Shakespeare’s theatrical style of lyricism, prose and nuances, “And  descant on mine own deformity” whereby Pacino adopts colloquialism within his voiceover, “the play, Richard III, about a guy with a humpback?” in order to heighten the relevance of the Shakespearean play. Additionally, audiences are able to better understand the power dynamics within Shakespeare’s play through Pacino’s directing of other actors in the documentary which parallels with Richard’s manipulation of characters in the play, for example, when Pacino. Moreover, by intentionally blurring the line between Richard as a character and himself as an actor with voiceovers while he acts out a scene from the play, Pacino is able to contextualise his grip on power for a modern audience, making it clear how the struggle for power is prevalent in both cultural and social contexts. A study of intertextual connections with a focus on an individual’s deviation from the timeless value of integrity acts as an invitation for audiences to ponder the on factors that motivate an individual’s quest to uphold a moral façade. The need to conceal one’s true self behind a moral exterior with the incentive of exploiting and manipulating comes at the expense of one’s personal integrity, as seen in Richard’s duality in both King Richard III and Looking for Richard. In King Richard III, the duality of Richard is illustrated after he romances Lady Anne in his callous monologue in Act 1 Scene 2, “ . . . I’ll have her, but I will not keep her long. . .” whereby despite his authentic exterior, it is evident that he is purely manipulating her for his own political means, reinforcing the timeless importance of the value of integrity within texts. Furthermore, the extent in which Richard has betrayed the core value of integrity during his quest to appear moral to others is encapsulated by Shakespeare’s foreshadowing of Richard’s fate as he is cursed by the ghost of Margaret, as seen in, “No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine,/ Unless it be while some tormenting dream” whereby the supernaturalism within the scene emphasises to the audience the dire implications of duplicity. Pacino continues his endeavour to prove the timelessness of Shakespeare, evident as he moulds this scene so that it is of more relevance to a contemporary American audience, whereby he casts a young and attractive Winona Ryder as Lady Anne in order to signify her naivety and therefore susceptibility to Richard’s duality. Thus, the focus is moved away from the representation of Richard as a figure of evil and towards his struggle as a flawed individual who sacrifices his own humanity as a result of his duplicitous actions, further seen in the voiceover which compares Richard to be “like politicians, complete with lies and innuendo,” hence simplifying the power

Hasan Mohammad

Module A Essay

struggles in Shakespeare’s play for modern audiences and prompting them to reflect upon the duplicitous actions of politicians in their own contemporaneous society. Through the construction of the final scene where Richard falls to Richmond, the audience sees that the rejection of important humanistic values such as integrity and honesty will ultimately lead to their demise and dehumanisation, congruent with Shakespeare’s representation of Richard’s dethroning at the end of the play. The two texts converge on this idea, as evident in Pacino’s remark, “Whatever I’m saying, I know Shakespeare said.” Moreover, Pacino possesses power and plays many different roles as director, producer and as the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s play - Richard whereby his role as an actor in the modern society serves to move the focus onto Richard’s skilful maintenance of a moral facade and Pacino’s skill as an actor rather than to morally condemn him for it as Shakespeare did. Furthermore, the consequences of an individual’s duplicity is seen in the conclusion of Pacino’s docudrama, where he has the film end with its opening words, “And like the baseless fabric of this vision… the great globe itself… shall dissolve” as the screen fades to black ultimately a reflection of the secularism within Pacino’s society which stands in direct contrast with the concluding “Amen” within Shakespeare’s play. Third Body: -Add more sophisticated language -omit language repetitions The ideas and notions examined in a comparative study of Richard III and Looking for Richard illustrate the destructive nature of the pursuit of power and the quest to uphold a moral façade. Regardless of the different contexts, the two texts invite reflection on the driving forces of having power and attaining to a moral exterior, and how these factors have an influence and impact on what motivates and shapes our actions in life. Extra amendments: -Both texts are products of vastly contrasting contexts; however are linked by an underlying exploration of human nature and identity -United by contextual details, including religious paradigms, the audiences attitudes as well as composer’s personal experience -Draws upon Elizabethan and Classical texts available for procurement during Shakespeare’s context.

Hasan Mohammad

Module A Essay

-Linked by universal values as well as the differing set of values distinct to the composer’s individual context Human Nature: -Epitomises the contextual struggle between the Medieval notion of determinism as well as the unlettered humanist ideologies that emerged during the Renaissance. It is this conflict between religion and ideology that provides the protagonist with an identity crisis. -Richard is characterised as a “formal Vice, iniquity” a reference to the contextual Morality plays; this is juxtaposed to the portrayal of the Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth and Margaret who are symbolic of the three Marys from the renowned resurrection plays -Contrast is strengthened through Richard’s Iambic Pentameter, ‘But yet I run before my horse to market” as opposed to the formal language of the women. -The Three Mary’s are a representation of Providential Christianity who in contrast to the Machiavellian character of Richard , embodying England’s exposure to new and relatively unsolicited ideologies. -Nonetheless, no conclusion can be drawn to as to whether he challenges or defies the status quo, whereby he asserts “I am determined to prove a villain”; dually referring to his being the subject of predestination or determined by his own will to shape his own destiny. New PARA -In contrast, LFR omits discussion of determinism. Pacino challenges the British hegemonic domination of Shakespeare and instead exercises his free will to pursue the American Dream. In doing so, Pacino empowers Richard to pursue his own identity, regardless of external religious pressures. -LFR uses a secular foundation for an individual’s psychological struggles. -The scene in the docudrama where the ghosts of Richard’s victims appear, is attributed solely to Richard’s guilty conscience, psychologically conjured as a result of his suffering. This is in stark contrast to the supernatural element stipulated in the play; asserting God’s divine retribution on any form of theomachic ambition.

Hasan Mohammad

Module A Essay

-Al Pacino states that “A person has n opinion. It’s only an opinion. It’s never a question of right or wrong”, propagating modern ideas of individuality rather than social conformity. The elimination of religious rhetoric as well as the emphasis on individuality function to newly shape Richard’s identity in accordance with modern values. -When Richard announces “My horse, my horse, my kingdom for a horse” is supported by a long distance shot which seeks to evoke an emotional response in the reader. -The divided identity portrayal shows some signs of remorse, and his death reinforces the status quo. Thus the docudrama provides an avenue to explore Richard’s identity on a deeper level, enriching the audience’s understanding with concerns of mental struggles and inviduality, thus humanising the traditionally “larger than life” Richard. NEW PARA -Uses Elizabethan and classical texts to ground an exploration of the human condition. -Duchess describes Richard as “false-glass”. This simultaneously reinforces Richard’s duplicitous and equivocating nature as well as his ability to adhere to his father’s superficial properties. As a result, he develops a compensatory Freudian superiority complex. -The contextual ideology, spurred by Christian dogma, which asserted that an individual’s outer deformity reflected their inner self serves to portray Richard as the play’s Senecan villain (worldly ambitions become theomachic desires) -LFR materialises the Senecan themes of tyranny, addressing the audience’s 20th century experience with the world wars, Hiroshima, scandal metc -Another contrast: the religious themes of inner-outer deformity are omitted based on a modern society’s complete upheaval of such ideas. -Shape Richard’s identity based on a Senecan-Shakesperean debate in relation to their separate contextual details.

Hasan Mohammad

Module A Essay...