English Lit. Shakespeare Week 7.

[john_mahoney]

So the Discussions are on again. I've got to say there didn't seem much of a gap between discussions this time. Not that I see a problem with that, I could use all the help I can get with Henry the IV (even after an impromptu performance).

I still can't seem to decide my feelings towards the characters in the play. King Henry seems a blood thirsty

Comments

Comment for Week 7

[alitajoan]

Hey John,
I completely agree with you about still feeling unsure about the character in Henry IV part 1. I feel like everyone is an extreme. I was thinking about it today, if you were to put them on the spectrum you would have Hotspur and King Henry on the Right wing, Falstaff on the far Left and Prince Hal floating in between them, being forced to choose. It is as though none of the characters can balance the fun loving of Falstaff and the honour of Hotspur or perhaps the King. Even in Prince Hal's speeches he recognizes that he cannot be one while attempting to hold on to the other. Very curious. Anyway I am still unsure of my own feelings about the characters, but hopefully by the end we both will have opinions about them.

Thanks for your lovely words!

[elisriture]

I actually wrote that epic thing at work (I am a babysitter so once the kids are asleep I get to do whatever I want in a quiet house, it is PERFECT time for writing, and since I am at work I'm actually getting paid to do it, which aids my daydreams that I am a "professional writer" but anyway) so it would have taken an hour or two, I just had Golding's version out in front of me so I could read it, get the rhythm, see what rhyme I had to come up with, maybe get an idea of what theme to play with, etc

[kelsvincent]

"Don't really know, but it always irks me how the characters are given their full names right away." responded Johnny Wakefield "you know, like it's the first thing you need to know and yet their last name is never mentioned again."
I have thought about that before. You know so much about a character, or even someone in your own life, and their last name doens't come into it at all. Like Madonna, or umm.. trying to think of someone else that just has a first name. But there are many out there. Maybe it is just fashionable to have a strong first name that everyone remembers? Maybe writers don't include a last name because there is no need. Their name stands out on its own. I just took that part of what you said and ran with it.. Might not make any sense in relation to anything else haha.