The main focus of the second part of King Henry VI is Henry's inability to rule England. He has numerous conflicts with his wife, Queen Margaret that reveal his lack of power and authority. The play includes many battle scenes, including the First Battle of St. Albans in the opening act. Other major events include the marriage of King Henry VI and Queen Margaret, Margaret's affair with the Earl of Suffolk, the death of Henry's trusted advisor, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Jack Cage the the rebellion of the common people, and the rise of the Duke of York.
Even though there were a lot more character to keep straight, I found the second part a little easier to read. I guess there's something to be said about "learning the language" of Shakespeare. I'm right on track to start Part 3 tomorrow. We'll see how the schedule goes once grad school starts up again this week!
Showing posts with label 365 days of shakespeare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 365 days of shakespeare. Show all posts
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
#365 Shakespeare - King Henry VI, Part 1
Finished the King Henry the Sixth, part one in my 365 days of Shakespeare challenge. I always had a really, really hard time with Shakespeare in high school, so this has been much easier than I thought. The language is the hardest part for me, but I'm getting use to it. One play down and thirty-six more to go...thank you sparknotes and Wikipedia!
King Henry VI, part was written around 1592 during the reign of Elizabeth I. It is a history play and focuses on the time period shortly after the death of Henry V in 1422. Part one covers the origins of the War of the Roses, describing England's lose of territories to France, Joan of Arc, and Henry VI's marriage to Margaret of Anjou. My first introduction to the War of the Roses was reading Philippa Gregory's Cousin's War Series that tells the story of the women behind the conflict of the house of Lancaster and the house of York for the crown of English. One of the novels, Lady of the Rivers includes the Duke of Bedford's wife, Jacquetta, Joan of Arc, young King Henry VI, among others. It was really interesting to see a different perspective on this time period. Major themes include the death of chivalry, multiple conflicts, and the role of untraditional women. Of even more interest was that even though the play was written over 170 years after the event took place, the politics of the time period were still very influential. A number of years later, but not nearly as long as writing about this era today. The three plays of King Henry VI are thought to be the first plays based on recent history...in essence, the first historical fiction written recent English history.
King Henry VI, part was written around 1592 during the reign of Elizabeth I. It is a history play and focuses on the time period shortly after the death of Henry V in 1422. Part one covers the origins of the War of the Roses, describing England's lose of territories to France, Joan of Arc, and Henry VI's marriage to Margaret of Anjou. My first introduction to the War of the Roses was reading Philippa Gregory's Cousin's War Series that tells the story of the women behind the conflict of the house of Lancaster and the house of York for the crown of English. One of the novels, Lady of the Rivers includes the Duke of Bedford's wife, Jacquetta, Joan of Arc, young King Henry VI, among others. It was really interesting to see a different perspective on this time period. Major themes include the death of chivalry, multiple conflicts, and the role of untraditional women. Of even more interest was that even though the play was written over 170 years after the event took place, the politics of the time period were still very influential. A number of years later, but not nearly as long as writing about this era today. The three plays of King Henry VI are thought to be the first plays based on recent history...in essence, the first historical fiction written recent English history.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
365 Days of Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is one of my all time favorite books. I first read it when I was about ten and have read it at least four or five times. It's about a young girl named Francie Nolan growing up in Brooklyn at the turn of the 20th century. I feel in love with the character right away - she loves books - and two things in the book have stuck with me every since. The first is that she goes to the library every day and has the goal of reading every book there - reading about this was one of the first time that I remember being completely fascinated with books and libraries. The thought of being able to read every single book amazed me to no end, even if it was a really small library!
The second thing in the book is that every night before Francie and her brother go to bed, their mom reads them a page of Shakespeare and a page of the bible. Here's the quote:
"Before they went to bed, Francie and Neeley had to read a page of the Bible and a page from Shakespeare. That was a rule. Mama used to read the two pages to them each night until they were old enough to read for themselves. To save time, Neeley read the Bible page and Francie read from Shakespeare."
The second thing in the book is that every night before Francie and her brother go to bed, their mom reads them a page of Shakespeare and a page of the bible. Here's the quote:
"Before they went to bed, Francie and Neeley had to read a page of the Bible and a page from Shakespeare. That was a rule. Mama used to read the two pages to them each night until they were old enough to read for themselves. To save time, Neeley read the Bible page and Francie read from Shakespeare."
Anyways, I've always wanted to do this - going on almost 15 years now. But i figured it out and it would take me four years...way too long. Then I thought I could read both in a year. But that seemed a little unrealistic. So I decided to focus on Shakespeare this year - and hopefully tackle the Bible next year. Shakespeare has always been a struggle for me and I thought I'd be good to get it out of the ways first.
My plan is to read a couple pages each day. I'm reading the Barnes & Noble Collectable Edition. There are 1263 pages...minus the glossary is a total of 1252 pages. That's 3.43 pages a day. Should be doable, right? I'm then going to right a blog post after I finish each play with the label 365 days of shakespeare.
Wish me luck :)
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