Møte med Richard

Filmen Looking for Richard er en film om å sette opp dramaet Richard III og egner seg nok best i Engelsk II eller i faget Drama. Det har også kommet en ny filmatisering av selve dramaet, med setting i 1930-årenes Storbritannia. Har klassen tid og anledning vil det være fint å se begge filmene, men Looking for Richard fungerer spesielt godt i undervisningen fordi den problematiserer det at Shakespeare kan være tungt, vanskelig og gammeldags for dagens lesere/seere, og dreier seg om hvorfor spille Shakespeare i dag og hvordan det kan gjøres for å bli mer tilgjengelig. Samtidig får vi hele handlingen i dramaet presentert.

FORSLAG TIL ARBEIDSGANG:
1: Jobbe med de generelle oppgavene.
2: Lese tekstutdraget. Diskutere hvordan det kan "utføres" på teater og på film. Er det forskjeller?
3: Se filmen.
4: Gi rom for umiddelbare reaksjoner, og jobbe med oppgavene til filmen.
5: Lese tekstutdraget en gang til.

FORSLAG TIL TEKSTUTDRAG:
I alle tilfellene kan det være interessant å se på norske oversettelser, gjerne flere der det finnes.
Forbered elevene på ord som: 'tis, thou art, thee, thy, dost, doth, found'st.

RICHARD III:
Åpningsreplikken (41 linjer) hvor the Duke of Gloster (Richard) presenterer seg selv og sin deformitet, og sitt prosjekt: når han ikke kan være "lover" vil han være "villain" og "set my brother Clarence and the king/In deadly hate the one against the other".
Akt I, scene II, hvor Richard "frir" til Anne ("I'll have her; but I will not keep her long"), enten hele scenen eller Richard's siste replikk. Denne scenen gir et inntrykk av hvordan Richard er, og en introduksjon til handlingen.

GENERAL QUESTIONS ON SHAKESPEARE AND TRAGEDY:
For these questions check textbooks, books on history and literary history, CD-roms, or the Internet, or have your teacher help you answer them.

1. What do we consider to be the characteristics of the Renaissance? How did the view of Man change in this period? What does "Elisabethan" mean?
2. What is a tragedy? Find out about the elements that constitute a tragedy and try to distinguish between the way we normally use the word "tragic" and what it means in terms of dramatic art. If you paint your room and end up disliking the colour you may call it tragic, but it will not be tragic in the other sense of the word. You may have encountered a similar problem with the word romantic.
3. Find out about the action of the play you are studying, so that you know the basics before you read your excerpt.
4. What is a "tragic flaw"? Try to define this flaw in the main character of the play you are studying.
5. Does the play that you are studying have a historical or literary background? Find out as much as you can.
7. What are blankverse and iambic pentameter? Find examples of this in your text.
8. You will be watching a film, not a stage play. Try to notice the use of filmatic devices such as close-ups and interior monologue, that are typical of film but alien to the theatre.

QUESTIONS ON LOOKING FOR RICHARD:
The structure of this film is not a straightforward narrative. The first question will help you to get a grasp of the various layers in the story.
1. Make a list of the places we are at in the film. Try to divide the people you see in the film into groups:
- the characters of the play Richard III,
- the actors playing these characters and discussing their own work,
- the people making this film,
- professional actors, directors, and scholars who are interviewed about Shakespeare and his plays,
- ordinary people in the street.
2. Use what you have found to uncover the different levels on which the action takes place. What do you consider to be the centre of the film: The drama or the discussion about it? Do you understand the expression "meta-text" (text about or above the text)?
3. Richard is a favourite part with many male actors. Why, do you think? Is Richard a complex and interesting part to play?
4. Did you recognize any of the actors in the film ?
5. What do you think is the theme/message of Richard III? Why do you think it is one of the most played Shakespearean dramas today?

Møte med Richard

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