I hope you are all well...it feels like ages since i blogged!
I went to see Private Lives at the Oldham Coliseum last night which was lovely, i had a friend in the cant (the lovely Tess) and even though its none Shakespeare related i thought i would mention its worth a see anyway....The Oldham Coliseum is a small regional theatre and its all about 'word of mouth' to keep these small brilliant theatres alive in the gloomy Cameron-Cuts!
Note: this is Tess as Louise in Private Lives -
Link to Private Lives : http://coliseum.org.uk/whats-on/?event=private-lives
So back to Henry IV Part one, it was FANTASTIC! now it was a slow start and i wasn't sure i would like it but all the comically timed arguments and peep into the underworld of London really captured my attention and drove the important information right threw to the end.
In a Nut Shell...
So many Images!...but mainly BIRDS! (as well as bugs, flees and fat/grease)
Whilst reading through some of the most beautiful and poignant lines where about or concerning birds...the reoccurring images really stood out....so much so (and in true SAM-IS-A-GEEK fashion) i highlighted them all! Here are a few of them:
Hotspur: Act 1: Scene 3
I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak
Nothing but 'Mortimer,' and give it him
To keep his anger still in motion.
Nothing but 'Mortimer,' and give it him
To keep his anger still in motion.
Prince Henry: Act 2: Scene 4
He that rides at high speed and with his pistol kills a
sparrow lying
Worcester : Act 5: Scene 1
The seeming sufferances that you had borne,
And the contrarious winds that held the king
So long in his unlucky Irish wars
That all in England did repute him dead:
And from this swarm of fair advantages
You took occasion to be quickly woo'd
To gripe the general sway into your hand;
Forget your oath to us at Doncaster;
And being fed by us you used us so
As that ungentle hull, the cuckoo's bird,
Useth the sparrow; did oppress our nest;
Grew by our feeding to so great a bulk
That even our love durst not come near your sight
For fear of swallowing; but with nimble wing
We were enforced, for safety sake, to fly
Out of sight and raise this present head;
Whereby we stand opposed by such means
As you yourself have forged against yourself
By unkind usage, dangerous countenance,
And violation of all faith and troth
Sworn to us in your younger enterprise.
I wonder whether the birds are a representation of Shakespeare's intended message? i read somewhere that this play is about coming of age, and i can certainly see this particularly in the character of Prince Henry because he has such a journey - from young rascal to hero. Maybe the birds are a representation of lying off leaving ones former self behind? what do you think?
Prince Henry has a fantastic speech ( well lots of them but this one in particular) about his loyalty to King Henry and i think it starts to show his turn from signet into swan. his passion is turned in the right direction, away from the Taverns, Falstaff and pic-pocketing to supporting his father.....
Note: this might be a good audition speech or any of you young male actors out there....
Act 3: Scene 2
PRINCE HENRY :
Do not think so; you shall not find it so:
And God forgive them that so much have sway'd
Your majesty's good thoughts away from me!
I will redeem all this on Percy's head
And in the closing of some glorious day
Be bold to tell you that I am your son;
When I will wear a garment all of blood
And stain my favours in a bloody mask,
Which, wash'd away, shall scour my shame with it:
And that shall be the day, whene'er it lights,
That this same child of honour and renown,
This gallant Hotspur, this all-praised knight,
And your unthought-of Harry chance to meet.
For every honour sitting on his helm,
Would they were multitudes, and on my head
My shames redoubled! for the time will come,
That I shall make this northern youth exchange
His glorious deeds for my indignities.
Percy is but my factor, good my lord,
To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf;
And I will call him to so strict account,
That he shall render every glory up,
Yea, even the slightest worship of his time,
Or I will tear the reckoning from his heart.
This, in the name of God, I promise here:
The which if He be pleased I shall perform,
I do beseech your majesty may salve
The long-grown wounds of my intemperance:
If not, the end of life cancels all bands;
And I will die a hundred thousand deaths
Ere break the smallest parcel of this vow.
I always find birds really thought provoking and within Henry IV part one is no exception...thanks Bard, i loved the Birds!
Favourite Parts:
OK so its hard to pick my favourite scenes and Characters because its all good! But i have to because that's the whole point in having an opinion.isn't it? you have to pick! so here are my best bits...
Favourite Part No 1. - Falstaff - Anything and Everything he does, particularly a funny stunt he pulls right at the end. Which i wont tell you about and ruin the surprise , you will just have to read it!
Favourite Part No - Lady Percy
as one of the only woman in this play she was bound to stand out however i think her feisty-ness is enough to have her jump of the page what ever the weather! The scene between her and her husband Hotspur is fantastic! As he tells her he is leaving she just goes off on a rant. She wouldn't be out of place arguing with him out side a council estate in 'Shamless' (although they are rich and would never live on an estate...oh and they have a servant...i cant imagine Frank Gallagher been served his can of stella on a silver tray).
Her speech in this scene is really reminiscent of Lady Annes speech in Richard III, in which she describes her husband Richard's disturbed dark and twisted sleep. Maybe the Bard felt sorry for the wives of troubled men? aren't we most open and vulnerable in sleep? In dreams our sub conscious is exposed and the troubles we hide have the power to show them selves. Lady Percy knows better than anyone her husbands state and in a male heavy play i like the way the Bard offers us this information that in the other interaction isn't suitable to talk about....Would Hotspur chat to Mortimer about his deep fears?
Lady Percy
Enter LADY PERCY
Hotspur: How now, Kate! I must leave you within these two hours.
LADY PERCY
O, my good lord, why are you thus alone?
For what offence have I this fortnight been
A banish'd woman from my Harry's bed?
Tell me, sweet lord, what is't that takes from thee
Thy stomach, pleasure and thy golden sleep?
Why dost thou bend thine eyes upon the earth,
And start so often when thou sit'st alone?
Why hast thou lost the fresh blood in thy cheeks;
And given my treasures and my rights of thee
To thick-eyed musing and cursed melancholy?
In thy faint slumbers I by thee have watch'd,
And heard thee murmur tales of iron wars;
Speak terms of manage to thy bounding steed;
Cry 'Courage! to the field!' And thou hast talk'd
Of sallies and retires, of trenches, tents,
Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets,
Of basilisks, of cannon, culverin,
Of prisoners' ransom and of soldiers slain,
And all the currents of a heady fight.
Thy spirit within thee hath been so at war
And thus hath so bestirr'd thee in thy sleep,
That beads of sweat have stood upon thy brow
Like bubbles in a late-disturbed stream;
And in thy face strange motions have appear'd,
Such as we see when men restrain their breath
On some great sudden hest. O, what portents are these?
Some heavy business hath my lord in hand,
And I must know it, else he loves me not.
Note to self: Play Lady Percy one day and deinatly learn for auditions
Favourite Part No 3 - Act 3 Scene 2 Falstaff argues with the Hostess of The Boars Head Tavern.
I just liked the lightness of this scene and how it just stood out as a nice interaction with quick dialog amongst the long speeches.
FALSTAFF
God-a-mercy! so should I be sure to be heart-burned.
Enter Hostess
How now, Dame Partlet the hen! have you inquired
yet who picked my pocket?
Hostess
Why, Sir John, what do you think, Sir John? do you
think I keep thieves in my house? I have searched,
I have inquired, so has my husband, man by man, boy
by boy, servant by servant: the tithe of a hair
was never lost in my house before.
FALSTAFF
Ye lie, hostess: Bardolph was shaved and lost many
a hair; and I'll be sworn my pocket was picked. Go
to, you are a woman, go.
Hostess
Who, I? no; I defy thee: God's light, I was never
called so in mine own house before.
FALSTAFF
Go to, I know you well enough.
Hostess
No, Sir John; You do not know me, Sir John. I know
you, Sir John: you owe me money, Sir John; and now
you pick a quarrel to beguile me of it: I bought
you a dozen of shirts to your back.
FALSTAFF
Dowlas, filthy dowlas: I have given them away to
bakers' wives, and they have made bolters of them.
Hostess
Now, as I am a true woman, holland of eight
shillings an ell. You owe money here besides, Sir
John, for your diet and by-drinkings, and money lent
you, four and twenty pound.
FALSTAFF
He had his part of it; let him pay.
Hostess
He? alas, he is poor; he hath nothing.
FALSTAFF
How! poor? look upon his face; what call you rich?
let them coin his nose, let them coin his cheeks:
Ill not pay a denier. What, will you make a younker
of me? shall I not take mine case in mine inn but I
shall have my pocket picked? I have lost a
seal-ring of my grandfather's worth forty mark.
Hostess
O Jesu, I have heard the prince tell him, I know not
how oft, that ring was copper!
FALSTAFF
How! the prince is a Jack, a sneak-cup: 'sblood, an
he were here, I would cudgel him like a dog, if he
would say so.
Enter PRINCE HENRY and PETO, marching, and FALSTAFF meets them playing on his truncheon like a life
How now, lad! is the wind in that door, i' faith?
must we all march?
BARDOLPH
Yea, two and two, Newgate fashion.
Hostess
My lord, I pray you, hear me.
PRINCE HENRY
What sayest thou, Mistress Quickly? How doth thy
husband? I love him well; he is an honest man.
Hostess
Good my lord, hear me.
FALSTAFF
Prithee, let her alone, and list to me.
PRINCE HENRY
What sayest thou, Jack?
FALSTAFF
The other night I fell asleep here behind the arras
and had my pocket picked: this house is turned
bawdy-house; they pick pockets.
PRINCE HENRY
What didst thou lose, Jack?
FALSTAFF
Wilt thou believe me, Hal? three or four bonds of
forty pound apiece, and a seal-ring of my
grandfather's.
PRINCE HENRY
A trifle, some eight-penny matter.
Hostess
So I told him, my lord; and I said I heard your
grace say so: and, my lord, he speaks most vilely
of you, like a foul-mouthed man as he is; and said
he would cudgel you.
PRINCE HENRY
What! he did not?
Hostess
There's neither faith, truth, nor womanhood in me else.
FALSTAFF
There's no more faith in thee than in a stewed
prune; nor no more truth in thee than in a drawn
fox; and for womanhood, Maid Marian may be the
deputy's wife of the ward to thee. Go, you thing,
go
Hostess
Say, what thing? what thing?
FALSTAFF
What thing! why, a thing to thank God on.
Hostess
I am no thing to thank God on, I would thou
shouldst know it; I am an honest man's wife: and,
setting thy knighthood aside, thou art a knave to
call me so.
FALSTAFF
Setting thy womanhood aside, thou art a beast to say
otherwise.
Hostess
Say, what beast, thou knave, thou?
FALSTAFF
What beast! why, an otter.
PRINCE HENRY
An otter, Sir John! Why an otter?
FALSTAFF
Why, she's neither fish nor flesh; a man knows not
where to have her.
Hostess
Thou art an unjust man in saying so: thou or any
man knows where to have me, thou knave, thou!
PRINCE HENRY
Thou sayest true, hostess; and he slanders thee most grossly.
Hostess
So he doth you, my lord; and said this other day you
ought him a thousand pound.
PRINCE HENRY
Sirrah, do I owe you a thousand pound?
FALSTAFF
A thousand pound, Ha! a million: thy love is worth
a million: thou owest me thy love.
Hostess
Nay, my lord, he called you Jack, and said he would
cudgel you.
Note : sorry the above extract is a little long but i wanted to pop the whole bit on so you could see its brilliance....
So to finish up ( i think i have gone on long enough...so long i canceled a run with my running partner, but i was on such a role with the old blogging! Bad excuse? probably!) i have really enjoyed Henry IV Part one and would like to thank Jude for recommending it as my next read.
Thank you Jude (Jude also has a blog about all manner of Brilliant Literature based subjects - http://thebookblogger-fairophelia.blogspot.com/ )
My next stop on the READ-EVERYTHING-SHAKESPEARE-ATHON is............Romeo and Juliet, and i cant wait! just in time for valentines day....
thank you for reading, take care
Peace Out
Sam
xx
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