Richard Ⅲ, the Monster : Representation of Monstrosity from the Perspective of Entertainment Culture
Bibliographic Information
- Other Title
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- 『リチャード三世』における怪物の表象 : 娯楽文化史の視座から
- リチャード 3セイ ニオケル カイブツ ノ ヒョウショウ : ゴラク ブンカシ ノ シザ カラ
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Abstract
The excavation of Richard III’s remains by the University of Leicester in 2012 revealed that Richard III’s physical deformity was not a mere exaggeration in Shakespeare’s works, but rather a factual embellishment. While Shakespeare in his own works further demonized the ‘disabled’ Richard portrayed in Thomas More’s ‘The History of King Richard the Thirde’, one wonders how the contemporaneous audience consumed this monstrosity attributed to Richard. In ‘Henry VI, Part 3’, Richard declares, ‘Proteus is not more flexible in shape-changing than I am.’ Records of performances at Bartholomew Fair by acrobats began to emerge in the 17th century, with a focus on bodily contortions as a central act. Acrobats, such as Joseph Clark who performed at Southwark Fair, were noted by diarist John Evelyn to have earned money by portraying a hunchbacked individual, and were praised for their Protean-like transformations. This paper points out that concepts like deformity and monstrosity were not only anatomical phenomena since Aristotle’s time, but also sources of the playwright’s imagination.
Journal
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- Kumamoto journal of humanities
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Kumamoto journal of humanities 5 39-52, 2024-03-31
熊本大学大学院人文社会科学研究部(文学系)
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Details 詳細情報について
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- CRID
- 1050581148772042240
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- NII Book ID
- AA12888532
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- HANDLE
- 2298/0002000358
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- NDL BIB ID
- 033429480
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- ISSN
- 24350052
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- Text Lang
- ja
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- Article Type
- departmental bulletin paper
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- Data Source
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- IRDB
- NDL