Trial Essay On Richard III and Looking for Richard (Module A)

Resource Description

This was my HSC and trial essay for Module A Textual Conversations (Richard III and Looking for Richard). I got 18/20 for this essay – hopefully it’s a good guide for anyone starting to prepare!

Module A Essay: Richard III and Looking for Richard

Language, despite changing contexts and audiences, has always remained fundamental to humanity’s understanding of the world and the ways we communicate. Through the portrayal and representations of key characters, the complexity and changing nature of human values is explored in William Shakespeare’s tragic play ‘Richard III’ (1593) and Al Pacino’s documentary drama film ‘Looking for Richard’ (1996) [LFR]. Shakespeare wrote under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, whose family had historically feuded with that of King Richard III and the Plantagenets. General society’s perception of the real Richard at the time was significantly influenced by this, as seen in the antagonistic and Machiavellian portrayal of the Richard character. Pacino’s reimagining of the play revitalises the integrity and core character representations of Shakespeare’s original while adapting it to a contemporary audience in a post-modern world. Pacino feeds off the creation of Shakespeare’s Richard to create a villainous persona for both himself and his character that relates to a contemporary social and political context free from the religious and ideological restrictions of Shakespeare’s time. Through a range of language features, these texts communicate with each other about the manipulation of language in the pursuit of power and the power of performance in creating audience engagement to compare the integrity of language and human values across different times, mediums and contexts.

Power and control are values upheld by humanity all throughout history. Language is a strong device that can be used and twisted to manipulate others to gain power. In Richard III, a key user of this device is Richard, a master manipulator who uses language as his tool for seeking power. In Act I Scene II, Richard persuades Lady Anne to marry him despite his murder of her husband and father-in-law. Through the masterful use of anaphora, “But ‘twas thy beauty that provoked me / But ‘twas thy heavenly face that set me on”, Richard is able to reiterate his words and become extremely persuasive to Lady Anne who surrenders reluctantly.