Analyse and comment upon, the extent to which Richard III is a successful politician.

Analyse and comment upon, the extent to which Richard III is a successful politician. (With close reference to the 1996 film adaptation starring Ian McKellan, directed by Richard Loncraine) Shakespeare's Richard III is set in England after the War of the Roses. Richard, the megalomanic eponymous character, is desperate for the throne of England. He tells us that he seeks the crown to compensate for his deformity (he was a hunchback from birth). Richard has his own brother killed and later has former allies and those who still stood in his way killed also. When Richard eventually gains the throne he finds his conscience and begins to feel insecure, he has the two Princes he has locked away killed. Nobles are horrified by his actions and establish a rebel force lead by Richmond. During the Battle of Bosworth Field Richard is defeated and killed in hand to hand combat with Richmond, who then takes the throne and becomes King of England. The word 'political' can have more than one meaning. The Oxford English Dictionary has a few definitions of political and politician: . Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state. 2. Relating to, involving, or characteristic of politics or politicians: 3. Interested or active in politics. 4. Having or influenced by partisan interests: The court should never become a political

  • Word count: 2466
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What qualities does Richard possess that make him attractive to the audience?

-1"What qualities does Richard possess that make him attractive to the audience?" Shakespeare establishes a relationship between Richard and I through the opening soliloquy, which presents Richard as an ugly, disabled and excluded from sportive tricks, ladies and being a normal human being. Richard comes across as an evil but smart person, which is attractive to the audience. This invites sympathy towards Richard and builds up a link with the audience. In Act one Scene one Richard's opening soliloquy, sets out the events leading up to the start of the play it also tells us what Richard thinks about himself and what he intends to do about his problems. Because during the soliloquy Richard expresses his inner desires only to the audience so they feel as though they are part of Richards mind and his thinking. "Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York" (Act one Scene One) This helps make him attractive because if the audience are relating to his thinking then he becomes more close to them. Just after this, Richard puts into action the first part of his overall plan to rule England by tricking the king into thinking that Clarence would try to take over the throne. This shows the audience Richard's ruthlessness because through his actions he is putting his own brother into prison. But because of the soliloquy just before this the audience

  • Word count: 1012
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Empathy - Night of Buckinghams death

Empathy - Write a diary entry written by Buckingham at a dramatic point in the play Dear Diary, Today was a historic day and one that will be referred to as the day where evil was unleashed and hell was allowed to engulf the innocence of this oblivious world. The day where such actions were endorsed and were pursued with little remorse - these actions, pursued by the devil himself, our leader, a man with relentless power, a beast born without a conscience, born without a soul but yet a man who was born into royalty, a life of wealth and endless joy. This man I speak of - is the man who I have been assisting throughout his assault, a man who I now realise is a villain - a cold hearted, inexorable, ruthless villain! This man I speak of is Richard, the person who has wished upon my death for a task that my conscience shall never permit me to pursue - a task that would cause such upset towards his family and my beloved country that I could no longer bare to face the endeavours of life. This task, I hear you ask, it is one that is unthinkable to us regular men, a task that would be frowned upon even by the most treacherous villain. A task that involves assassinating two young children and if this is not enough these two children are next in line to your countries throne - An act I believe to be named regicide. Nevertheless - I lay here on my death bed in this somewhat luxurious

  • Word count: 526
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Richard lll: Can Richard's behaviour be justified?

Richard lll: Can Richard's behaviour be justified? By Dominique Baptiste Richard's behaviour cannot be justified. Justifying behaviour is making sure his behaviour is morally correct. His behaviour may not be justified, however it can be understood. There are many reasons why his behaviour in the play is atrocious, many of which are psychological. In the Elizabethan era, mental illness was not seen as a socially excepted thing. Mental illness was not understood nor was it known of. In this play by Shakespeare it shows Richard's depression and anxiety which has caused him distress. Richard lll can be compared to Hitler, he wants people to listen to him and wants to be in control and Hitler was compared to the devil, just like Richard had been compared to, "his hell-governed arm hath butchered!". His mind set in the play is quite similar to Hitler's. He wants to be in charge and he wants everyone to obey him. He acts as an authority figure, he makes his opinion heard as he tells whoever gets in his way what he is going to do and will do. This is all because of his authoritarian personality but he also has a slight psychopathic personality. However, many may say this might make his behaviour justified because his personality cannot be easily changed and it was very rare to have psychological help because it did not exist in this era. An

  • Word count: 1058
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Richard vs Richmond

OCN English. World War 1 Comprehension Exercise. . The first "recruitment" poem, named Fall In follows the style of a simple ABABCDCD pattern, found most commonly within poems. However the second of which is the focus of our analysis, In Flanders Field, is much different. The first verses pattern is AABBA whereas the second verse is different yet again. "Fall In" has a style the is a lot more colloquial then "Flanders Field" relying on using more slang terms to attract the attention of the reader while "Flanders Field" has a tone that is a lot more easy going and not as in your face. 2. "Fall In" is much lengthier than "Flanders Field"; its words are much more direct and to the point. It contains questions that would make young men think about; how would their families and friends think about them given that they made the choice not to go to war. "Flanders field" arouses the memories of fallen friends and family members within the minds of men throughout the land, persuading and coercing them to join the ranks with many others. 3. The first poem "Fall In" is attempting to recruit young men to the forces by using what could be assumed as a sort of blackmail tactic. One can only assume that at the time of its publication the words found within its verses would have struck several chords in the hearts of the audience of young men, no doubt accomplishing its task; relying

  • Word count: 772
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Richard III.Anne looked absolutely disgusted to see me, this monster standing in front of her. I have had this look to many times now, to care.

Richard III - Homework The sounds of people's pain echoed off the white tile walls. I had heard this too much in my life to care. The dampness made my cold skin feel at home. And as for all these dead corpses that were lying around, my eyes have been plagued with these images almost all of my sinful life. I thought Id wear my work outfit, to show her that I am a man of profession, that all the killing I do is just my job, not my choice. That should fool her. Ill put on a sad face, which will show her that I do not live in a world like this place. As I crept round one of the pillars in this morbid room, I saw her, leaning over the man who I had recently silenced. I drooped a doctor's knife on the table next to me, for later. She was weeping all over this rotting corpse; I decided this would be a good chance for me to make my entrance. Creeping out of the room's shadows, swiftly and silently. I stood behind this pitiful woman, who would soon be mine. She was talking out loud to herself. I was too busy plotting my master plan to listen to her pathetic words. But what I did hear, it made me chuckle to myself inside. She cursed the killer's wife. Cursing what will end up being her. As this sobbing woman turned around with fear, my act began. Anne looked absolutely disgusted to see me, this monster standing in front of her. I have had this look to many times

  • Word count: 801
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the effectiveness of the opening ofTim Burton's 'Edward Scissorhands'

Khalil Thirlaway, 10JS 28/12/03 English GCSE Media Coursework Discuss the effectiveness of the opening of Tim Burton's 'Edward Scissorhands' In this essay I will examine the dramatic and cinematographic devices used in the opening of Edward Scissorhands to create an effective introduction. The scenes are those up to and including the meeting of the main characters Peg and Edward In the opening scenes, Tim Burton sets out the moral message of the film. In making Edward Scissorhands he intended to 'deflate the American Dream', exposing the rotten core of society that hides beneath a pretty façade. This is achieved by establishing two conflicting worlds inhabited by people who are the opposite of each other. The theme of the two worlds is at its most both prominent here and at the end of the film when the suburban world trespasses into the 'forbidden' world of the mansion. The town, as we see early on, looks superficially pretty and neat with each boxy bungalow sitting in a featureless garden almost identical to the next. Nothing stands out as individual and the only dwelling that differs from the rest is the mansion, which is shunned by all. As Peg visits each house the audience sees different social inadequacies through the behaviour of each housewife. The director uses these to subtly show us what is wrong with society; we are slovenly, immoral, uncaring and even

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The aim of these piece was to show the theme of survival. In fact, our work only included one scene, but we have shown the inner side of a human being kept in captivity for such a long time. In this case we talk about Adam an American man

SOMEONE WHO'LL WATCH OVER ME. (ADAM MONOLOGUE) TITLE: Our piece did not have a title. The assessment was called Adam monologue, and we didn't change the name of our piece of work. It has been called Adam monologue, because we have Adam in the cell in the point where he's about to get crazy. We decided to have two Adams as we thought that it would have been more effective to watch. AIM OF THE PIECE: The aim of these piece was to show the theme of survival. In fact, our work only included one scene, but we have shown the inner side of a human being kept in captivity for such a long time. In this case we talk about Adam an American man. Adam is a gentle person, kind, and very proud to be American. He is also the peacemaker, who calms and sustains the other two characters in the play, Edward and Michael, but who is also troubled by terrible dreams and fears. He has known the worst of captivity, because he has been alone in the cell. In the scene we see him troubled by the fear of death. He's becoming very pessimistic about his future, he's now realizing that the Arabs want to kill him. A reason of that is because Adam is American, and they are seen as "war prices" if captured. In the seen we can see that he's very troubled and becoming mad. We represent his inner mind by adding in the scene another Adam, who is suppose to show how he was before becoming mad. I think that the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How Genuine was the Relationship Between Richard and Buckingham?

How Genuine was the Relationship Between Richard and Buckingham? The 'friendship' between Richard and Buckingham is an important storyline in this play 'Richard III' and could be used to demonstrate how Richard sees all his 'friends' or associates. Looked at simply, Richard seems to be merely using Buckingham in exchange for help in achieving his goals without any hint of real affection. However, examined more closely, is there a point in the play where Richard feels genuine enjoyment with his relationship with Buckingham? In this essay I am going to be exploring the nature of this relationship chronologically throughout the course of the play. We first meet Buckingham in ACT 1, SCENE 3 when he is party to the hostile gathering in which old Queen Margaret curses almost everyone in the room. He is an able politician as well as a powerful nobleman and is discreet and apparently non-committal in this first scene. He is clearly well known and respected by those present in the room and so is put in a very awkward position when Margaret - by refraining from cursing him and instead offering the hand of friendship as "Thy garments are not spotted with our blood" - forces Buckingham to choose sides. The problem is this: if he sides with Margaret, he escapes from her curse; however, since everyone else in the room have already been cursed and are therefore firmly

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the theme of reality vs appearance in Richard III.

In the play ‘Richard IIII’, Shakespeare shows instances of outward appearances masking inward reality throughout the play. Shakespeare has effectively intertwined the two elements appearance and reality to give the audience a different view and more information than the characters are aware of in the play. The audience can anticipate events that may follow creating dramatic tension. This theme is represented by Richard, however Richards’s right hand man ‘Buckingham’ also plays a major part in it, ‘’My other self, my counsel’s consistory, my oracle, my prophet!’’ The difference between appearance and reality first shows up when Richard admits to not only himself, but to the audience, that he is a villain, “As I am subtle, false and treacherous”. By admitting to himself that he, Richard, is a villain, he reveals reality, as he has no motive to lie or deceive himself. In this soliloquy, Richard’s motive is not to deceive any other character, but rather to take a step back from his deceptions and to give the audience a glimmer of reality instead of the cloak he feeds to the other characters. This is one of the few times that Richard exposes himself as what he truly is, a villain, of deception and fraud, ‘’I am determined to prove a villain…’’ Moreover this theme is also revealed in act three through Buckingham, ‘’we know each other’s

  • Word count: 418
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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