Richard III Casebook [Lusk]

Top Ten Countdown of How Richard describes himself
(Or How Richard is too sexy for his Bod)

Richard III starts of with, who else, but Richard. Alone on stage. Speaking. What is he speaking of? Well he sort of sounds like an Emo high school kid. He begins with a celebratory statement “My family’s troubles are all over! No more fighting! This is just great… too bad I can’t enjoy any of this… because of the way I look.” I almost get this image of a 16 year old whose voice is cracking hiding in the bleachers of a school dance. But I digress. What I’m most interested in this opening monologue are the key phrases he uses to describe himself and how we can take those phrases in order to shape the body that will make up our protagonist.

The body is a very different thing now than it was in late 1500’s. Martin Luther believed that those with mental retardation were “Filled With Satan”. He believed that they should be drowned. So, it’s not a long stretch to imagine they believed the same thing for those who were physically disabled. Hence, why Richard MUST have some sort of physical handicap.

But here is where it gets tricky. We do not have the same views of the body as we did back then. Thankfully we have advanced from Luther’s advice of ‘Drown your child’. Laws are now in effect that prevent inequality. Codes are passed in buildings now that you must have handicap accessible facilities. There is nothing in our modern vernacular that would compare a physical handicap to evil. In fact, it is the opposite. We care for those who have a physical handicap. How many plots of plays, television shows, etc have there been of a leady character who suddenly went blind and everyone wants to help them and make life easier for them, but they insist on doing everything independently. They don’t need help. They want to be treated like everyone else. Try and tell Rose that her blind sister, Lilly, is from the devil

Now do we think they would go through this trouble for Richard? Should they? (Though the idea that there is an episode of Golden Girls where Richard III stops by…. I would pay handsomely for that. Most likely Rose’s old chum from St. Olaf. Perhaps an ex-boyfriend? Looking to rekindle? I digress…_)

I want to look at the key indicating terms that Shakespeare puts into the mouth of Richard in the opening monologue, and see how we can’t translate that for our modern stage.

1.     “Not shaped for sportive tricks.”

The keyword in here is sportive, which OED defines as playful or light-hearted. This phrase is working for us two fold. It is the first time that Richard has drawn reference to his body, yet…. he isn’t talking about his body. He isn’t telling us ‘I don’t have the body to play basketball.’ he is referencing the line earlier; ‘capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber.’ And he is telling us, as he expands on later, he isn’t made for that stuff. He doesn’t know how to woo. He doesn’t know how to have fun like all these other men are doing. It’s so far removed from him, it’s almost another language.

2.     “Nor made to court an amorous looking glass.”

            This is actually kind of sad. Not only is he someone who has no idea how to be seductive for the ladies… but he can’t even do it for himself. He can’t look into a mirror and fall in love with himself. This is when Richard’s true self-loathing comes out into the play.

3.     “Rudely Stamped”

                        His deformity is obvious. This is key. His deformity MUST be obvious. Not only obvious, but something that is impending on his daily life. And his social life. Look at all he said! He isn’t just some sad sack who can’t get a date and doesn’t like himself. He can’t do any of those things because he is so deformed.

4.     “Curtail’d of this fair proportion”

This is the moment where he doesn’t only recognize his deformity, but he lets us know that it isn’t fair he is like this! With the notion during that time period (which is the body matches the person. Deformed body = deformed person.) OED defines curtailed as ‘cheated’. He recognizes and confesses that not only was he given this body… but he was unfairly given this body.

5.     “Cheated of feature by dissembling nature.”

            Is he suggesting here that God had nothing to do with the creation of his body? That perhaps it was just a natural mistake?

6.     “Deform’d”

            This one is pretty obvious.

7.     “Unifish’d”

              This one though peaks my interest. In the sense that… He isn’t supposed to be deformed. He was not done being created physically, and so he came out as a mistake. Plain and simple.

8.     “Sent before my time.”

              Obviously in conversation with his statement on being unfinished. He is almost comparing his body to a sculpture. That perhaps a sculptor hadn’t yet clinked off the marble above his shoulder before the commissioner took it away.

9.     “Scarce half made up.”

              I think it’s worth noting that the past three descriptors that Richard uses are ones that point out something about him that is not yet completed. Something that is not done. So… instead of a humpback, what if we go the other direction? A humpback is an excess. It’s more of the body… what if we do less? Here, I would like to point out, is where I believe the genius of casting Peter Dinklage in the role of Richard comes into play. The fact that Dinklage used his stature as his ‘humpback’ is nothing short of these line.  Someone who has the height, like Peter Dinklage, in a self-loathing state, perhaps would say lines such as these. I really think there was something unearthed in Dinklage’s Richard that we should definitely keep in mind.

10. “Lamely and unfashionable”

            Again, he is pointing out, very generally his deformity. Lame is a word that has a lot of associations as to deformity. It isn’t something that indicates a specific part. But the general consenses is that it does suggest a cripple. Be it of the arm or of the leg. Walking with a limp is also a possibility. Whatever it may be. It must be unfashionable. Something that is NOT desired. Not only not desired, but so undesirable… you’d almost have to be crazy to want to be with someone like that. Who has all of this wrong.

How do we translate this to the modern stage? I don’t know. But I think it will do a production ill if you just throw a hunchback on your Richard and make him curl his hand up and call it a night. That is, if you are doing it in modern dress. I’m not sure what would happen if you put it before the modern era. Can the sensibilities of the characters be translated to the audience? Or will the audience impose their morals onto the character? Surely, though, if there was a play in which Martin Luther set out on a crusade to do away with all mentally ill children (even if it was the sensibility of the time), Luther would come off as a crazy person. Someone the audience would not want to sympathize with.

Keep these sensibilities in mind and be cautious of when you make the decisions. Things have changed. For the good. (I hope). We must find a way to bring the feeling of unease and discomfort an audience would’ve felt upon seeing a deformed man on stage to today.