Richard Iii Symbols, Imagery And Metaphore

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In William Shakespeare’s well-known play, Richard III, the use of various linguistic techniques such as symbol, imagery and metaphor are found within the text and are all elements that contribute in bettering the play. Throughout the text, symbols are used to help in characterizing specific characters, particularly the eponymous; imagery is used to evoke meaningful visuals and emotional responses and to help explore and communicate the text’s underlying themes; and metaphors are used as a method of conveying certain messages and meanings across to the audience in concise and interesting ways. Together, the achieved effect of these three techniques helps to considerably add to the power and effectiveness of the play. There are a considerable number of symbols that appear in the text, most of which are associated with Richard. They are aimed at portraying and emphasizing his sinful nature and monstrosity through his physicality and explicit physical representations of him. Richard’s depraved character is succinctly revealed to the audience as Shakespeare foregrounds his symbolically anomalous body as the main aspect of his characterization. In Richard’s opening soliloquy, he informs the audience of how he was born "deformed, unfinish'd" and was "sent before his time/ Into this breathing world, scarce half made up" and explains how his "lameness" was the cause of his utter lack of luck with women. Despite little historical evidence backing Richard’s actual deformity, he is nevertheless rendered exceedingly ugly by Shakespeare to symbolize his villainy and moral corruption as it was a popular belief back then that ugliness of form denoted ugliness of character. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s choice in animal for Richard’s heraldic symbol that is used to represent him multiple times during the play, the boar, is another example of a symbol that portrays Richard’s perverse
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