Richard III

Question:

Answers:

1. 
   jamie-wheeler Teacher
   College - Sophomore

   Like much of Shakespeare's verse, this line has multiple nuances. Richard suffers from a birth defect that makes him a hunchback. As a result, he grows up feeling belittled and unappreciated.

   But there is more to the story than this. A good analysis comes from "The Shakespeare Resource Center" (http://www.bardweb.net/content/readings/richard3/lines.html). They explain the line this way: "Dissembling (from Middle English dissymblen, deriving from the Middle French dissimuler via Latin dissimulare "to simulate") means "putting on a false face; effecting a pretence to conceal facts, intentions, or feelings" and also reflects a man at odds with Nature."

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/richard

   Rate answer:

    

   • Flag as inappropriate

   Posted by jamie-wheeler on Monday May 14, 2007 at 3:08 PM