Carmelo Bene's Riccardo III part one first monologue

by Corry Shores
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Opening monologue:

At his father's funeral (of King Henri VI), Gloucester mourns, although lasciviously. His family's blood waters the earth. Never has he pitied, loved, or feared– still yet he cries. Born a dog, feet-first and fanged. Hell crippled his soul; in proportion heaven deformed him.

When he slips, the chambermaid embraces to kiss . . .

. . . though in dream.

Without brother, friend, or counterpart: "I. . . I am different!"

Bene, Carmelo. Richard III. in Superpositions. Transl. Jean-Paul Manganaro and Danielle Dubroca. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit, 1979.