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!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
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!
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 |
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