Throughout the Play Richard III, author William Shakespeare incorporates great uses of stylistic features to aid the overall quality of the story and to help achieve success within the very complicated plot. In an attempt to intensify Richard's plot to gain the throne of England, he uses three specific minor plays, to create an overall production for the audience. The first play which we see involves Richard connecting directly with the audience on the same level in Act 1 Scene 1. He tells us that despite the recent bloodshed and destruction caused by the War of the Roses, he is in full swing in an attempt to take over the throne of England. Not only is Richard telling us his plans, there is also much foreshadowing shown towards the future of England. In doing so, he clearly illustrates his false and treacherous plan, as well as tries to make a subtle attempt to gain sympathy from the audience. "That dogs bark at me as I halt by them" (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 24) It is clear through this statement that Richard is attempting to attach the audience so they feel sympathy towards his cause. This relationship remains throughout the play throughout the numerous asides and soliloquies in which Richard addresses the audience on his status and thoughts. This can be seen in many occasions throughout the play, but an example can be found in Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 247-284. This could possibly to raise the suspense level in the audience and to create a tone of irony and he also help to set the tone of blood and evilness as in the opening speech. The second play shows Richard's lying and manipulation as a Machiavel figure. The audience clearly sees all of the lies that Richard tells throughout the play. Richard is able to manipul... ... middle of paper ... ...eem to be blinded by his manipulations. From this there could possibly be some more admiration to Richard for pulling this all off. How he fools the others on their toes. He has had to rely on his intellect and he is more of an outcast and more of an outsider in all aspects of life. "I fear, I fear, `twill prove a giddy world," (Act 2, Scene 3, Line 6) The people of England fear the worst both literally and figuratively. The two scenes surrounding the scene involving the common folk are comprised of the predominant women in the novel. This could possibly be to help display the fact that the women can foretell the events and the future of England. Richard III by Shakespeare incorporates many stylistic features, devices, and elements as a means of aiding the creation of this complicated play, but also to help Richard achieve the his only goal, the throne.
To explore connections between texts is to heighten understanding of humanity’s progressing values and the underlying relevant themes that continue to engage societies regardless of context. William Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) (RIII) and Al Pacino’s docudrama Looking for Richard (1996) (LFR) demonstrate how opinion is created through comparative study, both explore the struggle for power within differing contexts to determine the duplicity of humanity. Ultimately, despite the divergent eras of composition and textual form, these connections expose the relevant social commentaries of their composers, highlighting innately human values, which remain constant.
Anne is quite like a modern woman in the way that if a man tells her
Hamlet makes use of the idea of theatrical performance through characters presenting themselves falsely to others – from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on Hamlet to gain favor with the King, to Hamlet himself playing the part of a madman – and through the play within the play, The Mousetrap. This essay will discuss the ways in which Hamlet explores the idea of theatrical performance, ‘acting’, through analysis of the characters and the ‘roles’ they adopt, specifically that of Hamlet and Claudius. The idea, or the theme of theatrical performance is not an uncommon literary element of Shakespearean works, the most famous of which to encompass this idea being As You Like It. This essay will also briefly explore the ways in which Hamlet reminds its audience of the stark difference between daily life and dramatization of life in the theatre.
...ne else in the play the power of language to alter reality, and the issues of conscious or unconscious deceit.
Gifted with the darkest attributes intertwined in his imperfect characteristics, Shakespeare’s Richard III displays his anti-hero traits afflicted with thorns of villains: “Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous / By drunken prophecies, libels, and dreams” (I.i.32-33). Richard possesses the idealism and ambition of a heroic figure that is destined to great achievements and power; however, as one who believes that “the end justifies the means”, Richard rejects moral value and tradition as he is willing to do anything to accomplish his goal to the crown. The society, even his family and closest friends, repudiate him as a deformed outcast. Nevertheless, he cheers for himself as the champion and irredeemable villain by turning entirely to revenge of taking self-served power. By distinguishing virtue ethics to take revenge on the human society that alienates him and centering his life on self-advancement towards kingship, Richard is the literary archetype of an anti-hero.
By using just the right combination of words, or by coming up with just the right image, Shakespeare wrote many passages and entire plays that were so powerful, moving, tragic, comedic, and romantic that many are still being memorized and performed today, almost four centuries later. But the greatness of Shakespeare’s ability lies not so much in the basic themes of his works but in the creativity he used to write these stories of love, power, greed, discrimination, hatred, and tragedy.
At the very outset of the play, readers are presented with the power-hungry, self-loathing Duke of Gloucester, defined by his thirst for vengeance and power and by his uncanny ability to manipulate the minds of the people around him. Richard appeals to the audience’s sympathies in his self-deprecating description, when he declares that he is deformed, unfinished, and so hideous and unfashionable that dogs bark at him as he passes by. The imagery he utilizes throughout the opening soliloquy also evokes a feeling of opposition and juxtaposition which speaks to the duality of his nature.The juxtapositions he employs are more than rhetorical devices, as ...
The task which Shakespeare undertook was to mold the hateful constitution of Richard's Moral; character. Richard had to contend with the prejudices arising from his bodily deformity which was considered an indication of the depravity and wickedness of his nature. Richard's ambitious nature, his elastic intellect, and his want of faith in goodness conspire to produce his tendency to despise and degrade every surrounding being and object, even as his own person. He is never sincere except when he is about to commit a murder.
Composers throughout various zeitgeists are linked by different representations of universal human concerns, and their texts simultaneously embody certain values and agendas individual to themselves. An exploration of Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) and Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (1996) allows for a greater understanding of the composer’s respective contexts, along with their intended agendas, through the lens of their own societal values and concerns. The manipulation of Richard III’s persona, whether by authorial adaptation of historical sources related to his character, or through the differing views of Richards motives, are universal concepts, that when studied in relation to the differing time periods, accentuates the context and our understanding of recurrent aspects of the human experience.
Instead of a powerful physical image, like Queen Elizabeth I, Richard implements elegant soliloquies, engages in witty banter, and attunes the audience to his motives with frequent asides. This flexibility demonstrates Richard's thespian superiority and power over the rest of the play's cast, making him a unique character in the play, but why does he do it? This constant battle between characters to claim mastery over a scene leaves the audience with a seemingly overlooked source of power for an actor [clarify/expand].
According to many, Shakespeare intentionally portrays Richard III in ways that would have the world hail him as the ultimate Machiavel. This build up only serves to further the dramatic irony when Richard falls from his throne. The nature of Richard's character is key to discovering the commentary Shakespeare is delivering on the nature of tyrants. By setting up Richard to be seen as the ultimate Machiavel, only to have him utterly destroyed, Shakespeare makes a dramatic commentary on the frailty of tyranny and such men as would aspire to tyrannical rule.
In all of Shakespeare's plays, there is a definitive style present, a style he perfected. From his very first play (The Comedy of Errors) to his very last (The Tempest), he uses unique symbolism and descriptive poetry to express and explain the actions and events he writes about. Twelfth Night, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream are all tragicomedies that epitomise the best use of the themes and ideology that Shakespeare puts forth.
Through the elements of technique portrayed in this essay, it is clear to see that Shakespeare is able to influence the reader through soliloquies, imagery, and dual understanding. This overall influence being both the communication of a deeper meaning, and a more complex understanding of the events and statements within Hamlet.
In his opening monologue, he mentions "[he has laid] plots, inductions dangerous, by drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, to set Clarence and the king in deadly hate"(136). Here, Richard not only explains the beginning of his plot but rather he also indicates that lying and deception are the foundation of his plots to gain power. Furthermore, he shows this ability while speaking with Clarence in Act 1 Scene 1, when he says “'Tis not the king that sends you to the Tower. My Lady Grey his wife, Clarence, ’tis she that tempers him to this extremity”(138). In this instance, Richard is blatantly lying to convince others of his ignorance regarding the situation and ensure that his plots remain secret. Eloquence is one of the largest concerns that Cicero presents in his own argument, and in Richard III, Richard very obviously uses his own rhetorical skill in the very ways that Cicero
Shakespeare to create a lot of contrasts and moods, as and when he wants to.