Henry IV Part I Flashcards
Context
A historical play by William Shakespeare
Believed to be written around 1597
When was it written
Believed to be around 1597
Lady Percy’s role in the play
Represents women in society and royalty
Her role is to serve her husband
Shows the effects of war on those who were leafy behind - how war effects marriage and lifestyle
| traits mainly seen in part two as she portrays a war widow
As Feminist as she could be while at the command of her husband
Feminist traits
Strong and as independent as she could be in her position
Stands up for what she believes In
Including standing up for herself and what she deserves
Acts as a mouth piece for women in a world dominated by men
Main role
She is an empathetic character, with quite an endearing sense of naivety, who brings the vastness of war to home
Objective
All she really wants is love and closeness
Wants her husband to open up to her
Help and support him and get supported in return
Subjective
She is frustrated at how far Hotspur has isolated and distances himself but as she is from an upper class family she would have been taught from a young age to control her feelings
Linking back to the importance of her character and the social ranking of women in the 16th century
Shakespeare’s influences
Nearly all of his plays (apart from a mid summers nights dream) are based on real stories and this being a historical play, shows how Shakespeare saw that part of history
Time period
Elizabethan and Jacobean
Style of the play
One of his histories
IAMBIC PENTAMETER IAMBIC = heart beat boom bom boom bom Stressed unstressed stressed unstressed PENT = five METER= line
5 stressed and unstressed syllables in a ten beat line
These are sometimes broken with an INVERSION by feminine endings of 9 or 11 syllables in a line to give emotional emphasis
Context before and during
My speech is act 2 scene 3
Before the scene we see Henry Percy reading a letter from a potential Allie where he is told that his plan for the rebellion is weak and badly timed and Hotspur believes that he will tell the king. Therefore he decides to leave in two hours. Then I walk in, lady Percy that is, and he tells her he’s off and she finally decides to confront him about how frustrated she is getting with him distancing himself and how she is not being treated how she deserved
How the time difference would alter the performance
1597
Firstly I wouldn’t be acting - lady Percy would be played by a boy
The movements would be a lot less grounded and relaxed as they would have been corseted and wearing long skirts so the movements would have been more poised and controlled The movements would also be more reserved because of the deportment lessons she would have grown up taking as an upper class woman in society
Pre-Stanislavsky techniques so the performance would be a lot less naturalistic and you would have to PROJECT a lot more
More ways the performance would be altered : THEATRE FEEL
The amphitheatres are a lot more different than modern theatres
You had the groundlings
With the lowest cheapest seats where there would be fights (especially seeing as the history plays are very political) prostitutes, drunks, arguments and a lot of heckling
YOU WOULD HAVE HAD TO PROJECT A LOT
VERY EXTERNALISED GRAND PORTRAYALS
Gentlemen’s rooms
And
Lords rooms
Worst seats but reinforce status to the groundlings
Era it was performed in
1597 ELIZABETHAN THEATRE
Queen Elizabeth was an avid supporter of the theatre especially Shakespeare’s work - RENAISSANCE golden age of the arts
Introduction
I would like to perform a piece from Henry the fourth part one by William Shakespeare, written around 1597
I will be playing lady Percy in act 2 scene 3, and the play focuses on the rebellion against the king, lead by Hotspur , lady Percy’s husband. In my monologue we see lady Percy confronting her husband about why he has been so distant lately
