28th Annual Student Research Conference
Perceptions of Monstrosity in Richard III
Antonio B. Gomez Doggett
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
From his first monologue, Richard Duke of Gloucester seems to attribute the crookedness of his mind to the crookedness of his spine. Using the perpetuation of the Elizabethan, and indeed older, stigma that physical deformity was either caused by one's own sin or the sins of one's parents, Shakespeare casts the King, perhaps wrongfully, as a monster. What is interesting, however, is that those around Richard III do not seem as repulsed by his appearance as by his monstrous behaviour. This paper, through analysis of the characters surrounding Richard, seeks to show that deformity was not the cause of his peers hate, but his murders and moral trespasses --Richard only interprets these assaults as stemming from deformity.
Keywords: Richard III, Shakespeare, Scoliosis
Topic(s):English
Theatre
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 102-4
Location: VH 1010
Time: 8:45