2010 HSC Question Analyse how the central values portrayed in King Richard III are creatively reshaped in Looking for Richard The work of Pacino is able to creatively place Shakespeare’s core ideals of humanist philosophy and the corrupting influence of power within a modern context, to reveal the perennial nature of the playwright’s central values. Shakespeare’s King Richard III (1592) identifies hereditary power as a potent force when the natural order is usurped. Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (1996) sees power within a democratic time and thus presents it as privilege, not a God-given gift, yet the two maintain a similar view of the dangers of authority without balance. Shakespeare’s time demanded a negative portrayal of Richard’s humanist ideals, where blame is placed upon the King’s lack of Christianity for his abhorrent acts. Pacino, however, contends with a time where it is increasingly becoming the norm, but still contends with a society that can be considered moral devoid in some manners, and thus the importance of spirituality and thought is evident in both.
It will come to a conclusion deciding whether or not Ischomachus' conversation with Socrates gives a different picture of an Athenian marriage from the other law court speeches. Each author of these speeches has a very different intention. Xenophon, the writer of Ischomachus' conversation and a pupil of Socrates, is trying to make Ischomachus look like a fool. Ischomachus believes that his wife is perfect and so is their marriage however Xenophon and most probably the jury know she is far from perfect. In a Proof of Marriage, the writer Isaeus is trying to convince the jury the wife and mother had a legitimate marriage so the woman can inherit her father Ciron's estate.
By casting Richard (a York) as a villain Shakespeare is affirming to his Elizabethan audience of the emergent middle class and the nobility of the Tudor’s legitimate right to rule over England. The play also reflects the tension between providentalism and the growing secular interest in free will. This shift from God’s will to free will is particularly evident in the character of Richard as he fights for power and leadership, disregarding his conscience and religion. Al Pacino’s 1996 documentary Looking for Richard produced for an American audience that fails to see how Shakespeare is relevant to the world around them “It has always been a dream of mine to communicate how I feel about Shakespeare to others”. However like Richard III, Looking for Richard was set after another significant conflict in the Cold War.
. and if they aren't available, we might just as well have nothing at all" a conviction he would attempt to enact throughout his career. It would be fifty-five years later Tennessee William’s would attempt to create a new form of theatre to express the culture surrounding him. He appears amongst a cauldron of new creative styles where first amongst equals was the realism movement, a major influence over dramatists during this period, an influence that neither Williams nor Chekhov, though present, can be defined by. Instead for Williams the focus came in the exploration of the murky waters of internal truths, the lands hidden beneath the necessary social construction of man.
Patriarchy not only shows in commitment relationship like marriage, but also takes place in family relationship like father and daughter. When Egeus angry declares his right over Hermia and strongly denies her love for Lysander, As she is mine, I may dispose of her- Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death - according to our law Immediately provided in that case. (Act I, scene i, lines 40-44) Like Theseus in the first part of the play, Egeus illustrates a model of a father, who wants to gain every rights of his daughter. He points out the idea of
She was convinced that she had more right to rule over England compared to Elizabeth. Mary was the granddaughter of Henry VIII’s older sister, while Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a union that was much criticized as illegal and immoral. Elizabeth suggested that Mary marry Lord Robert Dudley and become heir to Elizabeth (who never married and was thus childless). Instead, Mary entered into a series of impetuous romantic relationships, starting with Lord Darnley; her secretary David Rizzio, and James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell who was suspected of killing Darnley. As a result of these romantic relationships, Mary had to abdicate her crown in favor of her young son, and flee to England.
She may be putting on a façade of love for her husband out of detest for the Suitors that are after her hand in marriage. The first thing that we hear about Penelope is from the mouth of Telemachus, which is a statement that may fuel the fire of doubts in the minds of those who do not trust Penelope. Athene is commenting on how surprised he is that Telemachus is the son of Odysseus, and Telemachus says that his mother tells him
English Question 1 Essay How has a comparative study of texts aided in your understanding of context in shaping values? The exploration of William Shakespeare’s ‘King Richard III’ and Al Pacino’s 1996 film ‘Looking for Richard’ depicts explicit relationships between the text and their respective audiences. The Elizabethan and 20th century context shapes the various values portrayed within the texts and through this a valuable connection is established. Pacino utilises the 20th century context through anachronisms to modernise the thematic value of Shakespeare. Richard III, in Shakespeare’s play, relentlessly pursues power on his quest for kingship in the late 16th century and this shows his lack of humanity compared with the 20th century.
Pacino’s Looking for Richard (LFR) draws on Shakespeare’s play King Richard III in his ‘docudrama-like-thing’ pursuing the goal of making Shakespeare more accessible for a notoriously uninterested 20th century audience. Through the connections implicit and explicit between the texts my understanding of the idea of legitimacy and language have been enriched through a relationship between the two texts where the appropriation affects the original text as well as the text influencing the appropriation. Despite differing contextual circumstances, the contestable nature of legitimacy and its fabrication of credibility is reflected in both LFR and RIII, whether it be over Shakespeare or monarchy. The reshaping of ideas in RIII has also illustrates
In fact, in Oedipus the King, the story of Adam and Eve, Beowulf, The Death of Arthur, and Othello we see that these three stages are somewhat followed according to Freud, but also differ in many ways. When first reading Oedipus the King, I thought that the father figure was Oedipus’ biological father King Laius and he was in conflict with him because of the attraction to his mother, King Laius’ wife, Queen Jocasta as in accordance with Freud’s three stages of the oedipal pattern. But in further review I realized that if the oedipal pattern was present in accordance to Freud’s theory then Oedipus’ adopted parents, Polybus and Merope, would have been the victims as they were the “parent figures” in his life. Freud states that, “in the Oedipus complex the libido was see n to be attached to the image of the parental figures” (28), but this was not the case with Oedipus. In retrospect, I realized that the father figure was in fact the Sphinx, as she had the object of desire which was access to the city of Thebes, the place where Oedipus decided to go to escape his fate.