Hi, So i realllyyy need help my English assessment.
I have 5 essay questions I need to prepare for, and we'll get asked one of them on the day. However, I have no idea how 3 answer two of them. Any pointers would be much appreciated.
My texts are Looking for Richard//Richard III and the qs are:
1. The wooing of anne is dealt with in a particular way in Pacino's film. Explore how the two texts handle both this scene in particular, and the depiction of women across the two texts in general. How might Shakespeare's depiction be mirrored, altered, or otherwise affected by Pacino's re-envisioning of the play?
2. To what extent are Richard's opening words a confirmation of the power of context to define a situation, and how has the reimagining of Shakespeare's King Richard III by Pacino aligned with the values of his context?
3. Discuss 3 minor characters from shakespeare's play and explore how they give rise to a deeper understanding of the context in which the play was set, comparing these to the minor and background characters of Pacino's version.
Sorry, its alot! But I'm quite confused. Many thanks
Hey, Ufrah!
I have some pointers for you here
Question 1• Depiction of women over time.
o Gender in Shakespeare and Pacino’s contexts.
o How women in the play are depicted by Shakespeare, and how they are received by the male characters according to Shakespeare.
o This is either kept common or changed because of Pacino’s context.
• Wooing of Anne scene.
o Needs to be included in your essay since it’s not a “to what extent” question.
o Use the techniques showing Anne herself or a stage technique showing her character for one paragraph and a quote from a male character or stage technique for the other.
Question 2• Need to answer to what extent the opening words are a confirmation of the power of context to define a situation.
o What aspects of Shakespeare’s context do you see in that provided extract?
o You would need to use this extract at least once in the essay.
o My suggestion would be to argue to a moderate extent, because Shakespeare’s context is defined throughout the play, not just in the opening words. If you explain it like this, you can agree with the question in that context does define a political situation, but it does not only appear in that example given.
• Then, you need to link this answer with how it has been reimagined by Pacino in his context.
o Where have the values of both contexts appeared common?
o Choose values from both texts that are the same and either changed or altered slightly because of context.
Question 3• Three minor characters need to be selected.
o Which three minor characters show glimpses of how Shakespeare really felt about certain issues? Where are his versions of truth in them?
o They should also appear in Pacino’s appropriation OR you could find a character which bears similarities but has been changed due to context.
• Deeper understanding of context is important.
o What do these characters inform you of when it comes to the time Shakespeare was living in?
o Compare this to Pacino’s context and how his representations and interpretations are influenced by his world’s values.
• Need to present the discussion that despite these characters been minor in the play itself, they are significant when it comes to trying to gain a greater understanding of Shakespeare and Pacino’s differing contexts.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions
Angelina