Context/Perspective
When a government derives its authority directly from a religion.
What is theocracy? (And yes, the Divine Right of Kings, or The Great Chain of Being explains how theocracy works)
What value/lens does Pacino investigate Richard III's character through?
Psychoanalytical lens
Name two form features of Shakespeare's play.
Chronological / five act structure / formal language structure - iambic pentameter
Evaluate the following quote stating who says it, where it occurs in the play and what value/perspective it exemplifies:
Alarum. Enter Richrad and Richmond. They fight. Richard is slain. A trumpet sounds retreat. Enter Stanley Earl of Derby bearning the crown.
What is Act 5, after the 13 lines of the Battle of Bosworth. It is the stage directions describing Richard's demise and it exemplifies the restoration of the Great Chain of Being - the rightful king is to be crowned.
'I want someone very young.
How young?
As young as you can get.'
What is the context of this statement and who is talking?
This is a conversation between Kimble and Pacino when they are discussing the casting of Lady Anne. They go for the star power of Winona Ryder. The subtext of their conversation is that female actors are hired on their youth and beauty, rather than their experience and skill.
When laws and social mores are established without religious or spiritual influence.
What is a secular society?
What value/lens does Shakespeare investigate Richard III's character through?
A devil's curse, due to his physical deformity.
Names three form features of Pacino's docudrama?
What are vox pops / rehearsal scenes / dramatic recreation / expert interviews / voice-overs? (any 3)
Evaluate the following quote stating who says it, where it occurs in the play and what value/perspective it exemplifies:
I would I knew they heart
'Tis figured in my tongue.
I fear me both are false.
Lady Anne after Richard's proposal. She know he is false and manipulative but is powerless to refuse Richard's hand - she is a bargaining chip in a power play.
'They're trying to soothe her because she is an hysteric. They've got a lady here that is way out of control.'
Context and analysis?
Kimball is explaining the court's (and by extension his) response to Queen Margaret's outrage at Richard's deviousness and warnings that he is dangerous. In doing so he outranges the actor performing Margaret's role, as he suggests 'by diminishing their (her words) importance, you diminish his (Richard's) actions.'
To legitimise Queen Elizabeth's God given lineage, the losers of the War of Roses (King Richards II III) were vilified. This is known as?
What is the Tudor myth?
When marriage is used as a tool for social, financial and political advancement, rather than as a romantic attachment, what power being wielded?
What is Patriarchal Power?
Why was the writing of plays a good medium for Shakespeare?
Plays were popular entertainment in the 1590s-1620s, the common man couldn't read or write but was versed in the politics of the time and enjoyed a good performance.
Evaluate the following quote stating who says it, where it occurs in the play and what value/perspective it exemplifies:
See where his grace stands, tween two clergymen.
Two props of virtue for a Christian prince...a book of prayer in his hand.
Said by Buckingham of his friend Richard, to present Richard as a noble, righteous man, to convince everyone that Richard would be perfect as King. Richard stands sanctimoniously humble, plotting to kill his nephews whilst this is happening.
What does Pacino say when he is analysing the scene where Richard stands between two clergymen with a Bible in his hands, faking piety?
We know he's as hard as nails, that he is only pretending to be religious.
What does Pacino state is his purpose (and what can the audience perceive is his purpose) for using 'King Richard III' as the subject of his docudrama? (2 points)
Pacino: 6:07 ...by taking this one play, "Richard III," analysing it, approaching it from different angles, putting on costumes, playing out scenes, we could communicate both our passion for it, our understanding that we've come to, and in doing that, communicate a Shakespeare that is about how we feel, and how we think today. Also, Pacino is attracted to play powerful characters such as The Godfather and Richard, it is something he is personally attracted to.
How is Religious Power wielded in Richard III?
1. When Richard uses the support of the church to become Lord Protectorate i.e. King. 2. When Shakespeare condemns Richard to hell by having 11 ghosts visit him validate his condemnation on Judgement Day.
Why is the choice of docudrama an appropriate medium for Pacino?
Film is the medium which reaches the widest audience. The hybridity of documentary and dramatic performance allows for editing choices which provide the best possible selection of material.
Evaluate the following quote stating who says it, where it occurs in the play and what value/perspective it exemplifies:
I am so far in blood that sin will pluck on sin.
Richard says this in Act 4 to acknowledge his own lack of redemption. He is a villain through and through. When even Buckingham refuses to murder his nephews, suggesting that everyone has their limit, Richard determines he has no limit and will keep perpetuating evil until his end.
'The battle is really the ghost scene, the ghost scene is the battle.'
Provide the context and the analysis and the values embedded in the quote.
Said by an academic expert in an interview with Pacino and Kimball, he is talking about Act 5 in the play. For Shakespeare, Richard's death knell is rung by his visitation of the 11 ghosts, he will be damned on Judgement Day. The antimetabole makes the concept memorable, the battle being the ghost of Richard fighting - he is already metaphorically dead - and the ghost scene is the scene where Richard battled with his demons and lost.
The era which embraced challenges to great narratives, considering them through feminist, multicultural and post-colonial perspectives is known as?
What is post modernism?
How is political power validated in the Elizabethan period in which 'Richard III' was performed?
What is hereditary succession + the Great Chain of Being + patriarchal alliances + support of the Church + political marriages.
Cite two instances where form of the original text has been modified to suit a contemporary audience.
The way Clarence's death is re-imagined, to suit a more blood thirsty crowd. The way retribution on Richard is reimagined so that rather than Judgement Day being his most telling punishment, being killed in battle is his condemnation.
Evaluate the following quote stating who says it, where it occurs in the play and what value/perspective it exemplifies:
Methought the souls of all that I had murdered/ Came to my tent, and every one did threat / Tomorrow's vengeance on the head of Richard.
What is Act 5, after the 11 ghosts visit Richard and just prior to the final battle and it is a symbols of God's vengeance on Richard's evil.
What is is that Vanessa Redgrave says, 'Shakespeare's great play is all about.'
'The truth is that those in power have total contempt for everything they promise, everything they pledge, and that really what Shakespeare's great play is all about.'