Preview

Compare Richard Iii and Homecoming

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
544 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Compare Richard Iii and Homecoming
Write a comparison between 'Richard III' by William Shakespeare and 'The Homecoming' by Harold Pinter

To introduce, the extract taken from the play 'Richard III', is scene Act 1 Scene 2. It can be considered one of the many iconic scenes in Shakespeare's 'Richard III'; and arguable one of, if not, the most iconic for its importance in showing the power of influence displayed by Richard over Lady Anne. Whereas, in 'The Homecoming' this scene is between Ruth (the wife of Teddy) and Lenny (Teddy's brother), this scene is important in its own right, for it showing Ruth's lack of respect for her marriage.

As the whole, the "Homecoming" extract is written to be sexually suggestive, especially considering it is her first time meeting Lenny. She shows how she is ascertaining her authority over her husband, because of her lack of regard for him, and their union - and this is shown through her promiscuousness towards his brother; and the sexually charged conversation they have between them. Although, there are no sexual references in the 'Richard III' extract, there is a show of persuasion by Richard over Lady Anne, and him trying to get her to see that he is attracted to her, and this is somewhat similar to how Ruth is with Lenny, in her pursuit of him.

Richard has a confidence and arrogance to him, which he uses to his advantage especially with the knowledge of how fragile Lady Anne is; when Richard firsts enters, Shakespeare writes in the stage direction that she "spits at him". This is impactful on the audience, as they know straight away that this scene will be emotionally rough and aggressive between the interaction of Lady Anne and Richard III. The fact she "spits" at him, as soon as she sees him, without first talking to Richard III shows her to be furious and disgusted with him - she would rather show her disdain towards him through action rather than having to acknowledge him with speech that to him would be less impactful. Arguably, this seems

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The language is used in the scene to demonstrate Anne’s opinion of Richard as a cruel tyrant. Yet, through his cunning language, Richard is able manipulates Anne into marriage, increasing his political recognition to come closer to the crown and fulfilling his ambition.…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    King Richard’s ability as an actor within a play explores how this type of villainy was entertaining in the era of Shakespeare. Richard’s evil is immediately established as his moral deformities are clearly embodied in his physical deformities. In justifying his premeditated meddling, he personifies war in his first soliloquy. ‘Grim visag’d war hath supported his wrinkled front’ and moved to caper ‘ nimbly in a lady’s chamber!’ Richard’s nature: ‘Deform’d, unfinished’ thus justifies his evil as he cannot participate in the war -lovemaking atmosphere. This was obviously a form of entertainment to the Shakespearean audience who had known of the war of the Roses and Richard’s deformities.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Richard III is an historical play written by William Shakespeare during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, depicting the contentious rise to power of King Richard III of England and his short reign as King. Richard III is the final play in a cycle of eight plays written by Shakespeare dramatizing English history from 1398 to 1485. The theme of villainy is intricately explored throughout the play as one of its main themes. Shakespeare effectively explores the theme of villainy through the use of dramatic techniques such as character soliloquies and literary techniques such as symbolism. These techniques enable Shakespeare’s ideas of villainy to be developed and explored, which…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Shakespeare’s Richard III offers insights into the contextual concerns and values of Elizabethan England’ discuss the above statement with close reference to the play KR3…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A values that is used in both King Richard III and Looking for Richard is the value of integrity. In order to claim power to the throne, Richard uses much deceit and the misuse of power throughout the play, which highlights Richard’s lack of integrity. It is through such devious and detailed schemes that the audience is able understand the importance of the value of integrity throughout one’s life. One of the clear misuses of power can be seen in the scene of the innocent murder of the princes where Tyrrel expresses “The tyrannous and blood act is done, the most arch deed of piteous massacre that ever yet this land was guilty of…within their alabaster innocent arms. Their lips were four red roses on a stalk…A book of prayers on their pillow lay.” Through this quote, Tyrell describes the murder as the most ruthless in the country and pledges the innocence of the princes through their pure, white skin, red lips and uses religious imagery to describe their angelic innocence. The juxtaposition of the evil deed of their murder and the description of the innocence of the princes highlights the evil that has come out of…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Diction In Richard III

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As just young children, we are almost immediately taught about the power of our words. Parents constantly lecture children on the consequences of what they say, emphasizing how powerful just one word can be to someone. Often, we are taught this with bullying. A common saying we learned as children is “If you don’t have nothing to say, don’t say it at all.” Throughout Shakespeare’s epic, Richard III, there is a clear theme showing the power of word choice. Richard uses words to gain power, woo Lady Anne, motivate his army, and to trick Hastings in putting himself to death. Throughout Richard III, Shakespeare shows the power of diction in getting what one wants.…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    I have seen both the modernized version of the play and the film version of Shakespeare's play, "A midsummer night dream." In this text I will compare these two versions and write a short summary of the play, write about how the play different from the movie and what the differences are. I will then conclude with my own opinion about the piece. There are two interesting versions with many different features, but they are incredibly good both of them.…

    • 1927 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jane Eyre

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Our interest in the parallels between King Richard III and Looking For Richard is further enhanced by consideration of the marked differences in textual form. Evaluate this statement in the light of your Comparative Study of King Richard III and Looking For Richard.…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Richard Iii

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare also gives great insight on Richard’s mind via diction. In Richard’s opening lines he specifically says, “Our dreadful marches to delightful measures” (1,1,8). Instead of fighting the Lancasters Richard (and his family) are in a time of harmony. He intentionally changes the negative word to a positive. Lines like these are all throughout the opening soliloquy. Richard allows the audience to see that he is at peace, that he is relaxed. By his big soliloquy in Act 5, Richard’s attitude is down. He’s worried about all the deeds he’s done. He directly states, “Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am:” (5,3,211). Not only does he leave the negative word of “murderer” in the sentence, but he…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Much Ado and Richard Iii

    • 2785 Words
    • 12 Pages

    In RIII, Richard is plotting against everyone in order to gain control of the thrown. The first glimpse of his conniving personality is from the very first scene in act one. “To set my brother Clarence and the King In deadly hate the one against the other” (I.i.34-35). This portion of Richard’s opening speech specifically details part of his plan to take the title as King. In this quote it is evident that Richard is going to instill death upon others in order to take what he wants. This opening speech details important aspects of who he is. He explains that he cannot be happy. The reason for his unhappiness though is only because he believes that a woman would not want any sexual…

    • 2785 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This quote also relates to the African Company presents Richard III, in a few ways. Ms. Johnson who is to play Ms. Annie in the play represents fed up individual of the African American race. She is opposed to playing the character Annie because she thinks that she is weak. “I don’t want people seein’, goin’ round thinkin’ I’m the…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chosen Topic: Many directors have staged and filmed conceptualized versions of Shakespeare’s work, hoping to derive new or unexpected meaning from old plays. Does Almereyda’s 21st century interpretation of Hamlet intensify or diminish the play’s “greatness”? Make a strong case, using examples from the film to support your argument.…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Compare the ways in which Shakespeare presents the two kings in these extracts from Richard II and Macbeth.…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Richard Iii Conscience

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The attack of "conscience" that King Richard suffers in Act 5, Scene 5 of Shakespeare's Richard III (133-157) can be seen as the psychological climax of the drama, one that is critical to both Richard's development as a character and the play's ultimate success. Richard's struggle to reconcile the many different roles he attempts to play into one unified self, reflected in the tone and composition of his speech, adds depth and humanity to his character; at the same time, his ultimate failure to maintain his "self-made" identity simplifies the play in a way that allows the author to satisfy his audience by punishing the villain and reaffirming the world views that Richard's character appears to challenge (Luxon). While examining his own vision of himself, Richard finds his identity at a breaking point, and is forced to rely on the very ideas he used for his own advantage to judge himself. As the king, who seemed to be above the "afflict[ion] of "coward conscience" (5.5.133) is overwhelmed by the many different conceptions of who he is that are presented in the play, the audience cannot help but feel a mixture of sympathy and relief.…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Both extracts are obviously dramatic texts, although the differences between Shakespeare and Pinter are considerable. Set in 1592, Shakespeare’s Richard III focuses on the epic story of a man striving to be king at any cost. By contrast, Pinter’s post-modernist concerns highlighted through this ‘kitchen sink drama’ focuses on the claustrophic oppressive domestic world of an ordinary family. Shakespeare’s Jacobean reflection is equally as intriguing as Pinter’s view of society in 1965.…

    • 1423 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays