Blog #5- Richard III, Act IV

Act IV:  Choose one of the following options for your blog comment.  When you post, title your comment with the option you chose.  Remember to sign your post with your first initial, last name, and class period.
Option 1- Female characters
·        Make a list of female characters mentioned in the play.  Label if each character is a major character or a minor character and why. Explain your answers with cited evidence as needed.
·        Define the word "mother." Go through the characters who are mothers, and see if they fit your definition. Who best fits the definition of mother? Provide an explanation with evidence as needed.
·        Why does Shakespeare mention the women in this play? Are they simply minor chorus characters - meaning they function to give advice, or comment, on the action? Are they part of the action? Are they treated as avengers, or as simplistic creatures that can be molded to a man's will? Are they pawns? Do people pay attention to them? What shape do they give the play?
Option 2-  Comedy and Humor
·        Brainstorm a definition of comedy and humor.
·        Build a list of different forms of comedy and humor.
·        Find instances where Richard engages in self-ridicule. (Cite it)Are they comic?
·        Find instances of mockery that are comedic. Identify and cite it.
Other instances of comedy come from irony - specifically when the murderers discuss things before they kill people. Why are the murderers a source of comedy in the play? Why would murderers be written in a comic way? Is murder a funny topic? Is it so the audience does not get too upset with Richard? Why does there need to be comedy in a tragedy?

Comments

  1. 1.
    Lady Anne- major
    Lady Anne is a major character because she ends up becoming Richard's wife. Later that makes
    her the queen of England, and eventually she is murdered by a lackey hired by Richard.
    Young Elizabeth- minor
    Young Elizabeth is a minor character because she ends up marrying Richmond instead of
    Richard. Therefor she has little screen time other than when Richard tries to woe her.
    Queen Margret- major
    Queen Margret is a major character because she was the Queen of England before Elizabeth. She
    shows up various times during the play to cruse Richard for killing both her son and her husband.
    Queen Elizabeth- Major
    Queen Elizabeth is a major character because She was the wife of the late King Edward, Richard's
    eldest brother. Elizabeth sees Richard as untrustworthy from the beginning but, when her
    husband dies and her sons are murdered, her distrust festers into total loathing. She, along with
    Margret, seek the destruction of Richard through out the entire play.

    2.
    Mother- a woman in relation to her child or children; Bring up (a child) with care and affection
    Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margret are both mothers in this play. Richard had Queen Margret's
    husband and son murdered. He also had Queen Elizabeth's sons killed after their father died.
    They were both good, loving mothers who were distraught to hear about their children's demise at
    the had of Richard. In my opinion Queen Elizabeth was the best example of a mother. She loved
    and cared for her children and mourned her son's deaths. Also, during the play we get to seem
    more of Elizabeth's maternal side than Margret's.

    3.
    Why did Shakespeare add women?
    First off this play was based off of a true event. there really was a Richard, there really was a King
    Edward, and Queen Elizabeth really did exist. so for point one Shakespeare added the female
    characters to this play Because they were part of the real history.
    The women in this play are not simple creatures. Some of them, such as Queen Elizabeth and Queen
    Margret, are main characters. Queen Elizabeth is a main character and she seeks the destruction
    of Richard for revenge. Queen Margret is also a main character who helps to fester Richards
    paranoia which contributes to his death. One lady in this play who refused to be a pawn was
    Queen Anne. while she did end up being Richard's wife she was not quite and brainless, she
    fought a noble verbal battle with Richard and while she married him she never gave him her heart
    or respect.

    M. Godwin 1st Period

    ReplyDelete
  2. Comedy is anything that makes other people or the audience laugh. Some types of humor include ironic, dark, juvenile and hyperbolic. "Ha! Am I king? 'Tis so- but Edward lives." (Act 4, SC 2, Line 15), this example is not meant to be comic because it is Richard laughing at Buckingham, and is not meant to have the audience laugh. "The boy is foolish, and I fear not him. Look how thou dream'st!" (Act 4, SC 2, Line 58-59) This example is also not comic because it is just Richard laughing at Buckingham again. "Wept like children in their deaths' sad story." (Act 4, SC 3, Line 8) This quote from Tyrrel shows mockery because he is making fun of how scared the people he killed were before they died.

    C.Gardner 7

    ReplyDelete
  3. The definition of comedy is entertainment that consist of jokes to try and make people laugh while humor is the quality of being amusing or funny. The different forms of comedy include stand up, slapstick, deadpan, potty, satire and others. The different forms of humor include self-deprecating, juvenile, highbrow and others. Richard engages in self-ridicule through the curses that Margaret puts on him because she would curse him and he would push it off, in some of these cases it was comedic but not a lot of them. An example of mockery that is comedic is on page 93 when Richmond, Oxford, Blunt, and Herbert are talking about the war plan at the camp near Tamworth and they each come back at each other in a sarcastic tone.
    P.Bonner 2nd period

    ReplyDelete
  4. Comedy and humor are loosely defined as anything intended to bring joy and/or laughter to the audience. Different forms include irony, puns, jokes, witty remarks, sarcasm, etc. Richard ridicules himself in many instances including one in which he states, "But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks, Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass," (1.1.14-15) referring to his deformity. The murders are written in a funny way to lighten the mood of the play so that is does not become too depressing to read and enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Comedy is the deliberate telling of jokes in order to amuse another person. Humor is a trait that is possessed by literature when it is seen as comical.
    - Dark Humor/Parody/burlesque/sophisticated/dry
    In a scene involving Margaret, Aumerle, and York, mockery takes place. Margaret comes in pleading to Richard in a very serious manner, and the two men walk in and plead in a similar fashion, but just to make fun of Margaret. The murders are the ironic source of comedy in an otherwise grim story. The comedic sense of the murders allows for a moment of joy felt by the reader before another plunge into evil. Comedy is a necessity in a tragedy, in order to keep the interest of the audience. Nothing but tragedy can become repetitive and boring, so it is needed in order to keep the audience interested.
    A.Gebhardt 7

    ReplyDelete
  6. Comedy is the deliberate telling of jokes in order to amuse another person. Humor is a trait that is possessed by literature when it is seen as comical.
    Black Humor- humor usually considered taboo to society such as joking about death or disease.
    Child Humor- something silly and childish to get a quick giggle or smirk.
    Margaret begs and pleads and two men mimic her in a humorous manner.
    Murderers are funny as to show more black humor. It's taboo and provides comedic shock and a bit of comic relief from the tragedy at hand.
    Dmooney7

    ReplyDelete
  7. Comedy is something that uses jokes to make people laugh for entertainment and can be used to make money and humor are the jokes being said or what someone is; someone can be humorousness. The different forms of comedy include stand up, slapstick, deadpan, potty, satire, and many others. The different forms of humor include self-deprecating, juvenile, highbrow, and others. Richard engages in self-ridicule through the curses that Margaret puts on him because she would curse him and he would act like it wasn't anything to him. In some of these cases it was comedic but most of them were not, this book doesn't having that many comedic lines in it. An example of mockery that could be called comedic is on page 93 when Richmond, Oxford, Blunt, and Herbert are talking about the war plan at the camp near Tamworth and they start talking to each other in a sarcastic tone.
    K. Carroll2

    ReplyDelete
  8. Comedy is anything devised to make people laugh and enjoy what is going on. There are many times of comedy, including dark, ironic, parodic, situational, and much more. Richard self-ridiculed when he said,"I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion... deformed, unfinished, sent before my time...( 1.1.15-20)". He talks about how ugly and messed up he is. He also mimics himself in these same lines by saying how dogs bark at him since he is so ugly. Comedy needs to be in tragedy because murder is often dark and comedy lightens the mood a bit for the audience to still enjoy the serious play. AGrainger2

    ReplyDelete

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