The Opening Speech of Richard III in William Shakespeare's Play
Richard III is a historical play and we are drawn to this factor from
Richard's speech at the opening of the play. Shakespeare uses
Richard's character as his main device for setting the scene. As it is
a play the audience would see Richard entering on a bare stage and
this alone would leave an effect of them which would soon be
reinforced by the speech he is about to give. The speech itself is
delivered in a soliloquy, a device that is well associated with
Shakespeare. It reveals the inner most thoughts of the character,
exposing their true nature and their state of mind.
The first words of his opening speech,
"Now is the winter of our discontent"
This single, very effective line enables the audience in understanding
what the situation is.
We know that England is at peace after the war of the roses that took
place between the York's and the Lancastrians and that King Edward is
currently in reign. But this glorious mood soon changes as we sense a
change in Richard's tone. All is not well as Richard shows the
contempt he holds for his brother, the king as he describes the King's
displeasing attitudes and corrupt behaviour,
"He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber,
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute...."
Richard is essentially saying that instead of being a fearful brave
leader, King Edward spends his time indulged in amorous activities.
The power of the language itself emphasises to great lengths the
disgust that Richard holds for his brother. As the speech goes on his
contempt that he holds for the king grows. Richard then changes the
attention ...
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... a production, I imagine a deformed middle
aged man who is desperately trying to win over the audience. His
speech is powerful and is a brilliant demonstration of his persuasive
powers. To me he is attempting to coerce the audience into
sympathising with him and to seeing things from his point of view
because there are always two sides to a coin. I don't think that he
actually manages to achieve this but he does mange to stir them up and
have some bias or some understanding into his motive before other
characters are introduced into the play. He does not want us to
convict him but because the speech is a soliloquy what is being
portrayed is what Richard is actually thinking and not what he is
pretending to be. So he is showing his true colours right from the
beginning so that we know Richards demeanour from the outset.
decides to gate crash it the party in hope to see the girl he loves
Anne is quite like a modern woman in the way that if a man tells her
Whilst Henry VI’s was in rule during the 1450’s, England had many issues and problems that cause such instability in the country. One of the largest factors arguably is the loss of the Hundred Years war between The French and English over France. This in turn caused many problems to occur with links to almost every feud the country faced. Yet some historians argue that Normandy wasn’t the main issue of instability in England instead of other reasons such as instability.
One of the most prominent faces of Disney, Cinderella was most famously known for singing ‘A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes’, in which she proclaimed that “the dream that you wish for will come true”. However, when the Disney movie graced the screen in 1950, the film conveniently left out the parts in the original story in which the two sisters, desperate for the Prince’s affections, chopped off the heels of their feet and were later blinded by vindictive pigeons. As was with the sisters in the story of Cinderella, in the classic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, seemingly happy things hide an undercurrent of maliciousness, and dreams are often cruelly broken by reality. William Shakespeare uses Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” speech in Romeo and Juliet to
Lady Anne’s monologue in act 1 scene 2 of William Shakespeare’s historical play Richard III is one of sorrow and hate. Anne is mourning the loss of her father in law King Henry VI who was murdered by the same man that killed her husband. Although she never says it during the monologue, we soon find out that the Lady knows that Richard is the one that has caused her all of this pain. The beginning of this section of Lady Anne’s monologue uses alliteration to emphasize her pain, by having many of the words start with the same continent it stresses the word allowing the reader to see that it is much more important than other sections of the text. Anne also reuses the word cursed when referring to how she believes the murderers life should be.
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Hamlet's classsic "To be or not to be..."(Hamlet, prince of Denmark, 3.1.57) speech really shows who he is. Obviously Hamlet is horribly depressed. We have already seen several examples of this, but this speech gives us a clear picture of his sadness. More importantly however, his speech shows his weakness and indecisiveness. Hamlet is consistently melancholy, but he never really acts on it; he just kind of wallows around, full of self-pity and loathing. Finally, it gives us Hamlet's reason for not committing suicide. Throughout the play he seems to wish for death and here we find out why he doesn't bring it on himself. This also gives us a window into his personality. This speech provides us with a clear understanding of Hamlet and his motivations.
better of him. He doesn't even know her name and he believes he is in
Act 3 Scene 4, so called the closet scene, is the first time we see Hamlet and Gertrude together alone. In this scene Hamlet releases his anger and frustration at his mother for the sinful deed she has committed i.e. her marriage to her brother-in-law and the murderer. We can see that Gertrude is unaware of her husband's murder when she says `As kill a King?' and it is the first time she confronts her own behavior. There is a conflict between the two; Hamlet gives powerful replies
experience was one of war. If there was no war going on in England at the time
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.
The truth is something that everyone looks for at any particular point in time. It can be as simple as an answer to a question, or as complicated as a search for clues and answers in a murder. Whatever the situation may be, one must investigate, interrogate, or do anything else possible to find the truth. In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the death of Hamlet's father was a mystery, until a ghost told the prince to avenge his father's murder. Hamlet then suspected his uncle, King Claudius, of being the murderer of his father. Since the court was then going to watch a play, Hamlet found that as the best opportunity to reveal his uncle as the one responsible for the death of his father. He gives the players a new speech to recite and advises them how to "act," so that the King can unveil himself by his own actions and expressions toward the play.
Act 3 Scene 3 Of Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 3 is a perfect example of Romeo's despondent persona. The events that take place in Friar Laurence's cell occur right after Romeo's marriage to Juliet. Romeo's devastation by the news that he is to be banished from Verona after murdering Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, had led him to seek guidance from Friar Laurence. Although this may seem understandable, Romeo is melodramatic and gives the impression that he is an over-the-top teenager. He illustrates this when he says; "Ha, banishment!
“Have not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself.” (Mabillard 1). The Wars of the Roses was a furnace that was boiling, it caused many changes for England from rebellions and overthrowing multiple kings and queens, to new dynasties and causing England to change for the better with ambition and thus becoming what it is today.
History.com states “This event is seen as marking the end of the War of Roses; although