Richard III Values

Humans find resonance in connections to ideas, values and concepts. Art and literature are shaped by the society in which they are made. In this, the values of the contextual society will impact, in some way, upon the outcome come of the piece of work as the creator seeks to appeal to their audience. However, the values presented by Shakespeare in his tragedy, written in the 15th century, Richard III (RIII) transcend Shakespeare’s contextual world and coincide with the values we hold today. The continuing relevance of the play RIII is fuelled by our contemporary societies desire to re-evaluate the role of women, characterisation of villains (Richard) and the role of materialism in modern day contexts. This desire is depicted through the 1998
doco-drama ‘Looking for Richard’ (‘LFR’) by Al Pacino. Pacino explores his contextual society’s values and the impact they have upon art and theatre as he seeks to find connections and comparisons between the values of Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s contextual society and his own contemporary audience. - Shakespeare’s personal values are depicted through the text and the underlying meaning of the text lies with a valuing of women and this is what connects us to this text, ensuring resonance in a contemporary society.
Despite the contextual values, Shakespeare gives strong, prophetic and critical voices to the female characters of ‘Riii’. The women; ‘Anne’, ‘Margaret’, ‘Elizabeth’ and the ‘Duchess of York’ accurately depict the circumstances, characters and moral stances of the tragedy. ‘Thou hadst a Clarence too, and Richard killed him.’. Through mourning, cursing and prophesising the women provide insightful social commentary about the true nature of the nobility and their male counterparts. “Edward for Edward plays a dying debt”. The power of their speech and character is reinforced by strong animal imagery ‘rooting hog’ and Queen Elizabeth’s ability to match Richard in linguistics and wit “send to her by the man that slew her brother’. However, Shakespeare’s work is impacted upon by the ingrained values of his contextual society as his depiction of women and their role in the social hierarchy shows. Riii demonstrates that the thoughts of women are not valued highly; the audience is never allowed to see Elizabeth deciding to bestow her daughter on Richmond. Instead the audience is provided with Stanley's laconic report that ‘the Queen hath heartily consented / He [Richmond] should espouse Elizabeth her daughter’. This appeals to the nature of Shakespeare’s contextual
evidence as women are seen merely as a tool to ultimately ensure the resultant reign of Richmond and contrasts with our contextual societies values.
Similarly Pacino’s appeal to his contextual audience impacts upon his portrayal of the role of women.
Pacino proposes an egalitarian stance in order to maintain a connection with Shakespeare and his audience. Thus Pacino is inclined to include women and their thoughts in order to make Shakespeare accessible to the modern day audience. The use of women in the cast provides insight into female characters and the language. The insight of Vanessa Redgrave ‘Shakespeare’s poetry and his iambics floated and descended through the pentameter of the soul’ in bright lighting reflects a desire to include women in order to reflect modern American values and connect ‘LFR’ to the values of Shakespeare. However the values of women Pacino personally holds are evident as he seeks to connect with the values of Shakespeare’s contextual society rather than Shakespeare’s himself. The choice of a young attractive female actor for Anne and the dubbing and muting of her voice throughout conversation with Richard can be read as a valuing of women not for their skills or voice but for sex
appeal.

The characterisation of Richard and the nobility Shakespeare’s criticism of the nobility holds particular resonance in today’s society as we find connections between the autocracy and modern day politicians underlying the plot in ‘Riii’. Shakespeare critiques the overall upper-class by portraying Richard as a Machiavellian character. ‘I am determined to prove a villain’. Shakespeare’s critic of the choice to undertake evil throughout the autocracy is evident as Shakespeare explores the villainy and treachery of all the noble characters, bar Richmond. ‘Thy Clarence is dead that he stabbed my Edward”, “I had a Rutland too, and thou didst kill him’. The characterisation of Richard becomes the outlet in which Shakespeare recognises the corruption in the majority of autocracy as the choices Richard makes become a scapegoat for others to indulge in corruption as they seek power or wealth. This is evident in the inner dialogue speech of Bakenbury before Clarence’s murder. ‘I will not reason what is meant hereby, because I will be guiltless from the meaning.’
- however, Shakespeare incorporates elements of the vice figure in order to connect with his contemporary audience and adhere to the contextual belief systems ‘the formal Vice, Iniquity, I moralise two meanings in one word’. The reading of Richard the 111 is also impacted up by his inherent bias and access to only biased historical knowledge, the work of Sir Thomas Moore.
- Similarly Pacino acknowledges the Machiavellian character within Richard as the idea that one chooses one destiny is common belief in modern society. This is emphasised by Pacino’s use of a red filter, poetical scene changes and dramatic music in Richard’s Machiavellian monologue ‘Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am’ as he attempts to combine modern film techniques with a modern idea to appeal to his audience. Comparatively to Shakespeare Pacino indulges in the vice figure and does not question the superficial reading of Shakespeare’s Richard or its historical accuracy. Performance of vice villain (Pacino as Richard is continually shot in dark lighting with an emphasis in his disfigurement) , a character of true evil, can be seen as an appeal to his modern audience as it allows for greater dramatic play and promotes his own acting skills. This however, limits the depth of the character does not translate the relevance of Shakespeare’s values and ideas.

The role of materialism
Shakespeare critiques materialism and the desire for wealth and material possessions in the nobility as he acknowledges this desire as the driving force for un-lawful power and corruption. Within Clarence’s dream the “gems” ironically, “as 'twere in scorn,” mock the dead bones of the men who so misvalued life that they risked it for earthly jewels. These men are punished for their error, an error that all nobility within the play commit as all have a metaphoric gem for which each would give his life or the lives of others: Richard-his crowning, Brankenbury-his job, Edward-his kingdom.