Richard III Context

Texts are shaped by their compositional context and thus enlighten responders about the zeitgeist of the composer’s era. However, as there are ongoing concerns of humanity, key ideologies resonate over time and are shaped between texts as shown in William Shakespeare’s play ‘King Richard III’ (1591) and Al Pacino’s docudrama ‘Looking For Richard’ (1996). King Richard III examines the irrational behaviours and moral ramifications of a power lust in Richard to explore ideas of the relentless pursuit of power and divine retribution, shaped by a theocentric Elizabethan society. Centuries later, Looking For Richard explores Pacino’s journey to reshape a Shakespearean text that is representative of the changing contextual norms and values of a contemporary

Pacino states that he wants to show that King Richard III is about ‘how we think and feel today’, mirrored in the film’s subtitles ‘A four hundred-year-old work in progress’ suggesting for Pacino there are central values and ideas in the play that remain relevant for contemporary audiences. This notion reinforced by the African-American man who believes Shakespeare should be in schools ‘because then our kids would have feelings’ and ‘we wouldn’t be so violent.’, reflective of an American context with excessive violence and gun culture. Pacino’s representation of Richard clothed in black with a Chiaroscuro lit face is metaphoric of his duplicit and bureaucratic nature, likening his actions to the ‘canvas like politicians, complete with lies and innuendo’ to reflect the corruption and wide distrust in politicians in his era. A claim reiterated through a series of vox pops to enable contemporary audiences to understand this style of power is menacing, such as Vanessa Redgrave’s suggestion that people in power have ‘total contempt for everything they promise, everything they pledge’, the long shots of nobles being imprisoned serving to symbolise the harsh, unyielding treatment received by those who oppose Richard. These varying representations of Richard reflecting that no text is ideologically

Shakespeare’s text was set for a highly conservative and theocratic audience that believed in the idea of divine retribution for sins, an idea reflected in the death of Clarence who acknowledges his treason ‘thou wilt be avenged on my misdeeds, Yet execute thy wrath in me alone’ ( ) . The character of Margaret is also central to this idea, as she curses Richard with ‘sin, death and hell have their marks set on him’ ( ), the use of biblical allusions acting as a reminder of going against God’s will to the Elizabethans. Shakespeare’s use of biblical allusion directly critics the flaws of renaissance humanist philosophy that placed faith in the divinity and ability of the individual to design their own destiny. As such in Shakespeare’s morally didactic text, divine order has to be restored, culminating in the ghosts that haunt Richard ‘God and good angels fight on Richmond’ side’ and ‘Good angels guard thy battle’ ( ). The ghosts constant reference to angels acting as a reminder that there is a hell and Richard himself saying ‘For hateful deeds committed by myself. I am a villain’ ( ) acknowledges that he belongs there. Hence, it is evident texts act to reaffirm societal