Inner Evil Revealed in Film and BBC Productions of Shakespeare’s Richar

Inner Evil Revealed in Film and BBC Productions of Shakespeares Richard III All the passions of the irascible rise from the passions of the concupiscible appetite and terminate in them. For instance, anger rises from sadness, and, having wrought vengeance, terminates in joy. -- St. Thomas Aquinas In Richard III, Shakespeare creates evil personified. The fiendish protagonist conspires against kin, plots political takeovers, woos widows, sets assassins against children, and relishes each nefarious act. We watch Richards bravado with wicked glee and delight in each boasting comment sent our direction. Once the bad guy becomes seductive, even amusing, in his blatant cruelty, the playwright must(prenominal) intervene to counterbalance his own brilliant wit. But how can this devil Richard be brought to his knees with the appropriate high style demanded by the scripts momentum? Shakespeare leaves us the briefest of phase angle direction Alarum. Enter Richard and Richmond they fight Richard is slain (V.v.). Once the bloody dog is dead, Richmond prays for smooth-faced peace (V.v.2,33). So soon after Richards anguished dream of accusing ghosts, this closing scene enforces a mood described by Robert Ornstein as one of somber reflection, not of joyous celebration (263). However, the interpretative liberties taken by three twentieth-century filmmakers establish elaborated messages about the horrors of bloodshed, the inevitability of power struggles, and the mythmaking of villains. The 1982 BBC production takes the audience through a series of reactions the bloodthirst for revenge, the prayer for redemption, and the fantasy of hellish destruction. We watch Richard circled by soldiers, baited like a bea... ...thin this structure, his body will pull him downward with the mocking demands of its physical being (35). Structurally, the gargoyles often function as gutter drains, spewing forth wastewater to protect the aesthetics of the church. Similarly, Richard epito mizes our hatreds and cruelties, reminding us of the evil inside whether he cleanses our sins through his death depends on the directors approach to redemption and transference. whole works Cited Eccles, Mark. Richard III on Stage and Screen. Richard III. New York Signet Classic, 1988. 265-78. Hallett, Charles A. and Elaine S. Hallett. The Revengers Madness. Lincoln U of Nebraska P, 1980. (Epigraph) Ornstein, Richard. Richard III. Richard III. New York Signet Classic, 1988. 239-264. Spivack, Charlotte. The Comedy of Evil on Shakespeares Stage. London Associated UPs, 1978.