Deformity in Richard III :: Richard II Richard III Essays

Richard III and Deformity  Some scholars insist that Richard was neither crippled nor humpbacked, and they are passionately dedicated to proving that Shakespeares portrait of the dusty monster is based on Tudor propaganda used to  bolster Henry VIIs weak claim to the throne                The only proof we have of Richard IIIs deformity is that which is provided by Sir Thomas More in The History of King Richard the  Third.  It is here that modern readers digest the adjectives which forever plague Richard Little of stature, ill-featured of limbs,  crooked-backed, his left shoulder frequently higher than his right.  This  description may seem horrible, but it is only compounded when it is  placed next to the deformity of his character.  Regardless of whether Richard was truly the demon he was portrayed to be, the role of Richard III as established by William Shakesp eare is one of the more  challenging roles for the Shakespearean actor. Because this weeks  annotations were to be focused on the actors perspective of Shakespeare, I chose to focus my posting on the same topic.                First of all, Richard III is on peak longer than any other Bard character. Usually, the time on stage is not a bed of roses either. The actor must limp, wear a hump, or at least hunch over for the  duration of the play.  This may excoriate an actor to chiropractic sessions for the rest of their life                Certain actors have defined the role of Richard.  Antony Sher researched the affects of scoliosis on the body, and any other back deformity he could.  When it was time for him to let acting the role and he saw the make-up crews version of his hump he stated,    With my heart in my mouth, I hurry over to see my back.  Its   overmuch softer than I imagined, lying on the floor like a big pink  blancmange, a slice of blubber, a side of Elephant Man.