Each week I'll be reading one play from each genre. Beginning with "The Histories" I have chosen....
Why?
Richard III is the final installment of Shakespeare's history tetralogy---
–noun, plural -gies.
--which dramatizes the struggle between good (Richmond) and evil (Richard). It begins with the return of Edward IV to the throne and ends with the defeat of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth. Yes, he is defeated! But don't worry, that's not a spoiler. Bevington say's that Richard III is "the stuff of dramatic excitement." Throughout the play Richard confides in the audience with his evil plans and sets up the dynamic of verbal irony. Therefore, when his henchman says to Hastings, "The princes both make high account of you," and then to us he says with a hand to his cheek, "For they account his head upon the Bridge" we can cringe, knowing Hastings's severed head will soon be raised on a pole on London Bridge. Dramatic excitement!
Bevington say's that Richard should be grouped in the category of villians that include Iago from Othello because, like them, he is "driven by human motivation and by his preexistent evil genius." The actual history of Richard III and other literary portrayals of him have purposefully blackened his character as a way to use his example as lesson of what not to do as a ruler.
All in all, I'm looking forward to reading this play. In order to stay on track my schedule thus follows:
Mon (1/24) : Intro blog post (check!). Read Act I.
Tues (1/25): Read Act II & III
Wed (1/26): Read Act IV. Psych vs. Providence?
Thur (1/27): Read Act V. Political process? Restoration?
Fri (1/28): Watch Ian Mckellan's Richard III
Richard III
Why? - He's a villain king and seduces a woman into marrying him right after he's killed her husbad. I've got to see that. He just screams sketchy in that painting.
- Dr. Burton used "fascination of abomination" when describing this play--translation: reality TV at it's best.
- I've been told there are some great speeches.
What does Bevington have to say about Richard III?
Bevington (meaning the textbook for this class "The Necessary Shakespeare, 3rd Ed. by David Bevington) provides an introduction to each play with reference to history, theory and summary.
Richard III is the final installment of Shakespeare's history tetralogy---
te·tral·o·gy
[te-tral-uh-jee, -trah-luh-]
ə
1. a series of four related dramas, operas, novels, etc.
--which dramatizes the struggle between good (Richmond) and evil (Richard). It begins with the return of Edward IV to the throne and ends with the defeat of Richard III at the battle of Bosworth. Yes, he is defeated! But don't worry, that's not a spoiler. Bevington say's that Richard III is "the stuff of dramatic excitement." Throughout the play Richard confides in the audience with his evil plans and sets up the dynamic of verbal irony. Therefore, when his henchman says to Hastings, "The princes both make high account of you," and then to us he says with a hand to his cheek, "For they account his head upon the Bridge" we can cringe, knowing Hastings's severed head will soon be raised on a pole on London Bridge. Dramatic excitement!
Bevington say's that Richard should be grouped in the category of villians that include Iago from Othello because, like them, he is "driven by human motivation and by his preexistent evil genius." The actual history of Richard III and other literary portrayals of him have purposefully blackened his character as a way to use his example as lesson of what not to do as a ruler.
Some themes Bevington tells us to look for are:
- Psychology vs. Providence -- Did Richard III become ugly and deformed because of his evil nature, or is ugliness the precursor to evil? This may seem like an odd question, but it is something to look into.
- Was suffering under this tyrant ruler a necessary fall from innocence to bring "a restoration by divine grace" to England?
- "The political process seems endlessly prone to cynical manipulation, and triumph comes chiefly to those how know how to use rhetoric to calculated effect." ....Relevant to our day? YES
All in all, I'm looking forward to reading this play. In order to stay on track my schedule thus follows:
Mon (1/24) : Intro blog post (check!). Read Act I.
Tues (1/25): Read Act II & III
Wed (1/26): Read Act IV. Psych vs. Providence?
Thur (1/27): Read Act V. Political process? Restoration?
Fri (1/28): Watch Ian Mckellan's Richard III
