RIII and LFR quotes Flashcards
Roland Bart theory
Back in the 1960s French literary theorist, Roland Bart proposed a theory that texts are all related. His theory empowers us to interpret a pair of texts not as entirely separate but as two contributions to the same eternal conversation whether it’s deliberate or not pairs of texts will often connect or clash about similar ideas even if they are centuries apart humans really don’t change.
Opening scene quotes:
“unless to see my shadow in the sun”
cast his “shadow over the apparent royal sun.”
Shakespeare’s King Richard III opens with an eloquent soliloquy portraying Richards deceitful intentions of usurpation as the protagonist purposefully breaks the fourth wall in the opening soliloquy to establish his intention of defiance against the notion of providentialism. Here because of the Yorkist ascension to the throne, This line directly addresses readers and makes one aware of Richard’s almost innate cruelty and intentions as Richard duplicitously aims to defy the divinely appointed King and aims to cast his “shadow” over this apparent royal “sun.”
LRF interpretation of Richards opening soliloquy
In Pacino’s adaption, to appeal to his own audience, he fuses the originality of the character’s encounter with seraphic non-diegetic music to allude to Richard’s self-perceived divinity. Furthermore, the chiaroscuro lighting is a direct reflection of the duplicitous nature of Richard and the ongoing symbolic metaphor of the sun and shadow.
introduction
Reflective of his religious society, Shakespeare’s RIII confronts his audience with the retribution inflicted on Richard who challenges their divine order. However, Al Pacino’s in his adaptation chooses to reflect the individualistic society of the United States in the 1990s, by reimaging Richard’s downfall as a commentary on the rising egocentricity in society and portrays Richard to be confronted by his individual moral dilemma through a psychoanalytic lens. His film explores how one’s desire for power ultimately leads them to rely on manipulation and depiction, resulting in psychological turmoil as the individual ultimately becomes faced with their own moral corruption.
Purpose of richmond
Richard is portrayed as a contrast with Richmond who serves as the deus ex machina instantly resolving England of the royal tyrant. The disparity between the two is, however, best represented through their orations to their respective troops. “Ere I let fall the windows of my eyes. Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!” . This speech puts him in contrast with his foe. Richmond’s words show his piety, while Richard’s monologues focus on his treachery.
Conscience in LFR
In the staging of this scene the close-up shots of Richards tormented facial expression and Dutch angles create a sense of frenzy that mirrors the peak of his psychological torment. Kimball’s diegetic commentary that “Richard has let the pursuit if power totally corrupt him… alienated from his body and self” is overlaid upon the rapid cuts, depicting Richards destabilised psyche.
Conscience quotes (4)
“Thus, i clothe my naked villainy… and seem a saint when i most play the devil”
” Conscience is but a word that cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe.”
“O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me?”
“Despair and die.”
Cruel language to women in LFR
The purposeful and powerful alignment within Shakespeare’s patriarchal sentiments and the social silencing of the female voice, Pacino can effectively converse with both the original text and the viewers, highlighting how these same concerns and notions manifest within the contemporary West and are by no means exclusive to the contextual norms of the past. Furthermore, in Pacino’s adaptation, he employs the use of chiaroscuro lighting to depict Richard as a powerful and enigmatic figure who is easily able to find and target the weaknesses of Anne. Through these techniques, Pacino reshapes Richard’s wit from the play into sexual power for greater understanding by his modern-day audience and conveys women as a steppingstone in Richard’s pursuit of power.
The systemic suppression of female voice and views, as well as the suppressive nature of language surrounding females within literature and politics, is both a contextually driven value reflected within Shakespeare’s R3 as well as reshaped and affirmed within Pacino’s LFR conveying the powerful, albeit concerning notion that patriarchy sentiments have and continue to manifest within the Western world.
The suppressive and cruel language that surrounds women is explored within Richard’s vilification of Lady Anne following his successful attempt to ‘woo’ her, “Has she already forgot… her Lord whom I since three months stabs? And yet she abases her eyes on me.”. The line, whilst ironic, highlights how the language surrounding women was almost cruel in nature, irrespective of whether the male was satisfied.
Deformity in LFR
In Looking for Richard, alternative scapegoating devices to Richard’s physical deformity, such as shadows and black costuming, are used. This demonstrates how our society has shifted from providentialism towards free will since this symbol for evil does not need any prerequisite beliefs in the divine. The secular shift is also visualised when Pacino explains explicitly the evil implications behind body defects. The word “deformed” accompanies compressed frames of Richard, which speeds up with quickening jump cuts. Pacino disorients the audience, needing visual cues to properly communicate that it is fragmentation of the mind that motivate his sacrilegious actions.
Deformity in LFR
In Looking for Richard, alternative scapegoating devices to Richard’s physical deformity, such as shadows and black costuming, are used. This demonstrates how our society has shifted from providentialism towards free will since this symbol for evil does not need any prerequisite beliefs in the divine. The secular shift is also visualised when Pacino explains explicitly the evil implications behind body defects. The word “deformed” accompanies compressed frames of Richard, which speeds up with quickening jump cuts. Pacino disorients the audience, needing visual cues to properly communicate that it is fragmentation of the mind that motivate his sacrilegious actions.
Deformity in RIII
Shakespeare accentuates Richard’s deformity to emphasise the evil identity of his protagonist. Physical deformity in Shakespeare’s time was divine retribution for the wrongs of one’s ancestors and was seen as motivation for the pursuit of evil.
