Ambiguity in Shakespeare's History Play King Henry V

Ambiguity in Shakespeare's History Play King Henry V PDF Author: Michael Trinkwalder
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3656200394
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,00, Staatliche Berufliche Oberschule Fachoberschule / Berufsoberschule Kaufbeuren, language: English, abstract: "King Henry V" has always been considered as Shakespeare's most patriotic play, one could even argue his most nationalistic play. "King Henry V" appears to be the story of the ideal English king who is brave, charismatic, honourable and pious or as Shakespeare puts it, he is "the mirror of all Christian kings" who fights for what is righteously his and leads his "band of brothers" to victory against impossible odds. However, to truly understand Shakespeare's motivations, we have to take a look at the tumultuous time in which the play was written. Under the reign of Elizabeth I., England had either been at war or at the constant threat of one for decades. It was a time of frequent conspiracies to overthrow the queen and bloody rebellions. In this context the play can be seen as an attempt to raise the morale and to rally the English around a common cause. This interpretation becomes plausible given the fact that the play's popularity increased whenever England was threatened, for example in both world wars and the Napoleonic wars. Nevertheless "King Henry V" is not just simple wartime propaganda, it's an ambiguous play which can be interpreted both as a glorification of war or alternatively as a subtle critique of the cruelty and futility of war. It lies entirely in the eye of the beholder. Someone with a patriotic point of view might identify himself with the virtuous Henry or admire that - although weakened by plague and famine - the English soldiers and their king defeats a superior French army, whereas a more critical reader might question the legitimacy of waging a war of aggression in the first place. Furthermore particularly modern readers feel disgusted by the killing of the unarmed prisoners at the battle of Agincourt. Nowadays it wou

Ambiguity in Shakespeare's History Play King Henry V

Ambiguity in Shakespeare's History Play King Henry V PDF Author: Michael Trinkwalder
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3656200394
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 41

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,00, Staatliche Berufliche Oberschule Fachoberschule / Berufsoberschule Kaufbeuren, language: English, abstract: "King Henry V" has always been considered as Shakespeare's most patriotic play, one could even argue his most nationalistic play. "King Henry V" appears to be the story of the ideal English king who is brave, charismatic, honourable and pious or as Shakespeare puts it, he is "the mirror of all Christian kings" who fights for what is righteously his and leads his "band of brothers" to victory against impossible odds. However, to truly understand Shakespeare's motivations, we have to take a look at the tumultuous time in which the play was written. Under the reign of Elizabeth I., England had either been at war or at the constant threat of one for decades. It was a time of frequent conspiracies to overthrow the queen and bloody rebellions. In this context the play can be seen as an attempt to raise the morale and to rally the English around a common cause. This interpretation becomes plausible given the fact that the play's popularity increased whenever England was threatened, for example in both world wars and the Napoleonic wars. Nevertheless "King Henry V" is not just simple wartime propaganda, it's an ambiguous play which can be interpreted both as a glorification of war or alternatively as a subtle critique of the cruelty and futility of war. It lies entirely in the eye of the beholder. Someone with a patriotic point of view might identify himself with the virtuous Henry or admire that - although weakened by plague and famine - the English soldiers and their king defeats a superior French army, whereas a more critical reader might question the legitimacy of waging a war of aggression in the first place. Furthermore particularly modern readers feel disgusted by the killing of the unarmed prisoners at the battle of Agincourt. Nowadays it wou

Ambiguity in Shakespeare’s History Play “King Henry V”

Ambiguity in Shakespeare’s History Play “King Henry V” PDF Author: Michael Trinkwalder
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3656199272
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,00, Staatliche Berufliche Oberschule Fachoberschule / Berufsoberschule Kaufbeuren, language: English, abstract: “King Henry V” has always been considered as Shakespeare’s most patriotic play, one could even argue his most nationalistic play. “King Henry V” appears to be the story of the ideal English king who is brave, charismatic, honourable and pious or as Shakespeare puts it, he is “the mirror of all Christian kings” who fights for what is righteously his and leads his “band of brothers” to victory against impossible odds. However, to truly understand Shakespeare’s motivations, we have to take a look at the tumultuous time in which the play was written. Under the reign of Elizabeth I., England had either been at war or at the constant threat of one for decades. It was a time of frequent conspiracies to overthrow the queen and bloody rebellions. In this context the play can be seen as an attempt to raise the morale and to rally the English around a common cause. This interpretation becomes plausible given the fact that the play’s popularity increased whenever England was threatened, for example in both world wars and the Napoleonic wars. Nevertheless “King Henry V” is not just simple wartime propaganda, it’s an ambiguous play which can be interpreted both as a glorification of war or alternatively as a subtle critique of the cruelty and futility of war. It lies entirely in the eye of the beholder. Someone with a patriotic point of view might identify himself with the virtuous Henry or admire that - although weakened by plague and famine - the English soldiers and their king defeats a superior French army, whereas a more critical reader might question the legitimacy of waging a war of aggression in the first place. Furthermore particularly modern readers feel disgusted by the killing of the unarmed prisoners at the battle of Agincourt. Nowadays it would be considered a war crime and even back then it was considered inhumane. On the one hand Shakespeare seems to show the ideal monarch and an English nation united in victory, on the other hand he shows the ugly face of war with all his atrocities and inhumanity. In the following essay I will show both, the patriotic and a more critical perspective and the reason why Shakespeare implemented both of them in his play.

The Life of King Henry the Fifth

The Life of King Henry the Fifth PDF Author: William Shakespeare
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description


Shakespeare's History Plays: Richard II to Henry V, the Making of a King

Shakespeare's History Plays: Richard II to Henry V, the Making of a King PDF Author: C W R D Moseley
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1847601065
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Part I provides some contexts for what is inevitably our reading of the history plays, so that perhaps we may guess at the impact they may have had on their contemporaries. The author suggests, by implication, a way of approaching Elizabethan drama that may be generally useful. Part II is a consideration of what the author thinks are some major issues in the Ricardian plays.

The History Plays

The History Plays PDF Author: William Shakespeare
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 1466884363
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 987

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Book Description
It is part of Shakespeare's extraordinary contribution to our culture that, through his dramas based on English history, he played a unique part in forming our view of ourselves and our nationhood. From King John, in which through Magna Carta the king's absolute power was first limited and the people's freedoms assured, to--almost in his own lifetime--Henry VIII, Shakespeare wrote a series of ten plays portraying the course of history. It represents almost one third of his entire dramatic output. The overarching theme of these plays is the vital importance of the sovereign's legitimacy if the nation is to be stable. They cover revolutionary times and events--the deposition and murder of Richard II, the Wars of the Roses, the usurping of the throne by Richard III--but they always affirm the principle that a legitimate king, circumscribed by an agreed constituion, is the only proper guarantee of the nation's liberties. There are many other ways in which Shakespeare's patriotism has become definitive. In Henry V's St. Crispin's Day speech to the troops before Agincourt, for example, or John of gaunt's 'scepter'd isle' speech, a sense of Englishness is expressed which still lives in English minds today. The E;izabethan's pride in nationhood was perfectly embodied by Shakespeare, but the poetry of it transcends its own time. In this edition the history plays are brought together with a large group of illustrations which echo and amplify their themes. Gloriously vivid images of England's story are presented here, putting the great plays in a magnificent setting.

Unconformities in Shakespeare’s History Plays

Unconformities in Shakespeare’s History Plays PDF Author: K. Smidt
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349168033
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description


Shakespeare's History Plays

Shakespeare's History Plays PDF Author: Robert Watt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131787613X
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Shakespeare's history plays are central to his dramatic achievement. In recent years they have become more widely studied than ever, stimulating intensely contested interpretations, due to their relevance to central contemporary issues such as English, national identities and gender roles. Interpretations of the history plays have been transformed since the 1980s by new theoretically-informed critical approaches. Movements such as New Historicism and cultural materialism, as well as psychoanalytical and post-colonial approaches, have swept away the humanist consensus of the mid-twentieth century with its largely conservative view of the plays. The last decade has seen an emergence of feminist and gender-based readings of plays which were once thought overwhelmingly masculine in their concerns. This book provides an up-to-date critical anthology representing the best work from each of the modern theoretical perspectives. The introduction outlines the changing debate in an area which is now one of the liveliest in Shakespearean criticism.

The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's History Plays

The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's History Plays PDF Author: Michael Hattaway
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521775397
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Publisher Description (unedited publisher data) Shakespeare's history plays have been performed more in recent years than ever before, in Britain, North America, and in Europe. This volume provides an accessible, wide-ranging and informed introduction to Shakespeare's history and Roman plays. It is attentive throughout to the plays as they have been performed over the centuries since they were written. The first part offers accounts of the genre of the history play, of Renaissance historiography, of pageants and masques, and of women's roles, as well as comparisons with history plays in Spain and the Netherlands. Chapters in the second part look at individual plays as well as other Shakespearean texts which are closely related to the histories. The Companion offers a full bibliography, genealogical tables, and a list of principal and recurrent characters. It is a comprehensive guide for students, researchers and theatre-goers alike.

The Strong Necessity of Time

The Strong Necessity of Time PDF Author: G. F. Waller
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110806436
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
No detailed description available for "The Strong Necessity of Time".

Shakespeare's Dramatic Genres

Shakespeare's Dramatic Genres PDF Author: Lawrence Danson
Publisher: Oxford Shakespeare Topics
ISBN: 9780198711728
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Oxford Shakespeare Topics provides students, teachers, and interested readers with short books on important aspects of Shakespeare criticism and scholarship. Each book is written by an authority in its field, and combines accessible style with original discussion of its subject. Notes and a critical guide to further reading equip the interested reader with the means to broaden research. The history of the genres, or kinds, of drama is one of contradictory traditions and complex cultural assumptions. The divisions established by the original edition of Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (the First Folio, 1623) give shape to whole curricula; but, as Lawrence Danson reminds us in this lively book, there is nothing inevitable, and much unsatisfying, about that tripartite scheme. Yet students of Shakespeare cannot avoid thinking about questions of genre; often they are the unspoken reason why classrooms full of smart people fail to agree on basic interpretative issues. Danson's guide to the kinds of Shakespearian drama provides an accessible account of genre-theory in Shakespeare's day, an overview of the genres on the Elizabethan stage, and a provocative look at the full range of Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies.