Richard III: Shakespeare e Al Pacino

RICHARD III: SHAKESPEARE E AL PACINO

Looking for Richard - Richard III. The movie we have just seen is titled “Looking for Richard” by Al Pacino and is a docudrama about Shakespeare’s history “Richard III”.

William Shakespeare is the most popular English playwright and very often considered the best of all. He was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and lived then in London. He died in 1616 in his birth town; so he lived under the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. This is very important because the facts he narrates in Richard III involve Queen Elizabeth’s ancestors, so the play follows closely the official party line of the Elizabethan period. The play, a history, is set at the end of the War of the Roses (Guerra delle due rose), a bloody period of civil war in English history. It is a period of violent fights for power between two families, the Lancasters (red rose) and the Yorks (white rose), both symbolized by a rose, but of different colour – that is why it is called the War of the Roses.

Richard III: appunti d'inglese

RICHARD III: SHAKESPEARE

Both families descended from the last Plantagenet king, Edward III, so they both fought for the throne. The last Lancaster king Henry VI, had been deposed and murdered with his son (Lady Anne’s husband and father in law) by the sons of the York family: Edward IV, the new king, Clarence and Richard III. The action of the play begins shortly after this event. The history is about the murders and the plots perpetrated by Richard III in order to become king.
Richard III, duke of Gloucester, is the main character and the villain of the play. He has a deformed back and arm and he is lame. The deformity of his body reflects the corruption of his mind: he is evil, sadistic, manipulative, cruel, ruthless, power-hungry; but, despite this, he is also a highly charismatic and fascinating character. This is due to his language skills, his intelligence and his political brilliance. He is so good at using language and manipulating people that audiences sympathize with him. In his monologues he clearly declares his evil purposes, but even if we reject his actions it’s very hard not to like him and his genius. I wish I could have his mind!

William Shakespeare: vita e opere

RICCARDO III D'INGHILTERRA

The other characters are:
• King Edward IV, Clarence and Richard’s older brother
• Queen Elizabeth, Edward’s wife and mother of the two young princes, the heirs to the throne, and of princess Elizabeth who will in the end marry the earl of Richmond, the Lancaster who will defeat Richard III in the battle of Bosworth field
• The young princes who will be taken to the tower
• Buckingham, Richard’s right-hand man
• The earl of Richmond of the Lancasters. He is the one who will defeat Richard III in the end. He represents goodness, justice and fairness – in contrast to Richard’s treachery, perfidy and duplicity. He founded the Tudor dynasty – Queen Elizabeth’s I dynasty: this is why he’s portrayed in such a positive light. Hastings, a lord who will be killed by Richard but remains loyal to the family of King Edward IV till the end
• Lady Anne, the young widow of Prince Edward, the son of Henry VI who had been deposed and then killed by the York brothers
• Margaret who is the widow of the former king Henry VI. She hates Richard III and all the Yorks because they killed her family.

Dinastia Tudor e Stuart: riassunto

RICCARDO III AL PACINO

Margaret is an interesting character, even if she plays a minor role in the plot. She represents rage and pain and, with Lady Anne and even Queen Elizabeth later, she’s the symbol of how women had absolutely no power at the time. Without their husbands they don’t count anything; for instance Margaret depends on the charity of her family’s murderers to survive. This has made her an enraged and anguished woman; she tries to alleviate her pain by cursing the Yorks, and mainly Richard III. Her curses are a very important element of the play, because they are in fact prophecies coming true in the end. Despite seeming out of her mind, she’s a very fascinating character and the actress playing her role in the movie is really good.