Pacino and Shakespeares 2
Introduction
Composers in the field of literature use different forms, styles, genres and also language to reach their different audiences based on the theme. The time on which art is written and performed can affect the meaning and the understanding of the audience. The audience understands the context of a play or any other work of art based on the immediate environment and the society set up. Pacino uses docudrama form when expressing the themes contained in the Shakespeare original play which affects how different set of audiences receive and understand a play context.
Shakespeare originally expresses the theme of history and tragedy which surrounded the throne. The theme of power has been well captured in the historical play, and Shakespeare notes that the greed for power didn’t begin with Richard the 3rd, but it was the main cause of the start of the war of roses (Albanese, 2010 p39). The war of roses is a war which was driven by the hunger for power as members from extended loyal family sought to seize power. The war stated when King Edward the 3rd died leaving behind no rightful heir to the throne. The death of the king brought about a power vacuum, and Edwards younger son was to become the heir of throne king Richard the 2nd (Shakespeare, 2009). When the young Richard took up the throne, it left out the three already grown son of Edward firstborn who felt that they deserved to be crowned kings instead of their younger uncle. Due to this feeling of unfair treatment, the Lanchester descended from Edward 3rd son and the York which were descendants of Edward 4th son who was termed as the red rose and the white roses respectively. Between the two families in search of power brought a lot of bloodshed to the society (Marshall, 2009 p 140). Based on Picano docudrama the current society shows acceptance to individualism and the audience perception to power hungry is different from Shakespeare original audience. When Picano addresses the aspect of a sickly king in the drama with everybody maneuvering around the audience becomes sympathetic with Richard situation since they understand the desire for power based on the ideal accepted in the 20th century (Cooren, Taylor, and Every, 2013).
The hunger for power forces Henry the 4th to overthrow Richard the second and take over his throne. Henry reigns for quite some time with the throne being passed on from one generation to the next. Henry the 6th marries a French-based princess in pursuit for more power and allies to protect the throne. The reign, however, is characterised with betrayal from close allies who seek to seize power (Hall, Johnson, Juzwik, Wortham, and Mosley, 2010 p 234). The same context of power and allies is witnessed in society today as people seek to ascend to power, they find allies to enable them to acquire and remain in power. Based on Picano docudrama the audience understanding of the power context is different from the ancient beliefs with the current audience showing acceptance of Richard the 3rd way of ruling.
Richard the 3rd acquired power by taking over a throne meant for his nephew and declaring him unsuitable and not being in a capacity to rule. The ascent to power of Richard the 3rd show the legitimate heir took to captivity and murdered as the king sort to secure his throne. However, the ascending to the power of Richards brought about a rift in the York family as some felt betrayed. Richards reign was characterised by animosity with those that questioned his authority being put to death (Christie, 2015 p 41).
Richard reign was short-lived as the war of roses came back to haunt him. Henry Tudor from the Lancaster house who had been raised to exile returns home and acquires support from part of the York members who had drifted. Henry manages to seize power from Richard the 3rd and end the war of roses by marrying Elizabeth of York; the two roses were merged (Huang and Ross, 2009). The current audience as depicted by Picano docudrama acknowledged Shakespeare work on Richard the 3rd of being reflective of the society. The current society set up acknowledges individualism to be part of human lives as each individual seeks to acquire social representation (Sircy, 2013 p 63). The society set up on which Picano docudrama is based in survival for the fittest and thus the strong end up being in the authority while the weak become the subject. However, the historical plays show that victory in the battle for power is uncertain and allies unstable. As witnessed in the current political arena the political forces are created based on the benefits accrued and the power the political alignment commands. From the play and also the docudrama the aspect of power has been demonstrated to be seasonal (Albanese, 2010 p 39). Lack of peace in the historical play of Richard the 3rd became the main cause of failure of many kingdoms. The same case can be seen in today’s world where rebellion wars have become the main cause of many government overthrowers. The only solution remains peace as portrayed through Henry the 7th.
In conclusion, Picano demonstrated how Shakespeare work on Richard the 3rd would be received and perceived in the current age error. Many differences arise when it comes to comparing when the two pieces of art were developed. The main difference being the time which has changed the perspective between the two sets of audience. The time frame has changed the people making them undertake logical reasoning which in return guides their lives.
References
Albanese, D., 2010. Pacino’s Cliffs Notes: Looking for Richard’s “Public” Shakespeare. In Extramural Shakespeare (pp. 39-65). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Christie, W., 2015. These our actors’: Histrionics in Shakespeare’s ‘King Richard III’and Al Pacino’s ‘Looking for Richard. Sydney Studies in English, 41.
Cooren, F., Taylor, J.R. and Van Every, E.J., 2013. Communication as organizing: Empirical and theoretical explorations in the dynamic of text and conversation. Routledge.
Hall, L.A., Johnson, A.S., Juzwik, M.M., Wortham, S.E. and Mosley, M., 2010. Teacher identity in the context of literacy teaching: Three explorations of classroom positioning and interaction in secondary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), pp.234-243.
Huang, A.C.Y. and Ross, C.S. eds., 2009. Shakespeare in Hollywood, Asia, and Cyberspace. Purdue University Press.
Marshall, K., 2009. The Creative Process and the Power of Art in” Shakespeare Behind Bars”, or So This Is What” Looking for Richard” Meant to Do? Literature/Film Quarterly, 37(2), pp.140-150.
Shakespeare, W., 2009. King Richard III (Vol. 32). Cambridge University Press.
Sircy, J., 2013. Looking for Shakespeare: Taking Pacino’s Quest Seriously. Shakespeare Bulletin, 31(1), pp.63-78.