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The Effectiveness of William Shakespeare's Use of Supernatural in the Final Act of Richard III
Richard III was written by William Shakespeare and tells the story of
how Richard III wants to become king and does everything in his power
to get there by assassinating members of his family to do so, for
example, the Duke of Clarence, Lord Hastings, Lady Anne, Lord Rivers,
the Duke of Buckingham, Henry VI, Prince Edward, Prince Edward V and
Prince Richard. The last Act contains many supernatural elements such
as ghosts of the people Richard III has murdered or got killed and
curses, for example, Buckingham remembering Margaret's curse,
prophecies and dreams, a message from the supernatural from the
future. Shakespeare may have used these supernatural events to
entertain his audience who would have believed in ghosts and that the
ghosts of the murdered family members have come to curse Richard.
The differences between Shakespeare's audience and today's audiences
are that Shakespeare's audience believed in the supernatural much
more. Ghosts, curses, prophecies and dreams were believed in when they
told something about the future and what it meant which were taken
literally. Today's audience don't believe in ghosts, curses and
prophecies as much. The audience interpret the supernatural things as
a representation and we may see it as an illustration of what's going
on in Richard's head. Shakespeare's audiences would have seen the
supernatural as evil spirits to curse Richard and to make him feel
guilty for what he has done to his family. However, the paranormal
still interests the modern audiences, for example miracles. The
paranormal is u...
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... we see
Richard is a villain because he generates the malevolence and violence
in the play, being efficient, imaginative, persuasive, intelligent and
confident and in control. The play tells the audience about the events
that took place, for example, the ghosts murdered cursing Richard just
before he goes to war with Richmond. This allows the audience to make
up their own mind if the supernatural affected Richard's conscience
and his guilt. I feel that the use of paranormal is effective because
it allows the audience to get into the character's minds and see what
they are thinking. This enables the audience to look at the characters
life and personality and how it has changed. For example, Richard's
personality changes from hostile and vicious to a self-pitying person
who realises that: "There is no creature loves me!"
Anne is quite like a modern woman in the way that if a man tells her
The Importance of the Supernatural in Macbeth by William Shakespeare The supernatural is to play an essential part in the play 'Macbeth'; this is made clear from the first paragraph of the play, when the three witches are introduced. It is represented in many different forms, mainly: the witches, the dagger and the ghost of Banquo. Shakespeare's use of imagery and creative language in the play creates tension, fear and clearly displays the importance of the supernatural theme. At the start of the play, the supernatural is disguised in the form of nature, in this case a storm. Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to describe the strong force of nature- "Thunder and lightning - Enter three Witches.
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.
The content and construction of texts are inexorably influenced by the plethora of social, cultural, and historical factors relative to a composer’s context. Context thus becomes the principle medium for deciphering the complex and often didactic meanings within texts. Through the comparative study of Shakespeare’s historical tragedy King Richard III and Al Pacino’s postmodern docudrama Looking For Richard, both texts explore the various connections explored through the protagonist Richard with respective societal influence affecting their portrayal. Shakespeare’s text strongly conveys a sense of providentialism which was influential by the Tudor monarchy whilst Al Pacino thorough the implement of modern day media portrays these influences to a secular, postmodern audience.
Written during a time of peace immediately following the conclusion of the War of the Roses between the Yorks and the Lancasters, William Shakespeare’s play Richard III showcases a multi-faceted master of linguistic eloquence, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a character who simultaneously manages to be droll, revolting, deadly, yet fascinating. Richard's villainy works in a keen, detestable manner, manifesting itself in his specific use or, rather, abuse of rhetoric. He spends a substantial amount of time directly interacting and therefore breaking the fourth wall and orating to the audience in order to forge a relationship with them, to make members not only his confidants of murderous intentions, but also his accomplices and powerless, unwilling cohorts to his wrongdoings. Through the reader’s exploration of stylistic and rhetorical stratagem in the opening and final soliloquies delivered by Richard, readers are able to identify numerous devices which provide for a dramatic effect that make evident the psychological deterioration and progression of Richard as a character and villain.
Shakespeare Richard III was a traitor, a murderer, a tyrant, and a hypocrite. The leading characteristics of his mind are scorn, sarcasm, and an overwhelming contempt. It appears that the contempt for his victims rather than active hatred or cruelty was the motive for murdering them. Upon meeting him he sounds the keynote to his whole character. " I, that am curtailed of this proportion, cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deform'd, unfinish'd sent before my time Into this word scarce half made up"( 1.1.20-23)
Shakespeare constructs King Richard III to perform his contextual agenda, or to perpetrate political propaganda in the light of a historical power struggle, mirroring the political concerns of his era through his adaptation and selection of source material. Shakespeare’s influences include Thomas More’s The History of King Richard the Third, both constructing a certain historical perspective of the play. The negative perspective of Richard III’s character is a perpetuation of established Tudor history, where Vergil constructed a history intermixed with Tudor history, and More’s connection to John Morton affected the villainous image of the tyrannous king. This negative image is accentuated through the antithesis of Richards treachery in juxtaposition of Richmond’s devotion, exemplified in the parallelism of ‘God and Saint George! Richmond and victory.’ The need to legitimize Elizabeth’s reign influenced Shakespeare’s portra...
Humanity's version of entertainment undeniably reflects a violent history rife with bloody quests for power. However, the stage has never seen a more villainous protagonist than in Shakespeare's Richard III. Our antihero, Richard of Gloucester, immediately engages the audience with a sweet soliloquy, his plot, filled with goals of betrayal and murder effectively forming a bond between himself and his listeners— a bond built on the illusion of truth. [Queen Elizabeth info] The illusion of truth is the goal of any successful performer, and Richard's ability to influence his listeners, both the audience and the characters in the play, demonstrates his power as a performer, which deteriorates once he is crowned king. His facade cracks and ultimately breaks down once he no longer has an audience to perform for, leaving Richard a victim of his own undoing.
In this essay I will explore how significant act 3 scene 7 is to the
Truly, Shakespeare wonderfully used superstition and the supernatural to create a masterful literary work. As Ribner said “ We find Shakespeare approaching the matter of history with a surer hand, and out of it creating tragedy of a singular power” (Ribner 58). He accomplished his ultimate goal of using superstition to foreshadow important plot events, to delve deeper into character’s personalities, and to create excitement among the audiences of the Elizabethan era.
Since it was an interesting issue which many people of Shakespeare’s time felt they were affected by, Shakespeare wrote about it. “Macbeth” with its supernatural theme was the 17th century’s equivalent to the modern day horror movie.
The supernatural, is an integral part of the plays of William Shakespeare. In addition, the supernatural is, in fact, an integral part of the structure of the plot of Hamlet. The supernatural appears in Hamlet in the form of a ghost. The role of the supernatural is very important.
To conclude Shakespeare used the supernatural, to show how easily someone’s fatal flaw can be exploited to bring them to an end. This is extremely relevant to his audience at that time as well, no one knows, but Shakespeare could have been a non believer in the supernatural and wanted to show it as a figment of the mind, that can only result in insanity or he could have believed the popular opinion that the supernatural did exist and caused terror and evil throughout that period. Either way he wrote Macbeth in such a way to leave questions about the supernatural in peoples mind.
A common motif in Shakespeare’s many plays is the supernatural element, to which Hamlet , with the presence of a ghost, is no exception. The story of Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, is one of tragedy, revenge, deception, and ghosts. Shakespeare’s use of the supernatural element helps give a definition to the play by being the catalyst of the tragedy that brings upon Hamlet’s untimely demise. The ghost that appears at the beginning of the play could possibly be a satanic figure that causes Hamlet to engage in the terrible acts and endanger his soul. The supernatural element incorporated into the play is used as an instigator, a mentor, as well as mediation for the actions of the protagonist that ultimately end in tragedy, with the loss of multiple lives, as well as suscept Hamlet’s soul to hell. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the ghostly apparition causes a reader to question whether the ghost is a demonic force on the basis of its diction, conduct towards others as well as Hamlet, and it’s motive to kill.
The supernatural was a popular element in many of the plays written in Shakespeare's time (including Hamlet) and everyone of Shakespeare's time found the supernatural fascinating. Even King James I took a special interest in supernatural and written a book, Daemonologie, on witchcraft. It must be remembered that, in Shakespeare's day, supernatural referred to things that were "above Nature"; things which existed, but not part of the normal human life and unexplainable. The play Macbeth involves many supernatural actions that act as a catalyst for suspense and thrill, insight into character, foreshadowing of future events as well as making connections with the theme.