Lemon v. Kurtzman

In the opening Act of Richard the III, Shakespeare introduces the protagonist, Richard, with a soliloquy, revealing a brilliant and witty mind within a deformed body. The house of York, as described, has taken power and Edward “this son of York” has been crowned king. In lines 1-41 of Act 1, Scene 1, Richard reflects on how these events affect him. He begins the plots and descriptions that will fool successive characters (like his brothers). Shakespeare uses soliloquies as a mode of expressing…

In the historical play Henry V, by William Shakespeare, we are introduced to the story of a young and mysterious King Henry V of England, and his quest to conquer France under the ruler ship of Charles VI of France. According to (“Henry V (play)”), it details Henry’s life leading up to and following the Battle of Agincourt in the year 1415. From the very beginning, the Chorus portrays Henry as a glorious King who is about to engage in an epic and glorifying battle with the French. However, the…

Showcased in their workshop presentation, discussion, and performance of Henry V, the American Shakespeare Company (ASC) demonstrate significant understanding and enthusiasm in their interpretations of the play; namely in the portrayal of Henry himself. ASC Co-founder and Artistic Director Jim Warren professes that “like all of Shakespeare’s major characters, Henry is not just one thing. He’s calculating and heroic; he’s patriotic and ruthless; and he gets the girl with one of Shakespeare’s most…

King Henry V’s rhetoric often relies on contrasting the noble class and class of commoners, which are seen, by Shakespeare, to not be as polarized as some would believe, because both contain universally human elements. Although King Henry’s speech to the traitors creates the clearest discussion of the upper and lower socio-political classes, the context for the speech is fundamental to properly understanding and analyzing it, as well as giving further evidence on its own. Specifically, before…

I believe that Henry is an good king. He does have flaws but there is almost never a story that has one perfect character. Henry’s flaws are sometimes hard to find but sometimes easy to see. He clearly makes non-Christian threats to people and people groups. For example in Act 3 Scene 3 Henry is speaking to the governor and he threatens to kill their babies, and men. This is not a good representation of a Christian's motives. If a leader of a kingdom were to say or do something negative it…

interpretation of his words. In The Hollow Crown’s version of Henry V Tom Hiddleston breathes life into the long dead King Henry V. Juxtaposition is brilliantly used by director Thea Sharrock to contrast the French to the English, as well as emphasize the passion and turmoil that Henry V experiences. The pinnacle of the polarization between the King and the French is witnessed when comparing French Ambassador Montjoy’s first visit to King Henry V to his last visit, an effect created not only…

In the historical play Henry V, by William Shakespeare, we are introduced to the story of a young and mysterious King Henry V of England, and his quest to conquer France under the ruler ship of Charles VI of France. According to (“Henry V (play)”), it details Henry’s life leading up to and following the Battle of Agincourt in the year 1415. From the very beginning, the Chorus portrays Henry as a glorious King who is about to engage in an epic and glorifying battle with the French. However, the…

William Shakespeare’s elaborate use of characterization within the play Henry V. Proves suspicions that King Henry V did not believe the St. Crispin’s Day speech for his soldiers, but rather used it to further his own success. Shakespeare demonstrate this through the characterization of Henry. Shakespeare creates Henry to have characteristic such as, Henry’s immaturity, never to take the blame, his abuse of power through unnecessary games, and his deceiving and manipulative ways. A…

In class we have discussed numerous rhetoric’s from across Shakespeare’s plays. Within them, the characters are constantly trying to persuade other characters into doing certain things. Shakespeare gives many of his characters very different methods of persuasion. Sometimes it’s planting false information into someone’s mind like Iago in Othello, who manipulated the title character to kill his wife. Even so, there are times when the rhetoric fails and so did the characters that gave them. In the…

Henry V is full of confusion and changing tides. The play opens up with the king Henry V who used to be the wild Prince Hal in Pt. 1 of Henry IV, but now he is a valiant and aggressive monarch who does what is “right” for his English nation. History goes back and forth between who should rightfully have the French crown: the English or the French? The English army also fluctuates between honorable men fighting a glorious war and those who are fearful and doubtful of the war’s necessity. Is this…