Published 2008.
A typical
king;
Killed
everybody who got in his way;
A typical fat slob of a king;
Out to get his own greedy needs met;
Uses every individual who crossed his path;
More often than not, slap happy drunk;
Seen on numerous occasion dancing amongst the moon
lit paths;
Often times his royal trousers would fall to
his ankles causing the King to fall face down.
Was Shakespeare’s Richard any different from
some of the politicians we all know so well?
The only difference is that they're not allowed to get away with it as
much, what with the paparazzi and all.
I finished reading this, Richard III, prior
to go see him in the theatre. Even in Portuguese I felt as if I’d come
under a spell. What marvelous language. Everyone knows this. It’s obvious, but
does everyone really know it? It’s different to know than to experience. And I’ve
experienced, once again, the glory of his language in this story.
Even the fact that he murdered many people,
his words still move me. In the beginning this was one of my least favourite
plays. Why? I became disgusted with his hypocrisy, but I started to be under
his (Shakespeare’s) language spell later on in life and I came to appreciate
this play even more. Only language makes Richard III worth reading and seeing.
Thinking about Hitler, we all know the power of a
leader comes through the spoken word, and the fire and zeal of the speech. As
politicians go, Richard was the greatest of them all. He showed us words are
powerful.
Once again Shakespeare kept me on the edge of
my seat. Shakespeare, like any good SF writer, carries
me to other worlds, make-believe kingdoms; he shows me how a bunch of "mythical" beings can still give me a realistic insight into our modern world.
With his characters, and Richard III is a very
good case in point, makes me see human life in its entire nudity, and its joy
and tragedy. What do I learn by reading Shakespeare? He draws my attention to
how we, as humans, are fragile in relation to the turmoil living within us.
I'm still flabbergasted how he can
"reveal" the truth about the fragility of our human existence. By
watching and reading Richard III, I can glimpse the inner minds of our
politicians...
When I started this quest, one of my main
objectives was to make someone interested in reading Shakespeare. Even if
someone does not feel an urgent urge to read him, my hope is that my personal experience
in reading him will plant the seed. Let these scattered thoughts be traces left
by someone, from small Portugal, who has learned a lot by reading Shakespeare.
What does Shakespeare give me? Layers and
layers of musings, träumereien, devaneios and knowledge that will stay with me till the day I die.
Günter Grass comes to mind with his onion peeling.
If you don't want to have an empty soul, go and
read Shakespeare.
NB: Prior to going to see the play, I always like to get fully immersed in the
text. That’s what I did by reading the play in my Rowse. Because I thought there was still not enough deep-immersion,
I read Bloom’s diatribes in this book for good measure as well …
NB2: SF = Speculative Fiction.
