“Richard” Essay
Through the study of “King Richard the 111” written by William Shakespeare and
“Looking for Richard” directed by Al Pacino it is evident how significant the notion of
truth is in the context of our universal world. Both texts show how the use of various
language devices and cinemative techniques can be purposely incorporated to portray the
many notions of truth, including negative aspects of truth such as evil and deception, and
positive connotations of truthfulness.
Evil is a notion that proves the direct result of being untruthful. In both “Looking for
Richard” and “King Richard 111” the notion of evil is significant in contributing to the
characterization of the main character, Richard. In “King Richard 111” Shakespeare uses
strong willed language to further portray this, with one example being “I must prove a
villain”, a quote from Richard during his first soliloquy. This quote uses emphasis on the
“must” to alert responders that there is no doubt in Richard’s mind concerning his future
actions. This allows responders to be taken abrupt by the statement, and informs them of
the character that is to develop.
“Looking for Richard” however, opts for visual devices to help portray the
characterization of Richard as an evil, treacherous man. Al Pacino has dressed Richard all
in black clothing in his docudrama as a way to symbolize Richards underlying notion of
evil. Because this symbol of colour is so effective and apparent, it is almost a
subconscious reaction from the responder. Associating colour with emotion, the
responder uses the dark hues of the symbol as a change to be evoked by the strength of
emotion, and to begin their judgment of Richard straight away, thus proving that initial
impressions stay with the responder, and hence why untruthfulness is an important
concept to stress universally.
Truth can also be brought about concerning the notion of deceit. Manipulating the
concept of truth, Richard cons and deceives most of his loved ones in the play. After
killing his nephews, Richard is soon informed of the event, calling it a “terrible
treachery”, a quote that uses alliteration of the letter ‘t’ to further explain the seriousness
of this event. The responder is left feeling betrayed due to the fact that they know that
Richard has just masked himself, proving again untruthful.
In ‘Looking for Richard’ , Pacino associations Richards evil with easy to understand
links. “Richard is planning a takeover” is a quote from Pacino that uses simple language
in conjunction with quick editing fast cutes of the family members he plans to kill. The
incorporation of simple language and clever film editing comes together to give an
evident impact on the responder. Pacino’s purpose was to, quote, ‘reach an audience that
Shakespeare was no longer intended for” and by doing so, has achieved this effect of
instant realization that Richards character is deceitful within the responders. Universally,
and world wide, this film has portrayed just how important the notion of truth is, because
once it is tainted, your character is significantly impacted in life decisions.
The positive connotation to truth is also shown in the comparison to those two texts.
“King Richard 111”, though deceitful and manipulative, was always truthful about his
intentions for the throne. Along this process, Richard is referred to as a “uneched,
usurping boar”, a true representation of the character he turned into. This metaphor helps
explain to the responder just how anamalistic his actions are, proving a wild animal more
so than a man. By using quotes truthful to characterized representations, universally the
responder is able to be shown the extent of success that a positive connotation to a notion
such as truth can have.
“Looking for Richard” takes on this same positive connotation, but more so with
Shakespeare then Richard himself. This docu-drama demonstrates the harsh reality of
some truths when interviewing people about shakespeare on the streets of New York
City. Quotes that “it sucked” were a truthful representation of how the vox populi
considered Shakespeare’s work. This simple descriptive language technique is all Pacino
needs to hear in order to sum up the overall thoughts of the modern population, proving
the device significant and strong willed. Again, proving just how important truth is, this
quote further fuels Pacino in his purpose to make Shakespeare assessable to a modern
audience around the world.
In conclusion it is evident how the many connotations concerned with the notion of truth
are represented in both “King Richard 111” and “Looking for Richard.” These texts have
both shown the significance of language and cinematic devices in regards to evidence
when portraying a connotation of truth.