wolf
International Cricketer
Meh, I am bored.
Why don't people show us their essay's, I will be interested to see different styles. A bit geekish, but hey, I am feeling in a geeky mood.
I thought I would show the poor quality of work you require to do to get a English A-Level. This, according to my teacher, will get a B. Comments appreciated.
If anyone uses this for their work..well good on them.
Why don't people show us their essay's, I will be interested to see different styles. A bit geekish, but hey, I am feeling in a geeky mood.
I thought I would show the poor quality of work you require to do to get a English A-Level. This, according to my teacher, will get a B. Comments appreciated.
If anyone uses this for their work..well good on them.
How far does the presentation of Richard III in the first act of Shakespeare?s play prepare the audience for what is to follow?
Richard III is an eccentric character, and in the first Act of this play, we see how Shakespeare develops his unusual character and personality. We also see how carefully he builds Richard up, so the audience become aware what a devious character he is, and they marvel at the fact they take to him when watching him; despite Richard being a villain.
Shakespeare?s presentation of Richard starts with Richard?s first speech in the first scene. Shakespeare first makes Richard look like a warrior, Richard starting his soliloquy saying how he helped win the war between the Yorks and the Lancasters. He explains about his appearance saying,
?But I - that am not shaped for sportive tricks.?
Basically meaning he finds it difficult to have sex, because he is physically unattractive, he qualifies this further,
? Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time.?
He was born prematurely, and does not look right. This now makes the audience feel sympathy for him, on top of their admiration for his fighting skills.
Shakespeare then puts another twist in the speech, with Richard confessing his plans to shut his brother up in the Tower of London; brainwashing his other brother King Edward into believing Clarence will overthrow him as King. This is ironic as actually Richard is the one doing this,
?To set my brother Clarence and the King
In deadly hate the one against the other.?
Now the audience goes from thinking what an interesting, but unfortunate man Richard is, to seeing what a murderous villain he is. Shakespeare makes us think all this, and only one character has spoken so far!
?And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous?
Shakespeare?s use of language is evident here, showing the audience what Richard really is. The word ?false? makes the audience think he is deceiving them too.
When meeting Clarence, Shakespeare makes the audience to see how Richard can deceive people, luring Clarence into believing that it was on the Queen?s orders he was locked up, not the King?s superstitions,
? ?Tis not the King that sends you to the Tower.
My Lady Grey his wife, Clarence ? ?tis she.?
Clarence believes Richard is completely on his side, until he is about to be killed and his murderers tell him the truth. Richard?s deceitfulness counts for him in Act 1 Scene 4, when even when Clarence had a prophetic dream that Richard had knocked him overboard, he believed it was an accident, and that Richard still was going to attempt to rescue him.
Once Clarence has gone, Shakespeare now provides the audience with confirmation of their suspicions that Richard will murder Clarence. Richard provides us with these lines,
?Simple, plain Clarence, I do love thee so
That I will shortly send thy soul to heaven?
Shakespeare has now made the audience begin to think how far Richard could go. If he can murder his brother, the audience begin to think he can do anything. They still don?t know of his true intentions to claim the crown, they can only wonder. This planned killing of Clarence, with no remorse, typifies Richard?s attitude throughout the play. He does not have a conscience. His later killing of other members of his family, his nephews, his wife, confirms that. This all portrays Richard as a lonely killer, having to turn his family against each other to detract their attention from the villain, yet strangely the audience remain fascinated by his audacity and energy.
Hastings then brings him tides of the King?s illness. But when Hastings has gone, Richard expresses his wishes of what he wants to happen to the King, and how he will dispose of his two brothers,
?He cannot live, I hope ? and must not die
Till George be packed with posthorse up to heaven.?
The audience is beginning to see the plan here, he wants both his brothers dead, and the line of royalty is breaking up. The kind of eloquent persuasion Richard will be about to display to the King will be evident throughout the play; when he wants people to do things for him, and if they don?t, to quote a famous line in the play when later talking about Hastings he will ?Chop off his head.? The audience are intrigued how everyone seems to treat him when he only wants to use them.
In Scene 2 Richard then outlines his plans too woo Lady Anne into marriage,
?For then I?ll marry Warwick?s youngest daughter.
What though I killed her husband and her father??
This is so daring, Shakespeare has presented Richard with so much confidence, and that just proves what a villain he is.
?The readiest way to make the wench amends
Is to become her husband and her farther.?
That is an interesting way of putting it; Shakespeare is trying to portray Richard in an abnormal light. That is what makes Richard?s character. He says he can make amends for killing Anne?s husband and father in law by marrying her; the audience enjoy this weird logic.
Scene 2 is the scene where he does woo Anne. Shakespeare makes the audience think that Richard?s plan cannot possibly come true when Anne starts the scene by cursing him,
?Cursed be the hand that made these fatal holes!?
She positively hates him, which makes Richard?s achievement of getting her hand in marriage, just moments later, exceptional. She also does some cursing which will come back to haunt her later in the play,
?If ever he have wife, let her be made
More miserable by the death of him?
This is extremely ironic, as she will become his wife, and of course she will come to regret saying that, when Richard kills her off later in the play. Shakespeare planned this scene very well, showing the audience just how good Richard is at plotting, deceiving and flattery. This is all contrary to what he says; always denying he can do these things so he doesn?t arouse suspicion throughout the play, although the audience are always in on his plans and enjoy conspiring with him.
Richard and Anne trade remarks, Richard trying to flatter Anne, Anne cursing Richard. The starts of every speech highlight Richard?s first words. These are things like ?sweet saint?, ?lady? and ?more wonderful?. Anne speeches start with things like ?foul devil? ?villain? and ?vouchsafe?. Shakespeare gets Richard to flatter Anne, but he knows this will not be enough. Richard calls Anne ?a divine perfection of a woman?. But this gentle flattery will not be enough, so he tries to impress her with some daring, ?your bed-chamber? in answer to her angry retort that he belongs in ?some dungeon?. Anne gets completely thrown when Richard tells her why he killed the King and her husband,
?Your beauty was the cause of that effect ?
Your beauty that did haunt me in my sleep?
Anne is now confused, as it is a strange way of trying to flatter someone, saying he killed people to get her. She now has stopped her cursing, and has resigned herself to letting Richard have his say. Richard is now winning and can dictate the discussion. He really knows he has got her when she spits at him, as he knows she has no more reasonable argument, in fact he is so sure of his victory he tells her to stab him after giving him his knife, but she can?t and lets the knife fall. He then gives her an ultimatum,
?Take up the sword again, or take up me.?
Shakespeare presents Richard here as someone who can take anything that anyone can throw at him and turn it to his advantage. The audience know this and are wondering if this will end happily for Richard or not, and they are beginning to think that he might pull it off, with such mental strength and cleverness.
In Scene 3 there is a congregation of all the main people in the play, and they are all at each other?s throats. They complain about Richard and how he might become a dreaded protector to the two princes. Richard comes and pretends to be offended,
?They do me wrong and, and I will not endure it!?
And also,
?Cannot a plain man live and think no harm?
He wants to keep up his pretence that he is ?poor, crippled Richard? that is not up to much, and is not a threat to anyone. He knows that people are beginning to suspect him, and wants to gain the advantage to get his retaliation in first.
Shakespeare has developed Richard?s character more by showing how well he can lie with all these important people around him. This is important, as his lies get more frequent throughout the play, as when he tricked the mayor into believing Hastings was a bad man to justify his killing of him,
?The peace of England and our persons? safety,
Enforced us to this execution.?
However the former Queen, Margaret, comes in, and for the first time in the play, Richard has met his match. Margaret is not fooled by Richard one bit, and tells him and everyone else so. Unfortunately everyone regards her as mad and takes little notice,
?Dispute not with her. She is a lunatic. ?
Later the audience will realise she speaks the truth,
?Thy friends suspect for traitors while thou liv?st,
and take deep traitors for dearest friends!?
She is an intriguing character because she wants to disrupt the ranks, and make them suspect each other of being traitors, and also suspect Richard. Shakespeare has made this a sign of things to come, and the audience are starting to think that maybe Richard is vulnerable, as Margaret, in my opinion wins their battle of words. Although no one takes any notice of her at the time, they do come to remember it, as Margaret tells them to ?remember this another day.? They realise Richard has betrayed them all.
Richard?s vulnerability in this scene makes the audience rethink their decisions, when they thought he was perhaps invincible, and she makes them think he could be conquered, which of course he was eventually, by Richmond.
For the time being, Richard?s remorseless nature is shown at the end of Scene 3, when he ruthlessly tells two murderers to kill his brother Clarence, telling them to ?be sudden in your execution?, and showing he has no brotherly love whatsoever. This presentation of him by Shakespeare will be important when he again later tells a murderer to kill the two little princes, and the audience will remember how callous he was to his loving brother.
In conclusion, Shakespeare has presented Richard in a brilliant light in the first Act, and he has always made him show his true intentions. Shakespeare has not had Richard hide anything, and the audience knows exactly what he is doing and thinking all the time. He provides insight into what could happen later in the play, and leaves clues to whether he can claim, and keep, the crown, and who could stand in his way or stop him. The audience feel on his side, and want him to succeed, as Shakespeare has always made him take the audience into his confidence with his soliloquies towards the audience and not the fellow characters. The audience know he is conniving, deceitful and remorseless but they are behind him in spite of their reservations about his wickedness, and Shakespeare has written a perfectly entertaining play.
Word Count: 1936
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