Wednesday, February 29, 2012

New Richard III Quotation Quizlets!

Match the passage with the character who said it and when they said it!

Quotations for Acts I and II of Richard III
http://quizlet.com/_66q33

Quotations for Acts III, IV, and V of Richard III
http://quizlet.com/_66q5s

Have fun!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Monologue/Scene Options for Richard III, Act III, IV & V

In addition to the selections from Acts I and II that I passed out to you this morning, the following monologues/soliloquies/set speeches from the second half of the play are acceptable to memorize and perform for this unit:


Gloucester:  I cannot tell if to depart in silence (3.7.141-163)
Buckingham:  My lord, this argues conscience in your grace (3.7.164-190)
Tyrell:  The tyrannous and bloody act is done (4.3.1-22)
King Richard: Look what is done cannon be now amended (4.4.273.4-273.49)
King Richard: As I intend to prosper and repent (4.4.328-348)
Buckingham:  Hastings, and Edward’s children, Gray and Rivers, (5.1.3-10, 12-29)
Henry, Earl of Richmond:  Fellows in arms, and my most loving friends (5.2.1-25
                                                    (Incorporating lines of Oxford, Herbert, and Blunt)
King Richard:  Give me another horse! Bind up my wounds! (5.5.131-160)
Henry, Earl of Richmond:  Much that I could say, loving countrymen  (5.5.191-224)
King Richard:  What shall I say, more than I have inferred?  (5.6.44-71)
King Henry VII:  Inter their bodies as becomes their births. (5.8.15-41)

1.     The following scene is acceptable for memorization with a partner:

King Richard and Stanley:  Stanley what news with you? (4.4.387-429)


Thursday, February 23, 2012

Extrapolation: Here We Come!

We're going to spend some time in class tomorrow going over how to figure out what to include in a paragraph when writing a Response to Literature Essay.  Look at the example I've written up to show you what I'm talking about.  This example took me about 20 minutes to write and another 10 to edit the paragraph's first draft.


Significant Quotation:
“Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York.” ( Richard III, 1.1.1)
Content:
What does this line mean or imply?   (Paraphrase or explain.)
The son of the Duke of York has ended the nation’s troubles.  We are to infer through knowledge of the situation, he means the coronation of Edward IV, Richard’s brother.  But he may also mean himself. 
Form:
How does Shakespeare say it?
(Rhetoric, Poetic Devices, imagery, Rhythmic Deviation, Prose, etc. )
Shakespeare uses several devices in these two lines:
Double Antithesis:  winter/summer; discontent/glorious
Understatement/Hyperbole:  Discontent vs. Glorious
Pun: Son of York/sun of York
Double Meaning:  son of York – there are three sons of York. 
Iambic Meaningful Deviation:  Now – trochaic opener
Iambic Meaningful Deviation:  Anapestic intrusion: Glo/ri-ous Sum/mer
Matter:
Why is the associated effect created by the content and form important?
(What does their interplay say about a deeper understanding of some aspect of the play?)
Richard III is obviously a brilliant man to use all of these rhetorical devices in one line.  The use of antithesis suggests a mood of change and duplicity.  The understatement of “discontent” contrasting the hyperbole of “glorious” has a dramatic effect and combined with the homophonic pun relating to the “son” the overall effect is suggests sarcasm.  The meaningful deviation from the iambic line with the three syllabled “glorious” heightens this sarcastic effect. 
Furthermore, the ambiguity of which “son of York” Richard is referring, also lends a sinister overtone to his

Audience/Extrapolation:
To whom is this line important and why?
(Audience of the day, Audience today, the other characters, one character)
As this is a soliloquy, Shakespeare is introducing the main character to the audience, giving us insight into his character. Richard comes off as a bitter, sarcastic individual from the very first line. 
Context:
What is the author’s purpose in including this quotation for the world outside the play to hear?
Shakespeare sets up Richard III as a villain from the beginning of the story.  The Elizabethan audience, being aware of the story,  would have appreciated this portrayal. Portraying Richard as a villain from the start lays out the trajectory of the story.  Elizabeth I was a descendant of the man who eventually kills Richard, and therefore his heroism is heightened.  
Frame your paragraph with the most important/pertinent ideas from above:

Shakespeare frames Richard III’s villainous nature through his use of ironic rhetorical devices and dramatic figurative language that suggest sinister characteristics.  With the first two lines of the play: “Now is the winter of our discontent/Made glorious summer by this son of York,” (1.1.1-2) the playwright paints the title character as a complex villain.  The playing with opposites found in the antithetical use of not only “winter” and “summer” but also “discontent” and “glory” hints at his duplicitous nature.  Additionally, the juxtaposition of the understatement “discontent” with the hyperbole of “glorious” mocks the seriousness of the war-torn circumstances.  As these lines also begin an opening soliloquy, Shakespeare heightens Richard’s two-faced persona and wicked sense of humor through his homophonic punning about “this son of York.”  This play on words suggests Richard’s deceitful nature, considering the ambiguous antecedent for the word “son.”  Does Richard mean his brother King Edward IV or himself?  To complete the ironic effect, Shakespeare highlights the word “glorious” through its meaningful deviation from the predominant iambic rhythm.  The elongated word encourages the actor to give an indulgent, smirking delivery.   The complex construction of Richard III’s first lines would have had the Elizabethan audience immediately tuned into the playwright’s intent to vilify the title character from the moment he first walks onstage. 

Friday, February 10, 2012

Original Soliloquy Example!

Class -- I decided to create a soliloquy for Egeus after Theseus has overruled him in Act V.  If this soliloquy had been included in the actual text, can you imagine what a dark turn the story would have taken in an imagined Act VI?  Notice how I evaluated each line for its rhetorical and poetic components.  Some of them just happened, others were planned.  The resolution's couplet was a happy accident.

I hope this example inspires you to have fun with your soliloquy writing project!


u
/
u
/
u
/
u
/
u
/
Key
Exposition
A
gainst
the
law
of
A
thens
he
doth
rule

To
fa
vor
chil
dish
oaths
of
fick
le
love

And
all
my
thought
ful
coun
sel
he
doth
chide
Assonance: emphasizes “chide”
And
all
to
make
a
fool
of
me
this
night
Anaphora (and)
POA
No
wed
ding
dow
ry
shall
my
purse
give
out.
Synecdoche—purse for wealth
Complication
For
when
my
daugh
ter
threw
a
way
her
life
Hyperbole
Be
co
ming
join’d
un
to
that
three
legged
stool
Metaphor for idiot
All
rea
son
died
and
an
ar
chy
was
born.
Antithesis—died & born
Challenge
If
laws
are
bro
ken
fixed
con
fu
sion
reigns
Juxtaposition –
broken & fixed
And
no
com
punc
tion
I
feel
to
o
bey

Poor
The
se
us
will
rue
the
day
he
cross’d
Antithesis—
Poor & rich
E
ge
us
rich
with
an
ger
fed
re
venge
Enjambment
Crisis
No
lon
ger
will
I
stay
to
serve
this
duke

No
lon
ger
will
I
leave
my
will
un
done
Anaphora –
No longer will I
So
ere
I
go
with
Mer
cry’s
win
ged
speed
Allusion -- Mercury
A
ma
gic
al
po
tion
doth
yearn
to
work
iambic deviation:
potion
And
in
his
wed
ding
gob
let
toast
shall
rest.
Enjambment
Climax
One
sip
will
end
this
drea
my
sum
mer
night
Allusion to title
Resolution
His
nup
tial
wish
es
will
be
tray
his
breath

Since
he
be
tray’d
his
friend
he’ll
wish
for
death.
Rhymed couplet
Repetition—betray & wish