Van Elk Speech Analysis

The first three pages of this article provide a brief outline of what van Elk will be discussing and what she is trying to get her students to think about or realize during and after they read the play. Then, she reads Greenblatt’s introduction to Richard III with the students. Afterward, van Elk presents her students with The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare to help them understand the history and society that influenced Richard III. In addition, she suggests having students read sections of An Homily against Disobedience and Willful Rebellion, The Prince by Machiavelli, and The Anatomy of Abuses by Stubbe because they express interesting viewpoints on identity. All of these resources help to build the students’ background knowledge to prepare

She has her students focus on the theoretical, ideological, and metaphysical views of the play. During the discussion, the students consider how Richard’s deformity affects his character and question if his deformity is portrayed solely as a negative characteristic. To illuminate this idea, van Elk has her students read a section of Henry IV when Richard talks about the unusual timing of his birth. Through discussion, van Elk wants her students to critically think about their interpretations and thoughts on the play. She includes film in her teaching strategy as well by showing the beginning and ending of Laurence Oliver’s 1955, Jane Howell’s 1983, and Richard Loncraine’s 1995 films. After viewing all three opening monologues, the class has a discussion about the different representations of Richard and how that affects the audience’s perception of him. The endings of these three films vary, so van Elk uses their differences as a tool to show students that there is more than one way to interpret the play. Martine van Elk’s goal is to get her students to develop their own understanding of the play in relation to their views on the politics, history, ideology, and