Through studying textual conversations, individuals can gain a greater understanding and appreciation of how respective composer’s contexts influence the resonances and dissonances between their texts. Set in 16th century Elizabethan England, William Shakespeare’s historical tragedy “King Richard III” (1592) explores ones duplicitous and evil nature due to an overwhelming lust of power, which in turn can corrupt them leading to the inevitable retribution of justice, governed by divine order.
Contrastingly, as a result of a shift in social and cultural context, Al Pacino’s post-modern doco-drama “Looking for Richard” (1996) focuses on conveying Shakespeare’s relevance through a similar representation of evil and duplicity, however in a secular society defined by moral ambiguity. Thus while both composers explore resonant notions of duplicity and evil in Richard’s quest for power, there is a significant contrast in Al Pacino’s appropriation of divine justice, due to the disparities in their distinctive contexts and purpose.
Reflecting the theocentric beliefs of the Elizabethan Era, Shakespeare’s “King Richard III” explores Richard’s evil and duplicitous nature through his insatiable lust for power. Throughout the play, Shakespeare emphasises Richard’s vulnerability through the Elizabethan belief of physiognomy, exaggerating his physical deformity and symbolically marking him as a vice character, an important role in morality plays during this period. This is reflected in the opening soliloquy where Richard justifies his villainy, asserting that he is “deformed, unfinished, sent before my time” and is now “determined to prove a villain”. Here Shakespeare use of harsh visual imagery illustrates Richards dissatisfaction with his appearance and his need to take on the role of a villain to gain a meaningful existence. Thus Shakespeare accentuates the existing tension in the Elizabethan period between providentialism, in that all events were controlled by god and emerging renaissance humanism, that suggested individuals could shape their own destiny. His evil characterisation is further revealed through his duplicitous nature, as shown through the stichomythia between himself and Anne, in which he ironically says “your beauty did haunt me… to undertake the death of the world”. The sardonic humour in this line perfectly encapsulates Richard’s ability to manipulate others into gaining his trust, and in turn reveals Shakespeare’s adaption of Machiavellian principles, specifically moral corruption as a necessity in gaining power. Furthermore, Richard frequently switches roles throughout the play, acknowledging his own duplicity through the antithesis in the line, “And thus, I clothe my villainy/ And seem a saint, when I most play the devil”. As well as this the divine imagery used here accentuates the context of the Elizabethan audience, who would interpret this imagery within usurpation of divine order, as his personal struggles with power foreshadows his future downfall and death. Hence Shakespeare positions his audience to see Richards evil and duplicitous nature in his desire for power as a cruel usurpation of his Elizabethan context.
Contrastingly, Shakespeare’s evil characterisation of Richard resonates in “Looking for Richard”, however Pacino dissonantly adopts certain aspects of his character in an attempt to humanize Richard to a post modern audience. This is evident as Pacino parallels Richards vice character and evil usurper to that of a cunning politician, reflecting the loss of faith in modern political leaders. An example of this is in Kimble’s quote “kind of like this Iran-Contra stuff, who did the dirty work, and propped up the king”, comparing Richard’s manipulation over Buckingham to that of a politician. A historical allusion to the Iran-Contra scandal, the contextual link used here by Pacino grants America’s public’s vision of the political sphere in this period of cynicism towards the white house, which was viewed as corrupt and prone to deceit. Thus Pacino appropriates Richard’s manipulative nature over others to that of a politician in order to resonate with the post-modern audience. The film also adopts Richards duplicitous nature through a juxtaposition of secular values with those of the Elizabethan audience to depict modern society where individuals are guided only by their moral compass and not by religion. This is shown through Pacino’s appropriation of the scene between Anne and Richard where he costumes in dark clothing, the use of chiaroscuro lighting here shadowing half of his body.
Disparate to Shakespeare’s use of deformities as a representation of evil, Pacino’s implements gloomy colours and lighting to serve as a visual cue of his facade and villainous nature, consequently reflecting the secular values of a 20th century society. However, resonating with Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard, Pacino portrays Richards duplicity through his ability to deceive those who trust him best, “he’s in good shape. He can move around. He can manoeuvre. He’s got room.”