Study Guide prepared by Catherine Bush

Barter Playwright-in-Residence

Richard III By William Shakespeare *Especially for Grades 6-12 Barter Stage II, spring 2018

(NOTE: standards listed below are for both reading Richard III, seeing a performance of

the play, and completing the study guide.)

Virginia SOLs English –6.1. 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, 6.7, 7.1, 7.4, 7.5, 7.7, 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 8.7, 9.1, 9.3, 9.4, 9.6, 10.1, 10.3, 10.4, 10.6, 12.1, 12.3, 12.4, 12.6,

Theatre Arts – M.6, M.8, M.9, M.12, M.13, M.14, TI.8, TI.9, TI.10, TI.11, TI.12, TI.13, TI.16, TI.17, TII.9, TII.11, TII.12, TII.13, TII.14, TII.15, TII.16, TII.21, TIII.7, TIII.8, TIII.9, TIII.10, TIII.12

Tennessee/North Carolina Common Core State Standards English/Language Arts - Reading Literacy: 6.1, 6.4, 6.7, 6.10, 7.1, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.7, 7.10, 8.1, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.10, 9-10.1, 9-10.2, 9-10.3, 9-10.4, 9-10.5, 9-10.6, 9-10.9, 9-10.10, 11-12.1, 11-12.3, 11-12.4, 11-12.5, 11-12.7, 11-12.10 English Language Arts – Writing: 6.1, 6.2, 6.7, 6.9, 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.7, 7.9, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.7, 8.9, 9-10.1, 9-10.2, 9-10.4, 9-10.6, 9-10.9, 9-10.10, 11-12.1, 11-12.2, 11-12.4, 11-12.6, 11-12.10

Tennessee Fine Arts Curriculum Standards Theatre 6-8 – 3.2, 5.2, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2 Theatre 9-12 – 3.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2

North Carolina Essential Standards Theatre Arts – 6.C.1, 6.C.2, 6.A.1, 6.AE.1, 6.CU.2, 7.C.1, 7.C.2, 7.A.1, 7.AE.1, 7.CU.2, 8.C.1, 8.C.2, 8.A.1, 8.AE.1, 8.CU.2, B.C.2, B.A.1, B.AE.1, B.CU.1, B.CU.2, I.C.2, I.A.1, I.CU.1, I.CU.2, P.C.1, P.A.1, P.CU.2, A.C.2, A.A.1, A.CU.1, A.CU.2

Setting Various locations in England, at the end of The War of the Roses…

Characters

Richard – the Duke of Gloucester, eventually crowned King Richard III, ambitious and wicked Buckingham – a duke and Richard’s right-hand man King Edward IV – Richard’s older brother, the reigning king at the start of the play Clarence – the brother between Richard and Henry

Queen Elizabeth (a.k.a. Lady Gray) – wife of King Edward IV, opposes Richard’s rise to power Dorset – kinsman and ally to Elizabeth Rivers– kinsman and ally to Elizabeth Gray – kinsman and ally to Elizabeth Anne – the young widow of Prince Edward, son of the former King Henry VI Duchess of York – widowed mother of Richard, Clarence, and King Edward IV Margaret – widow of Henry VI, mother of slain Prince Edward The Princes – two young sons of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Young Elizabeth – daughter to King Edward IV and Elizabeth Ratcliffe – Richard’s flunky Catesby– Richard’s flunky Tyrell – a murderer hired by Richard to kill the Princes Richmond – a member of the Lancaster royal family Hastings – a lord who remains loyal to King Edward IV Stanley – Richmond’s stepfather Lord Mayor of London – a politician Vaughan – a friend of Dorset, Rivers, and Gray

Synopsis

After a long civil war between the royal families of York and Lancaster (The War of the Roses), England enjoys a peaceful period under the victorious York king Edward IV. But Edward’s younger brother, Richard, made bitter by a physical deformity, resents Edward’s success and secretly plots to win the throne for himself – and determines to kill anyone who gets in his way.

Utilizing his enormous intellect and powers of persuasion, Richard begins his campaign by convincing a noblewoman, Lady Anne, to marry him… even though Anne knows that Richard murdered her first husband. Richard then orders the execution of his older brother Clarence, and shifts the blame onto the current king, whose illness is exacerbated by this burden of guilt. After King Edward IV dies, Richard is made lord protector of England, and is put in charge of the Two Princes, Edwards’s sons, until the elder is old enough to take the throne.

Next Richard kills the court noblemen who are loyal to the Princes, most notably Lord Hastings, the lord chamberlain of England. He follows that with the arrest and execution of the powerful kinsmen of Edward’s widow, Queen Elizabeth (Dorset, Rivers, and Grey). With Elizabeth and the princes now unprotected, Richards imprisons the two boys in the Tower and arranges for his political allies (particularly his right-hand man, Lord Buckingham) to campaign for his coronation. After he is crowned king, Richard then sends hired murderers to kill the Two Princes.

By this time, Richard’s reign of terror has caused the common folk to fear and loathe him, and he has alienated nearly all the noblemen of the court—even the power-hungry Buckingham. When rumors begin to circulate about a challenger to the throne who is gathering forces in France, noblemen defect in droves to join his forces. The challenger is the earl of Richmond, a descendant of a secondary arm of the Lancaster family, and England is ready to welcome him.

Richard, in the meantime, tries to consolidate his power. He has his wife, Queen Anne, murdered, so that he can marry young Elizabeth, the daughter of the former Queen Elizabeth and the dead King Edward. Though young Elizabeth is his niece, the alliance would secure his claim to the throne. Nevertheless, Richard has begun to lose control of events, and Queen Elizabeth manages to forestall him. Meanwhile, she secretly promises to marry young Elizabeth to Richmond.

Richmond finally invades England. The night before the battle that will decide everything, Richard has a terrible dream in which the ghosts of all the people he has murdered appear and curse him, telling him that he will die the next day. In the battle on the following morning, Richard is killed, and Richmond is crowned King Henry VII. Promising a new era of peace for England, the new king is betrothed to young Elizabeth in order to unite the warring houses of Lancaster and York.

A Brief History Barter Theatre was founded during the Great Depression by Robert Porterfield, an enterprising young actor. He and his fellow actors found themselves out of work and hungry in New York City. Porterfield contrasted that to the abundance of food, but lack of live theatre, around his home region in Southwest Virginia. He returned to Washington County with an extraordinary proposition: bartering produce from the farms and gardens of the area to gain admission to see a play.

Barter Theatre opened its doors on June 10, 1933 proclaiming, “With vegetables you cannot sell, you can buy a good laugh.” The price of admission was 40 cents or the equivalent in produce, the concept of trading “ham for Hamlet” caught on quickly. At the end of the first season, the Barter Company cleared $4.35 in cash, two barrels of jelly and enjoyed a collective weight gain of over 300 pounds.

Playwrights including Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams and Thornton Wilder accepted Virginia ham as payment for royalties. An exception was George Bernard Shaw, a vegetarian, who bartered the rights to his plays for spinach.

Today, Barter Theatre has a reputation as a theatre where many actors performed before going on to achieve fame and fortune. The most recognized of these alumni include Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, Ernest Borgnine, Hume Cronyn, Ned Beatty, Gary Collins, Larry Linville and Frances Fisher. The list also included James Burrows, creator of Cheers, Barry Corbin, and the late Jim Varney

Robert Porterfield passed away in 1971. His successor, Rex Partington, had been at Barter in the 1950s as an actor and in the 1970s as stage manager. Rex returned as chief administrator from 1972 until his retirement in 1992. In March 2006, he passed away.

Richard Rose was named the producing artistic director in October 1992. In that time, attendance has grown from 42,000 annual patrons to more than 163,000 annual patrons. Significant capital improvements have also been made. Including maintenance to both theatres, and in 2006, the addition of The Barter Café at Stage II and dramatic improvements to Porterfield Square.

Barter represents three distinct venues of live theatre: the Gilliam Stage at Barter Theatre (formerly known as Main Stage), Barter Theatre Stage II and The Barter Players. The Gilliam Stage with over 500 seats, features traditional theatre in a luxurious setting. Barter Stage II, across the street from the Gilliam Stage and beyond Porterfield Square, offers seating for 167 around a thrust stage in an intimate setting and is perfect for more adventurous productions. The Barter Players is a talented ensemble of actors, producing plays for young audiences throughout the year.

History is always in the making at Barter Theatre, building on legends of the past; Barter looks forward to the challenge of growth in the future.

Biography of the Playwright

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon in England, and his birthday is traditionally celebrated on April 23. At the age of eighteen he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. By 1592, he was living in London and working as an actor and playwright. He was part owner of the acting company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later called the King’s Men), which built and performed in the Globe Theatre. Over the course of his career Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, 154 sonnets and many other poems. He died on April 23, 1616, and was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

Vocabulary Words – define each word and use it in a sentence

discontent visage capers lascivious wanton deformity descant extremity suppliant enfranchise obsequious lament lamentation invocate prodigious heinous falchion basilisk vouchsafe inter prodigality moiety

malice atonement dissentious upbraiding malapert amity rankle obdurate scourge perjury costard vassal edict embassage inviolable chide rancour oracle emulation parlous iniquity mitigate

opprobrious tractable complot jocund stratagem ignoble timorously palpable lineament declension expostulate albeit cockatrice circumspect servitor induction cloy caitiff copious puissant impediment alacrity

Questions/Activities

1. Richard III is considered one of Shakespeare’s “history plays.” Research the

life of King Richard the Third. Is this play historically accurate, a factual accounting of the events at that time? If not, how does it differ? Discuss.

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the

way, and shows the way” ~ John C. Maxwell

2. How is King Richard the Third’s leadership described? Cite examples from the

text. Does his leadership remind you of anyone else in history? Discuss.

Consider the following words and their definitions:

ethos - an appeal to ethics; a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader

pathos - an appeal to emotion; a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response

logos - an appeal to logic; a way of persuading an audience by reason

Project REAL Activity: Each student must find a speech given by a U.S. president. Each student will take turns reading the speech in front of their peers. While students are listening they must identify words that use ethos, pathos, and logos the different modes of persuasion. For logos, students will point to their head. For pathos, students will put a hand over their heart. For ethos, they will give the thumbs up. Compare and contrast students’ reactions and discuss.

Debriefing Questions:

• What was your experience like?

• What speech was the most powerful and why?

• What words persuaded you the most?

• What was used more out the modes or persuasion?

• Compare and contrast the speeches of our current President with presidents of the past. What are the similarities and differences?

• Have you heard other leaders speak this way?

3. Make a list of the traits and skills of a good leader. If you were going to lead, which of those skills would you most need to work on? What traits do you already possess? 4. Choose a leader from history that you most admire. What do you like about that leader, and why do you think they were so effective at their job? Write a short

persuasive argument convincing your class that he/she was a great leader. Which class member convinced you that their leader was the best? Why? Discuss.

“Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York…”

5. In his opening soliloquy, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, blames his deformity for his determination to be a villain. What was Richard’s ailment? Does a physical ailment give people permission to behave badly? Why or why not?

Project REAL Activity: This activity allows students to explore and imagine what it would be like for themselves to have a physical obstacle and to better understand what Richard may have been going through. Have the students start out walking in an empty space. Tell them to take notice of how they are walking. Where do they carry their weight? What body part do they naturally lead with? Call out the following physical cues one at a time. Tell your students to take on that physical characteristic. There is no wrong or right way of doing this. During each physical direction allow the students to interact by saying “Hello” to each other. When debriefing this activity, be sure to discuss if the physical trait caused their interactions to be different. Please add more physical cues that may not be included below.

• A limp

• Bent posture

• Locked fingers

• Stiff back Debriefing Questions:

• What was this like?

• How did these physical traits affect you?

• How did it affect your interactions with each other?

• What do you think Richard’s deformity did to him?

• Do you think that affected the way he interacted with others?

6. Pick your favorite scene from Richard III and design a set for it. Keep in mind time, place and location. Is it in a castle? The field at Bosworth? Is it day or night? Also consider the entrances and exits of your characters. How do they enter the scene? How do they exit? Draw a picture of what your set should look like. Then make a model of it and present it to your class, explaining how it will work when built.

Comedy vs. Tragedy

comedy: a dramatic work that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and that usually contains a happy resolution of the thematic conflict.

tragedy: A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.

Given these definitions, would you categorize Richard III as a comedy or a tragedy? Cite three samples from the play to support your position. How much does a character’s point-of-view determine whether an

event is comic or tragic? For example, how might Richmond’s opinion on the play’s end differ from that of Catesby’s? Discuss.

Blank Verse

Shakespeare wrote much of Richard III in “blank verse.”

blank verse: unrhymed verse having a regular meter, usually of iambic pentameter.

iambic pentameter: a common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable

Consider the lines that Richard speaks in act 5, scene 4:

“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”

Can you count the five stressed accents in each line? Do you notice how the word “A” at the beginning of the line is unstressed?

What is the difference between poetry and prose?

How does Shakespeare use both in this play?

ACTIVITY

Pick one of the monologues written in prose from Richard III and rewrite it in blank verse. Present it to your class.

THE POWER OF WORDS

Words are powerful. They can hurt. They can heal. They can begin wars and mend fences. They can seduce and manipulate. They can forgive and seek forgiveness. Nowhere is the power of words more evident than in Shakespeare’s Richard III. Read each of the following scenes and

identify the words that use ethos, pathos, and logos. Be sure to write

down the character’s name with the specific example of the mode of

persuasion.

a) Richard uses words to seduce Anne, a woman who hates him for killing her husband. Act I Scene II

b) Queen Margaret uses words to curse the Yorks. Act I Scene 3

c) Richard uses words to have Clarence killed. Act I Scene 4

d) When Richard locks up the young Prince of Wales and the young Duke of York, he remarks that both are clever with words, therefore a threat. Act IV Scenes 1-3

e) Queen Margaret teaches Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of York how to curse as a means of alleviating language. Act IV Scenes 4-5

Project REAL Activity: Some refer to politics as the “art of persuasion.” Put your students in pairs. Partner A (of each pair) represents the parent of Partner B. Each Partner A will be given pieces of paper that represent money. Partner B’s job is to persuade Partner A to give him or her the money. After a few minutes, switch the roles. Encourage the students to try different modes of persuasion to get what they want.

Debriefing Questions:

• What was this experience like?

• How easy or hard was it to persuade your partner to give the money?

• Do you try to persuade your parents or friends to give you something?

• What do you think it was like for Richard III to persuade others?

• What modes of persuasion did you use the most?

• What mode of persuasion works the best?

7. Who is Queen Margaret? Why does she curse members of the York family (Queen Elizabeth, Richard, Edward the Prince of Wales)? Why does she spare Buckingham at first? Why do you think Shakespeare made her a character in this play? What happens to Queen Margaret at the end of the play? Discuss.

8. Characters in a play or a book always have a reason for doing what they do. This is referred to as their “motivation.” What motivates Richard to marry Anne? What motivates Stanley to help Richmond? What motivates Dorset to flee to Richmond? Discuss.

Make a list of the characters in Richard III. Next to each name write that

character’s primary action in the play and their motivation. Cite passages from

the play to support your reasoning. Did interactions with the other characters

change or alter their motivations? If so, how did this affect the plot? Discuss.

EXTRA CREDIT!

In Richard III, Act I, Scene 3, Hastings says the following to Queen Margaret:

“O, ’twas the foulest deed to slay that babe,

And the most merciless that e'er was heard of!”

What incident is Hastings referring to?

(HINT: Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 3 Act 1 Scene 4)

9. Who is the hero (protagonist) of Richard III? What makes him or her the protagonist? Discuss. Who is the best leader in Richard III? What do you like about their leadership and how effective is it?

“This blessed plot, this earth, this realm,

this England…”

Individually or in groups, use the internet to research

the following topics:

War of the Roses Tower of London

Stratford-upon-Avon the Two Princes

Arms and armor of 15th century England

Battle of Tewkesbury Battle of Bosworth Field

Margaret of Anjou Henry VI

Richard III’s two burial places

Present your findings to the class in an

oral report!

10. Write a critique of Barter’s production of Richard III. Be sure to include descriptions and analyses of the individual performances, the directing/staging choices, and the design elements (costume, set, props, sound). Why do you think some of these artistic choices were made? How would you have done it differently?

11. Breaking into groups, pick a scene from Richard III, rehearse it and

perform it for your class. Now pick another scene and rewrite it in contemporary English for a contemporary setting. Rehearse and perform it for your class. Compare the two experiences.

Project REAL Activity: Once students have experienced performing a scene from Richard III allow each group to create a scene that reflects a modern day situation that parallels their Shakespeare scene to compare current situations with the plot of the play. Debriefing Questions:

• What was this like?

• Why does Richard III remind you of this particular event in our modern times?

• How could we learn from Richard III?

12. How would knowing the geography and history of England better help you understand this play? How does the setting of this play

affect the characters and the plot? How does knowledge of the different poetic styles and meters – and Shakespeare’s use of them – make the play more accessible? Discuss how

the various subjects studied in school often

overlap.

13. What was your personal response to Barter’s production of Richard III? Were you entertained? What did this play teach you about the human experience? How did it

compare to reading the play? Discuss.

Suggested Reading/Links

Books about William Shakespeare

Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

Shakespeare: An Ungentle Life by Katherine Duncan-Jones

Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate

Shakespeare Links To find out more about William Shakespeare, check out the links below…

Folger Shakespeare Library http://folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=863

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/

Compare and Contrast!

Richard III centers on the ruthless political ambitions of Richard,

Duke of Gloucester, who eventually becomes King Richard III.

Consider some of Shakespeare’s other famous villains below:

Iago Lady Macbeth Claudius Othello Macbeth Hamlet

Pick one of these characters and write a paper

comparing and contrasting their circumstances, rise to

power, etc. with Richard III’s.