For the contemporary audience they would find this very offensive. This was as the philosophical context shows that in Elizabethan times religion was very important. They would believe God always represented good and to associate him with a word, worthy of no honour like ‘cheated’. This would very blasphemous.
Furthermore, the social context of Elizabethan times shows they would fell no empathy toward those who were deformed or disabled. This was due to a literal interpretation of the verse from the Bible in the Genesis (1:26), which is, God made everything in His image. Elizabethans would think that deformity or disability was due to the sinning and indulging in evil acts due to temptations from the Devil. According to them this reflects in their appearance which is deformity and this is why they were looked down. According to Richard, even dogs look down at Richard as he mentions, ‘dogs bark as I halt by them’, therefore the contemporary audience would believe that he is cursed due to his own fault.
However, in contrast, the modern audience would feel very sorry for him, as being deceived or cheated is never a good. This is as when an individual is deceived or cheated it is a very lowly feeling whereby the individual would feel no confidence or very low confidence. They would also be able to understand his great frustration and feel great sympathy for him.
What’s more is, in modern England, the way people think has really changed in my opinion We don’t tend to judge people on appearance as much, and often great sorrow a lot of appreciation and is felt when they see someone is deformed or disabled. To an extent, when we see the pain or suffering of some disabled members of the public we tend be filled with gratitude, (as we don’t feel the same pain).
Furthermore, I’d like to put emphasis on why the modern audience would empathize with Richard. We find him making a contrast in the soliloquy between those who do not suffer deformity as he does when he says ‘he capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber, to the lascivious pleasing of a lute. But I am not shap’d for sportive tricks’. This verse is implying everyone is being naughty as word ‘nimbly’ implies, but he cannot indulge in the ‘sportive tricks’, which are the sexual games.
Some members of the contemporary audience would feel sorrow towards Richard due to his sexual frustration and his inability to fulfil his sexual desires but others would feel it was his own fault, and the problems that he has are self-inflicted, (due to his sins as the philosophical context shows).
However most of the modern audience would definitely feel great pity for Richard, this is as he can hear everyone having fun indulging in their ‘sportive tricks’, enjoying themselves and Richard, has no one to enjoy himself with. Richard makes the reader feel sympathy for him by creating imagery in their minds as he describes not only his outer sense of listening but the inner sense of his feeling.
The outer sense that makes us the contemporary audience feel very sorry for him as he says, ‘lascivious pleasing of a lute’. When he says that, the audience create that sound of the lute in their minds and then image of Richard waiting around, as he say ‘have no delight to pass time’. Imagery is used, and the imagery appeals to the two senses that we have. That of sound and sight. For when he mentions the ‘lute’ and him being miserable, we cannot help feeling sorrow for him as he cannot find happiness, and every human in this day and age has a right to happiness.
From this, I can elaborate on the admiration the audience would feel for Richard for his use of emotive language and the imagery that he puts in the minds of us the audience. We can be seen through the metaphors used, the emotive language which appeals to every soul, and the imagery he uses to make us empathise with him. I mentioned in the above paragraph, that he appeals to our senses, but also the way he use metaphorical terms. When he says ‘and that so lamely unfashionable that dogs bark at me as I halt by them –‘. I believe this is metaphor used to emphasise on how low and humiliated he feels. He first describes the way he himself actually, and then says that this results in dogs barking at him. This is supposed to show us his lowly based confidence, which has an effect on the way he thinks.
The emotive language that he uses in my view is when he describes himself with various phrases and adjective, such as ‘deformed, unfinished, sent before my time’. This is a continuous sentence which shows that theirs a long list of adequate handsome features missing from Richard.
We also like the comparison between his wrong and who is rightful and wise. He does this by using opposite adjectives. ‘And if Edward be as true as I am subtle, false and treacherous’. The adjectives he uses refer to his evilness. He uses ‘true’ and ‘false’, which are opposites. These two lines demonstrate that he knows the difference between right and wrong. He makes the conscience decision to be evil. Although we admire his honesty, we still despise his wickedness. Again we love him for the clear image he creates in our minds.
The last fundamental reason, that I believe we admire Richard is his mischievous. We can see his naughty but also cruel type of behaviour when says, ‘plots have I laid, inductions dangerous’ for us the modern and contemporary audience this is something for which Richard is quite admired. This is, as people nowadays like to watch arguments and bickering within families as they find funny. An example may be shown through certain soaps as well as Sitcom’s on and many people watch them as they find amusing. We as human race like to watch quarrelling, and gruesome fighting. As even in the Elizabethan times, people would go out to watch beheadings and it was almost like a day out for them, whereby they would have picnics.
Overall Richard has many problems regarding his disability. His problems begin when he cannot even play sports and cannot fulfil his sexual desires. However, he is an evil person who seems to have no value for human life and that is when both types of audience cannot feel sympathy, as the sanctity of life is priceless. Richard may be admired for his bravery but I believe everyone will loose respect for someone who takes life especially of his own just for power.
Nonetheless, we cannot help feeling sympathy for Richard, where his deformity prevents him enjoying life. In my view, Richard should have the right to enjoy life ant it saddens me say that he enjoys life through killing mercilessly and he certainly does prove to be a villain as he says ‘I am determined to prove a villain’.