Study Document
Richard III Research Paper
Pages:2 (580 words)
Sources:4
Subject:Arts
Topic:Richard Iii
Document Type:Research Paper
Document:#76362596
Garrick and Kean as Richard III
David Garrick in the eighteenth century and Edmund Kean in the early nineteenth would both make their reputations on performing the title role in Shakespeare's Richard III, but as with the stage history of King Lear in the same time period, they were not performing Shakespeare's text unaltered but in the adaptation of former poet laureate (and Alexander Pope's King of the Dunces) Colley Cibber. Nicoll relates that Garrick became an overnight sensation playing the crook-backed usurper: the morning after his debut, Garrick wrote to his brother "Last Night I play'd Richard ye Third to ye Surprize of Every Body & as I shall make very near 300 pounds p Annum by It & as it is really what I doat upon I am resolv'd to pursue it" (Nicoll 1). Meanwhile Green notes that "Richard III was Kean's most popular role, and he played it more than any other, using it to open many of his London seasons and virtually every new engagement in England and also in America during his tours there in 1820 and 1825" (510).
As a way of contrasting their styles, we may look at differing accounts of how each actor played the scene which contains the play's (arguably) most famous line. Garrick's biographer of 1801, Arthur Murphy, describes how Garrick had performed the battlefield scene:
The audience saw an exact imitation of nature… He was then on the eve of a battle, and in spite of all the terror of conscience, his courage mounted to a blaze. When in Bosworth field he roared out "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" All was rage, fury, and almost reality. (Murphy 17)
Meanwhile William Hazlitt -- who was a…
Related Documents
Study Document
Richard III Was One of Shakespeare's Earliest
Richard III was one of Shakespeare's earliest plays, and possibly aside from Titus Andronicus, one of his most brutal. This violence is contrasted with Shakespeare's use of supernatural elements such as dreams and curses, because these supernatural elements grant certain characters power who would otherwise be powerless in the face of the physical violence upon which Richard and his rise to power depend (even though Richard himself shies away from
Study Document
Richard III the Play, Richard
This version is different from the first two interpretations in that Al Pacino and his actors needed to break down the barriers, which render Shakespeare's history complicated and intimidating. Al Pacino allows his viewer to go behind the scenes and witness the actual process of acting. The heavier aspects of the play are made mild by informal shots of actors dealing with their roles in either a comic or
Study Document
Richard III Life and His Character
Richard III: Shakespeare's Humbert Literature is filled with characters that are designed to be lovable. For instance, Cordelia from Shakespeare's "King Lear" is the good sister: She cares not about Lear's bequest, but rather only focuses on her love and caring for her father. She is veritably sainted against the deep contrast of her mercenary sisters. Then there is Pnin, Vladimir Nabokov's lovable absent-minded and foreign professor of the novel by
Study Document
Richard III and Macbeth
Richard III and Macbeth In the plays of William Shakespeare, certain themes seem to appear over and over again. In both the stories of Richard III and Macbeth, very ambitious men use nefarious means in order to achieve leadership of their countries. Each man is in line for the throne, but has to deal with other people who are closer to the crown than he is. So, the title character takes
Study Document
Richard III the Un historical Underpinnings
This reinvention has continued in every era since, including in the modern film adaptation of Richard the Third starring Ian McKellan. Set just prior to World War II and with Richard as a fascist dictator who often appears quasi-Naziish, this film version gives much darker political overtones to Richard's climb and eventual reign than appear in Shakespeare's text. Though this makes the depth of Richard's evil far more profound
Study Document
Richard III & Macbeth Comparison/Contrast
They want to be king so badly that they can justify any action that helps them achieve their goal. These actions include murder. Both men become villains in different ways - Richard seems to have been born villainous and Macbeth seems to prove that villains are not born but made from outside influences. Shakespeare proves both assertions valid when we see Macbeth reach the same level of conniving and