Hey folks! I'm still going, just haven't have a lot of time of late for blogging.
Henry IV Part I is quite good, so far my favorite of the histories, but I don't find myself having a lot to say about it at this point. Henry IV Part II is... well, more of the same, but not as well done. I did love the conversation between Henry IV and Hal on Henry's death bed. May be able to muster a post about that. Or I may just roll it into a big tetrology wrapup after I finish Henry V.
As always, questions, comments, suggestions, jeers, and what have you are welcome!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
And lay the summer's dust with showers of blood Rain'd from the wounds of slaughter'd Englishmen
A contrast of kings in the face of rebellion. Richard II says "please don't kill me, you can be king", while Henry IV says "if all you little pissants go home right now I won't spank the living fuck out of you".
Or, if you prefer, the quotes:
(After sending a reasonably manly message of "I'm your king, and I banished you, so quit with the treason already" to Bolingbroke with Northumberland, awaiting the reply.)
Notice that? Richard himself, without even hearing Bolingbroke's reply, just folds like a cheap card table. And, what's more, at the end of his little speech he just flat out names Henry king. "Fuck this guys, I quit."
Now, for that self same man - Bolingbroke, now King Henry IV - addressing the Earl of Worcester, who represents the rebels (himself, Henry Percy (Hotspur) and the Earl of Douglas).
KING HENRY IV:
And, will they take the offer of our grace,
Both he and they and you, every man
Shall be my friend again and I'll be his:
So tell your cousin, and bring me word
What he will do: but if he will not yield,
Rebuke and dread correction wait on us
And they shall do their office. So, be gone;
We will not now be troubled with reply:
We offer fair; take it advisedly.
Unsurprisingly, Henry's words result in a battle and Richard's do not. Also, he keeps his crown and Richard does not.
Also, just for the sake of completeness, it should be noted that Worcester is a fucker. He knows if he delivers the message straight that the Percys might back down, so:
WORCESTER:
I told him gently of our grievances,
Of his oath-breaking; which he mended thus,
By now forswearing that he is forsworn:
He calls us rebels, traitors; and will scourge
With haughty arms this hateful name in us.
To his credit, they'd have been screwed had they shown Henry their throats too, but still. What a dick.
Or, if you prefer, the quotes:
(After sending a reasonably manly message of "I'm your king, and I banished you, so quit with the treason already" to Bolingbroke with Northumberland, awaiting the reply.)
AUMERLE:
Northumberland comes back from Bolingbroke.
RICHARD:
What must the king do now? must he submit?
The king shall do it: must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go
The king shall do it: must he be deposed?
The king shall be contented: must he lose
The name of king? o' God's name, let it go
*snip* (He's goes on a bit here)
Most mighty prince, my Lord Northumberland,
What says King Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?
What says King Bolingbroke? will his majesty
Give Richard leave to live till Richard die?
Notice that? Richard himself, without even hearing Bolingbroke's reply, just folds like a cheap card table. And, what's more, at the end of his little speech he just flat out names Henry king. "Fuck this guys, I quit."
Now, for that self same man - Bolingbroke, now King Henry IV - addressing the Earl of Worcester, who represents the rebels (himself, Henry Percy (Hotspur) and the Earl of Douglas).
KING HENRY IV:
And, will they take the offer of our grace,
Both he and they and you, every man
Shall be my friend again and I'll be his:
So tell your cousin, and bring me word
What he will do: but if he will not yield,
Rebuke and dread correction wait on us
And they shall do their office. So, be gone;
We will not now be troubled with reply:
We offer fair; take it advisedly.
Unsurprisingly, Henry's words result in a battle and Richard's do not. Also, he keeps his crown and Richard does not.
Also, just for the sake of completeness, it should be noted that Worcester is a fucker. He knows if he delivers the message straight that the Percys might back down, so:
WORCESTER:
I told him gently of our grievances,
Of his oath-breaking; which he mended thus,
By now forswearing that he is forsworn:
He calls us rebels, traitors; and will scourge
With haughty arms this hateful name in us.
To his credit, they'd have been screwed had they shown Henry their throats too, but still. What a dick.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
'Tis a commodity will lose the gloss with Lying; the longer kept, the less worth: off with't While 'tis vendible
After finishing Winter's Tale and being quite disenchanted, I thought a rip roaring comedy would do me well. Thus, All's Well That Ends Well, which proved a very good time. It's fun to see the woman as the pursuer in a tale such as this. Helena performs a wide range of herculean acts to nab Bertram (ranging from saving the King's life to rape-by-fraud), who is really not worth her attention to begin with. Once again, the Bard's ladies far outclass his gentlemen.
Speaking of class, however, Parolles, is a good time; though he be a coward and a knave. In his first appearance he puts up some pretty convincing arguments for the undesirability of maintaining one's chastity (young lads, take note!):
Virginity being blown down, man will quicklier be
blown up: marry, in blowing him down again, with
the breach yourselves made, you lose your city. It
is not politic in the commonwealth of nature to
preserve virginity. Loss of virginity is rational
increase and there was never virgin got till
virginity was first lost.
But more importantly, the dude learns. He is exposed and disreputed; forced to change, and he himself knows immediately that he will be a better man for't. Parolles knows better than anybody that this is the only way he'll ever be a decent person.
Captain I'll be no more;
But I will eat and drink, and sleep as soft
As captain shall: simply the thing I am
Shall make me live. Who knows himself a braggart,
Let him fear this, for it will come to pass
That every braggart shall be found an ass.
Rust, sword? cool, blushes! and, Parolles, live
Safest in shame!
Speaking of class, however, Parolles, is a good time; though he be a coward and a knave. In his first appearance he puts up some pretty convincing arguments for the undesirability of maintaining one's chastity (young lads, take note!):
Virginity being blown down, man will quicklier be
blown up: marry, in blowing him down again, with
the breach yourselves made, you lose your city. It
is not politic in the commonwealth of nature to
preserve virginity. Loss of virginity is rational
increase and there was never virgin got till
virginity was first lost.
But more importantly, the dude learns. He is exposed and disreputed; forced to change, and he himself knows immediately that he will be a better man for't. Parolles knows better than anybody that this is the only way he'll ever be a decent person.
Captain I'll be no more;
But I will eat and drink, and sleep as soft
As captain shall: simply the thing I am
Shall make me live. Who knows himself a braggart,
Let him fear this, for it will come to pass
That every braggart shall be found an ass.
Rust, sword? cool, blushes! and, Parolles, live
Safest in shame!
Friday, May 6, 2011
It was myself, my brother and his son, That brought you home
I get it now. Richard II is The Phantom Menace of Shakespearean histories.
The men are not yet cold under water, nor The bear half dined on the gentleman
The Winter's Tale includes a peculiar and oft-quoted stage direction. (Exit, pursued by a bear). It's a sort of bizarre non sequitur; no bear is present in the scene up to that point. For context, Antigonus finishes a lengthy soliloquy lamenting that the task has fallen to him to abandon Leontes baby (yeah, that guy) whom he has rejected. At this point in the writing of the play, one can only assume that Shakespeare asked himself "Well, fuck. Now that Leontes has realized that he's totally wrong, why would he not interrogate Antigonus upon his return to Sicily, and go reclaim the girl? Welp, guess I gotta kill him!"
And so the Bard expediently does so. That's a thing, I think. Expedience. In The Winter's Tale, he throws a bear at Antigonus and drowns his entire crew with a aboardship. Then he dusts off his hands and proceeds on with his play.
You see, the plot as it stands requires that Perdita be raised by a poor shepherd so that she can grow up and fall in love with Florizel, the son of Polixines. The play takes a turn toward the lighter end of Shakespeare after this scene. The madness and attempted infantcide are all out of the way, and it's time to get on with the mistaken identities, disguises, clever thieves and other madcap adventures one might expect in a Shakespearian comedy. With just one problem... there are only two acts remaining.
It's really like two mini-plays. Here's a quick tragedy; wherein Leontes fucks everything up, drives off his friend, has his daughter abandoned, and is responsible for the death of his wife and son; and now here's a little comedy that takes everything and makes it all right (sort of - Mamillius and Antigonus are still dead, after all).
But, I digress. This is about expedience. Antigonus death (and Mamillius's, his is even more offhand) are written in quickly in order to fill the playwright's need. No words or time are wasted, nothing to see, just move along, we've got a story to tell.
Frequently, this is where Shakespeare brings in the supernatural: the Ghost of King Hamlet isn't needed to draw Hamlet's suspicions, but his nature makes it possible for Shakespeare to say, absolutely, "this is so, let's move on".
And so the Bard expediently does so. That's a thing, I think. Expedience. In The Winter's Tale, he throws a bear at Antigonus and drowns his entire crew with a aboardship. Then he dusts off his hands and proceeds on with his play.
You see, the plot as it stands requires that Perdita be raised by a poor shepherd so that she can grow up and fall in love with Florizel, the son of Polixines. The play takes a turn toward the lighter end of Shakespeare after this scene. The madness and attempted infantcide are all out of the way, and it's time to get on with the mistaken identities, disguises, clever thieves and other madcap adventures one might expect in a Shakespearian comedy. With just one problem... there are only two acts remaining.
It's really like two mini-plays. Here's a quick tragedy; wherein Leontes fucks everything up, drives off his friend, has his daughter abandoned, and is responsible for the death of his wife and son; and now here's a little comedy that takes everything and makes it all right (sort of - Mamillius and Antigonus are still dead, after all).
But, I digress. This is about expedience. Antigonus death (and Mamillius's, his is even more offhand) are written in quickly in order to fill the playwright's need. No words or time are wasted, nothing to see, just move along, we've got a story to tell.
Frequently, this is where Shakespeare brings in the supernatural: the Ghost of King Hamlet isn't needed to draw Hamlet's suspicions, but his nature makes it possible for Shakespeare to say, absolutely, "this is so, let's move on".
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