Richard’s deformities obviously cause him pain, as he describes to the reader ‘sportive tricks’ in which he is unable to advance. As during this period people were celebrating due to the post of the civil crisis, yet he is unable to perform these ‘rituals’ and he feels an outcast of which the audience feels they can relate to.
Richards’s resentfulness and enviousness towards Edward is clearly indicated in lines 10-13. He refers to Edward as “he”, describing him as “wanton” and “lustful”. Richard reveals this as a “weakness”.
These lines unbalance the view of social legitimacy-how if anyone challenged or sought to change his or her place they would be defying God.
Richard describes his relationship with Edward in more detail in lines 31-36. In these lines he indicates to the reader how “naive” and “simple” Edward is contrasting to himself as “false and “subtle”.
Richard indicates to the reader his “greed” and his ever flourishing yearn for power indicating to the reader that these would be the good ingredients need for a good king which Edward clearly lacks.
Richards’s manipulative skills are shown widely in lines 30-42. In these consecutive lines, Richard shows his treacherous and deceitful behaviour in which he is able to switch on and off. This opaque behaviour enhances his complex character and illustrates his ability to be a good actor.
This change from savage to good shows how effectively Richard suppresses his dark secrets and voluntarily becomes a villain, these two contrasting sentences demonstrate this “To set my brother Clarence and the King in deadly hate the one against the other” to “Brother, good day; what means this armed guard that waits upon your grace”
These quotations allow the reader to follow Richard’s spiteful character to gain an interest into his darker thoughts and secrets, yet although the reader is engaged with him they have to ensure that they do not become emotionally transfixed with him also and when he describes his crimes, the reader often feels they should mediate.
By using this soliloquy it illustrates clearly Richard’s ‘private’ face contrasted with his ‘public’ persona when he greets his brother Clarence.
Although Richard’s manipulative skills are shown through, his ability to want to become ‘king’ Richard also uses these skills in love. He manipulates his wife Anne into marrying him as he feeds off her securities. Anne was the widow of, the Lancastrian Prince Of Wales, of whom he murdered; his second wife Elizabeth who was his niece and the daughter of King Edward- of whom he also murdered. This shows what kind of a villain Richard wants to become; his ruthless qualities are clearly shown.
Lines 30-42 are used dramatically, allowing the readers to see the clear dichotomy between Richards ‘concealed’ personality to his public persona.
This contrast also shows how he is able to flip between roles in hiding his dark secrets. His persuasive and influential role allows himself to just inform the audience of his ‘plans’ allowing the reader to have an emotional attachment to the character. His ability to flip between roles becomes known when he delivers his opening soliloquy in which, from lines 5 to 9 and from lines 10 to 40, he is rather personal. This is additionally shown when he greets his brother George. The audience has impassive perspective and perceive the fruition of his plans.
Richards encounter with George demonstrates his manipulative character as when Richard persuaded Edward to imprison George after alerting him to a prophecy he ‘heard’ informing him how he would be murdered by a member of his family with a ‘G’ in his name, implying George. This created uncertainty and doubt in Edward and when Clarence was escorted to the tower Richard knowingly asked; “what means this armed guard that waits upon your grace”. He then assured George that he would get him out while trying to blame the Queen; “why, this it is, when men are rul’d by women’. This reveals Richards vindictive streak and ability to blame somebody else for his actions by achieving their trust, he uses the fact he has deformities to play on people’s emotions contrasting his persona
Richards’s ability to play on people’s emotions via his deformities excels through the play in lines 10 to 40. In lines 16 to 19 Richard invokes himself as being “rudely stamp’d” indicating to the reader that he is badly stamped like a coin because he was “deform’d, unfinish’d sent before my time”; i.e. that he was born prematurely and instead of being discarded he has to live through his ugliness. Richard also evokes pity into the viewers by claiming ‘dogs bark at me” because he in hideous and unattractive.
He also engages the viewer deeper into his thoughts by claiming that in the “weak piping of peace” he has “no delight but to pass time away”. Indicating how he has nothing else to do but to gaze and wallow over his deformities because he detests the “peace time” as everyone is dancing and kissing and he is unable to perform these ‘sportive tricks’.
Richard then balances his apathy and monotony by balancing a personification of “shadow” and “sun” to inform the viewers of his tedious nature and boredom while commenting on his deformities.
Concluding line 30, Richard shows that he “cannot prove a lover” due to his deformities so he is “determined to prove a villain”. Richard includes this passage in the play to allow the reader to comprehend and understand Richard and why he is planning such horrific crimes but as the reader is lured into, Richards mind they also become complacent when they are informed of the crimes he is committing.
Although Richard did seize the throne of King Edward V of England, Richard’s baseness is strongly exaggerated in this play. This play communicates a deep knowledge of the wellsprings of human behaviour. It is revealed through portrayals of a wide variety of characters. Shakespeare uses poetry and dramatic means to create a unified visual effect out of a vocal expressions and he uses poetry within his plays to express the deepest levels of human motivation in different situations. Richard III deals with evil resulting from weak leadership and from national disunity fostered for selfish ends. After Richard's death in battle, Henry ascended the throne and married Edward's daughter. Richard III seized the throne after he crushed a rebellion instigated by Edward’s family. Richard’s two-year reign ended when he died in battle during the Wars of the Roses.
In discussing the Loncraine film, the setting is in the late 1920s and in the early 1930s. This is clearly between the first and second world wars, this allows the reader to have a context of war and empathise with the characters.
During the film, Richard s relationship is very successful in the terms that the audience believe that although Richard is lying to the other characters he is being truthful to them. The audience thinks this because Richard looks straight into the camera when talking to the audience indicating truth and stability as, the ‘eyes are the windows to the soul’. In a way the audience feels directly involved in the play. The audience have a privileged point of view; but in effect are emotionally attached to Richard, as he is subliminally manipulating them
The film creates a clear dichotomy between Richard’s private face and personal face, the audience can distinguish between the two through Richard’s clearly magnified facial expressions as from public to private; McKellan (Richard) conducted himself to be spitting the words out as if disgusted by them and sickened when moving to a private face.
In the film when Richard recited the opening soliloquy the contrast between Richard private and public face was indicated through the camera slowly moving in to Richard’s mouth in a very close up and then a sneer was seen indicating to the viewer showing Richard’s vindictiveness.
From line 10 (second shot) “and now instead of mounting barbeed steeds”, the audience is lured into Richard’s private ‘world’ indicating through a private surrounding.
Richard’s entry to the toilet signifies to the audience that we are entering his private and secret thoughts. He enters the toilet from line 14; “but I am not shap’d for sportive tricks”, here is where Richard reflects upon his deformities and is disgusted by them. The film indicates his deformities by Richard being marginalized and alone, Richard has a hump and a missing hand in the film.
In the third shot, it starts from a quotation taken from later on in the play; “I can smile…and murder while I smile”, although it is taken in from later on in the play it, flows freely from shot two. In this shot, Richard makes eye contact again with the viewer and confesses to them his merciless and malicious plans and yet the viewer does not feel alarmed or repelled to hear it.
In the fourth shot, from lines 32 “Plots I have laid, inductions dangerous ”Richard invites the camera i.e. viewer to follow him and come closer. Richard is situated in an open doorway in a ¾ shot. There is an apparent change of tone as the music heard is more upbeat and dance.
In the fifth shot taken from lines 34 “to set my brother and Clarence in deadly hate”; contrasts with the previous shot where the background was clear. In this shot the camera sets on an idyllic background while Richard bops his head around the corner startling the audience displaying a comedy aspect which increases our feelings towards him emotionally, as it shows the growing trust the audience feels towards Richard so much so that they can play games with each other. Even though in this shot the audience sees Richards manipulative through Richard waving his hanky at Clarence when he departs, Richard has already lured the viewer in so they feel involved in his crimes.
The sequences in the film are very successful on the terms that they flow freely and I feel it gives a very good interpretation of the play. Although every reader who reads the play has a different interpretation, the film is very close to my own interpretation of the play as both, under dramatise Richard’s crimes and they both lure the audience in through Richards’s manipulative character.
If I were to make a film on Richard III, I would stage it in the year 2099. It would be set in London so the audience can already feel at ease and recognize the surroundings. It would then be easier for my, actor as Richard, to the audience but stay likeable. Having my film in London would also create a historical aspect in the film i.e. the Tower of London.
The audience, which I attract, would be a variety; a younger audience would be attracted to the film with the celebrity actors and interesting plot. My film would not contain the concepts of reality we see before us but a more Lumiere “actuality” and a Melies fantasy, which a younger audience would enjoy as innovative films don’t attract the younger audience as much.
An older audience would be attracted to this film as they would enjoy the historical aspects of the film and link it with the traditional view of Richard III yet enjoy the differences and familiarize with the surroundings.
I would set this as a box office as the film would entail a drama and the high quality of cinematic films would help.
The actors would contain celebrity British actors and US actors. I would not just limit the film to British actors because of the surroundings as Shakespearean plays are known worldwide so each actor would be able to conduct themselves appropriately.
My plot for my film would commence with a conflict between men and women (War of the Roses). Women would be the more authoritative and dominant species; they suppressed men and confined their rights as an individual. Society obeyed one woman in particular Queen Elizabeth. Anybody who would dare to speak against her would be tortured. There was one man however who made history by going against the odds and he stood up to Elizabeth. She had always been obeyed before so she was startled and fell in love with Edward. They got married and there was a big celebration, all women started to treat men differently but this would not last long. Edward started to become insecure with his situation and was faced with the pressure of, if their marriage did not work out men’s rights would be confined as before, so Edward started sleeping with Elizabeth more and more manipulating and enhancing every hold he had of her.
Edward confessed to Richard over his hold of Elizabeth and confided in him of his insecurities.
Richard began feeding off Edwards’s insecurities, as he had a growing attraction to Queen Elizabeth. The story would illustrate Richard’s ruthless qualities of gaining the throne over England by slaughtering his own family.
The story was end over Richard killing Elizabeth and then his baby daughter straight after the birth. Richard would then lose the audiences trust and he then killed himself by committing suicide. I wanted his film to have a dramatic ending and to give the audience a sense of morality.
I would use different camera angles in the play and perceive Richard like the Loncraine version. My play would contain comedy aspects also of Richards’s witty personality, yet at the end with the build up of crimes and the dramatic halt the audience is left with an exposed image of Richard.
