Richard III & Looking For Richard Help! (1 Viewer)

DoctorLove

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So i'm in year 12 this year, finishing finally, 09'.
And our class is currently studying "Richard III and Looking for Richard".
Within our school are 3 advanced classes, and my class seems to be screwed!
:argue:

We have not been given any notes on either of the two chosen texts and were told to 'go home and read Richard III on our own' only to have to undertake a 'plot test' two days later. Nor are we even given the chance to study it in class or have discussions. Our teacher expects us to know this on our own, and is not giving us any aid. [she is an extension english teacher, clearly not cut out for adv english]

Not only did our ugh of a teacher expect us to be able to read a play on our own and understand, she expected it from us without notes and read in two days!

-> The other two classes are reading the play as a class, taking down notes as each of them come up with them, and their teacher is writing endless notes out for them while discussing it!

In saying this, i was hoping that someone else studying these horrible texts had ANY notes from class, on either of the texts. Whether they be quotes, practice essays, or just notes on the text.

Our class is in trouble, and we are so unfairly disadvantaged, we are going to go forward and complain.

But in the meantime if ANYONE PLEASE HAS ANY NOTES, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. : )

Thankyou :pirate:
-Hayley
 
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tme59

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try a study guide - they are pretty cheap and give you the basics - buy one or check out your library - for Richard III - probably not available for Looking for Richard - but it will give you a base to build on - goodluck
 

ngocthile

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Hayley,
They are very hard texts when paired together like this, and im surprised you arent getting much support from your teacher. Maybe you could borrow notes from people in the other classes?
Otherwise try:
connections are obviously there, otherwise you wouldnt be studying them... figure out what the connections are i.e. plot, characters, themes, language etc.
then look at how each composer represents, depicts or communicates this to their responders. you will need to consider things like the medium of production and their associated techniques.
then consider how this has/hasnt enabled you as a modern day responder to make a deep connection with the original play.
 

yeah.josie

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yeah i am doing the same thing in my class.
And i am the same as you, i have no idea on it at all.
If you did end up receiving any notes, some help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 

SharaJayadevan

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aaaaaaaaaaargh

i feel the frustration Hayley

im doing the same text as u and our teacher is being all air-head abt her knowing everything

she hasnt given us ANY notes watsoever

and we hav an in-class essay in less than a month!
 

karasu

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Send me as well please i am having trouble....

..email is jcrash321[at]hotmail[dot]com

..thx
 

mouskin92

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hi all!

i can totally understand your situation right now as i also have to study the same texts (when i would rather be doing something else)

i actually have a major assessment tomorrow on both of these and was scrambling for material online before i found this post!

first of all...CALM DOWN!!!

it is super easy to find quotes online...just use google.

Richard III (1592) :

what you have to understand about the character Richard is, he is extremely honest to himself and is capable of drawing out and exploring everyone else's faults (basically becomes exquisitely in tune with them) and takes advantage of them and plays off them as they arise. This is where he is most dangerous (quote) "It's the women's fault". He is also well aware of deception directed towards him. He wants the throne for himself and does so by killing off any other heirs. His eldest brother, King Edward, is dying and richard needs him to kill Clarence before he dies, so he sets it all up and both Edward and Clarence die. Then Richard also kills off the children, hastings, rivers and anne (plus other) to get there.

The quote
"This day should Clarence closely be mewed up
About a prophecy which says the 'G'
Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be." (Act 1 Sc 1)
-is basically a prophecy told to King Edward has been set up by richard on his way to gain the throne. In the eyes of the king, 'G' stands for Clarence's first name 'George', but it actually stands for 'Gloucester', which Richard is the duke of.

Richard also heavily uses double meaning for example "Brother, farewell. I will unto the king" this quote in Act 1 Sc 1 is richard saying a simple farewell to Clarence who believes he is simply saying it because he is parting from his presence, but richard saying farewell because he will die very soon. this is backed up by "Well, your imprisonment shall not be long" a couple of lines later pertaining to his quickly approaching demise.

you should also take notice of use of irony throughout the play "Cursed the heart that had the heart to do it" (Act 1 Sc 2 by Anne)
this is also a very important scene as it exposes Richards seductive side. while he claims he is 'rudely stamped', shakespeare exposes his ability to seduce simply through a tennis match of words between anne and richard with richard twisting anne's words somewhat. he is actually most deceitful when he is really telling the truth, because the real truth is too unbelievable. "But since you teach me how to flatter you" richard actually manages to turn a woman who starts off cursing him, to being persuaded into later becoming his wife (whom he kills, because she is needless to him) Two really useful quotes follow after she exits, which display to the audience richards intentions for anne and the future:

"Was ever woman in this humor wooed?
Was ever woman in this humor won?"
and
"I'll have her, but I will not keep her long."

*exhales*...there i hope that helps even a little bit in trying to understand Richard.
also, if you buy a copy of richard III with notes disecting each page on the opposite side of the text, it really helps.


Looking for Richard (1996):

Looking for Richard incorporate the famous Al Pacino. you should his other films such as Scarface, to really get an understanding of him as a person and how he acts.
the main question when you face this docu-drama is "how does he make it accessible to modern american audiences?"
the answers are:
themes
choice of costuming - Elizabethan
soundcraft
techniques (such as camera angles, interviews, voice over, switching between fully costumed to arguing around a table...etc)
dialogue
settings

...plus more

the technique of switching between practising and then in costume is a highly effective technique used by Pacino to create a modern setting. Also, seeing behind the scenes, when actors are arguing and discussing and stumbling through the text just like a anybody else etc. allows the audience to feel more on the same level as the actors and not as if they are simply watching that can do things they can't. this in turn makes it a hell of a lot more accessible to the intended audience.

Al Pacino uses the fact the R III is a play full of irony, so the film is also full of irony. "Irony is just hypocrisy with style" (Barbara Everett)
definitions of irony: wishing people good speed, but actually wishing them to their death.

you'll notice that Pacino is actually a little obsessed with richard and is almost a bit conceited when it comes to playing his part. you see that queen elizabeth's and richmond's (especially in the final scene, what a crappy battle!) power is downplayed heavily. i personally believe Pacino could be a bit full of himself and is not making the film as accessible as it could be.

while the original play was written about acting and to showcase an elizabthen actors talent, the film is about actors and acting. you can use this as a connection, but explore it more to gain evidence, concepts, etc.

something i found really handy was the entire script of the film here:
Looking For Richard Script - transcript from the screenplay and/or Al Pacino movie about the making of Richard III

it was easier to break down the film and gain quotes from this script.

these are good quotes i collected:

"actors on the stage, not knowing where they are going, not knowing where they are"

"you think that you are communicating but the other person hasn't understood a word you said" (discussing comprehension of shakespeare and its language, same with the following quote)

"you have to be in tune with it, you have to tune up."



(discussing Shakespeare's language an actor demonstrates the differences between todays language and shakespeare's)
'people say, "Hey you, go over there, get that thing, and bring it back to me", but shakespeare would say, "Be mercury, set feathers to thy heels, and fly like thought from them to me again."

"Richard III is too complicated" (helps to align actors with audience)

"Shakespeare, what the fuck do you know about Shakespeare?"

"He (shakespeare) instructed us."

"Great words, great meaning"

"irony is just hypocricy with style"

"The music, and the thoughts, and the concepts, and the feelings have not been divorced from the words, and in england you've had centuries in which england has been totally divorced form truth, and thats a problem for us actors."

this next quote was said by an african american, who they found on the streets, who seemed uneducated, but he came out with this which is amazing:
"And we think words are things, and we have no feelings in our words, and we say things to each other that don't mean anything. But if we felt what we said, we'd say less and mean more."



ok.... my brain is totally fried. i hope this makes sense and is not too confusing. the best thing to do is take your time and pace yourself, don't leave everything to the last minute, as i have done... lol

from Mikki :)
 

Dannnyku

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hey we're doing this for advanced too! can't find notes on Looking For Richard either... =[ assessment tasks next week :cold:
 

KaosFalcon

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wow man thats a lot of info.... we have a test tomorow about making these connections and we're doing this in year 11... wtf? and u guys are doing it in year 12.....
 

vantastic

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does anyone know where i can find a DVD of looking for richard? i've tried lookig at jb, sanity, and my local dvd rental stores, but i can't find it anywhere! I seriously need it to make notes for english as our teacher expects us to have a copy...
 

vantastic

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does anyone know where i can get a dvd/vhs of looking for richard? i've tried jb hi-fi, sanity and my local rental stores but nobody has it! i need it as our teacher expects us to have a copy to make notes.
anyone with info email me on mad_ness13@hotmail.com
(i don't know how to check msg replies on the community section...)
 

butterflybek

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does anyone know where i can find a DVD of looking for richard? i've tried lookig at jb, sanity, and my local dvd rental stores, but i can't find it anywhere! I seriously need it to make notes for english as our teacher expects us to have a copy...


If you sign up with 'quick flix' (look on google for it) then u can hire it and have it for as long as you want along with other movies :p



i am also doing Richard III and LFR and i like it... well i like shakespeare but dont like having to compare it to LFR.. bleh... i am doing too much study and have trials on monday! I GOT THE FUZZIES
but i am half way through summaries (Advanced eng, gen maths, bio, pd, drama) :)
 

oh-em-gee

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Honestly, Module A is probably one of the easiest to comprehend independently. I'm sorry, but if you're doing Advanced, you should be spending at least half as much time studying at home as you do at school. It's not about something that everyone gets straight away - it's about working hard at it.

Besides, now that trials are over, there's absolutely no reason to keep secrets among schools. You should all be sharing your resources to maximise your score as a group.

Some of the basic links would be: Purpose, as popular entertainment; both pacino and shakespeare sacrificing accuracy for the sake of drama; techniques used in the ghost scene before the battle of bosworth field, comment on anaphora, use of supernatural, and flashbacks, voice-over, fast-cuts.
 

m1234

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if anyone has any notes or past essays i would really appreciate looking at them (PM) ..don't understand how to connect.
 

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