Day Twenty-Two

Henry VI, Part 1

5.1

SYNOPSIS

The first short section of this scene concerns H6 discussing with Gloucester, Exeter, and others, the Pope urging peace, and G mentions a friend of the Dauphin has offered his daughter to H6, but he’s receptive to it.  The rest of the scene concerns Winchester.  Winchester comes in, now a Cardinal, with several guys from the Pope, all of whom are informed of H6’s intention of peace and marriage.  Everyone leaves except for W and a messenger…W then reveals he owes money for being made a Cardinal.

IMPRESSIONS

More background telling…little showing.  The only moment of interest comes when Exeter wonders how W became a Cardinal (and describes H5’s prophecy).  There is an implication here of a power struggle…and perhaps this is some subtle foreshadowing.  A very short scene.  Here it is, the line of the day:

LINE OF THE DAY

Exeter
What, is my Lord of Winchester install’d,

And call’d unto a cardinal’s degree?

Then I perceive that will be verified

Henry the Fifth did sometime prophecy:

“If once he come to be a cardinal,

He’ll make his cap co-equal with the crown.”

5.2

SYNOPSIS

5.2 is essentially a brief meeting amongst the French: Charles, Burgundy, Joan, etc.  Parisians are swearing fealty to the English.  They discuss invasion/attacking to get the Parisians thinking straight again when a scout enters and delivers some bad news…

Scout

The English army, that divided was

Into two parties, is now conjoin’d in one,

And means to give you battle presently.

Joan then promises Charles victory and the scene ends.

Joan

Command the conquest, Charles, it shall be thine…

IMPRESSIONS

None.  Short, and to the point.  Shouldn’t count as its own entry, so I’ll throw it at the end of the previous one.

Day Twenty-One

Henry VI, Part 1

4.7

SYNOPSIS

The scene opens with Talbot and a servant discussing John’s death. The body of his son is brought to him, and he cries over it before he dies...presumably of grief. Charles and his crew, including Joan show up on the scene and express relief the Talbots were never backed-up—they proceed to talk shit about the Talbots. Lucy enters to try and get an English body count, then he laments all the English deaths while Joan teases him about, then encourages Dauphin to send Lucy on his way out of boredom.

IMPRESSIONS

Oh, Talbot, and his ceaseless lamentations. The Icarus metaphor becomes explicitly spelled out again...:

Talbot

And in that sea of blood my bod did drench

His overmounting spirit; and there died

My Icarus, my blossom, in his pride.

It’s funny/interesting the opposite feelings Talbot had toward leaving the field of battle: Falstaff was a coward; Talbot and John debated which of the two should split. Hypocrites.

Man, this doesn’t make sense...why not split this scene into multiple scenes and keep the scenes of Talbot and John arguing about leaving the field of battle as one scene instead of three? After Talbot dies mourning his dead son, we move to the French talking shit about Talbot and son, Joan gets a particularly good dig in, todays...

LINE OF THE DAY

Joan

Once I encount’red him, and thus I said:

“Thou maiden youth, be vanquish’d by a maid!”

Snap!

Day Twenty

Henry VI, Part 1

4.5

SYNOPSIS

The scene begins with Talbot lamenting. He had asked his son to join him in order to teach in the ways of war, but now he lays surrounded and will surely die, and he feels it best John (his son) leave:

Talbot

Now thou art come unto a feast of death

...

Therefore, dear boy, mount on my swiftest horse

The rest of this scene is a drawn out back-and-forth between the parties about leaving. They finally decide to stay together and fight together.

IMPRESSIONS

Finally, after all this talk, we finally get to spend some time with Talbot again, and this time he is with his son, though for the most part, they just argue about who should leave, why leaving would be bad for either party or both, and why it would be good. I caught several allusions to Icarus beyond the Father/Son dynamic and the somewhat imprisonment. But there were outright suggestions of Icarus

John

Shall I fly?

Talbot

Fly, to revenge my death, if I be slain

John

He that flies so will ne’er return again.

Another short one. These are killing me. But, ever onward! We will conquer!  Act V is around the corner.

Henry VI, Part 1

4.6
SYNOPSIS
The very  next scene is now about Talbot and son in battle.    It begins with Talbot leading the charge and rescuing his son.

Talbot
I gave thee life, and rescu'd thee from death.

John
O, twice my father, twice am I thy son!

Again Talbot tries to convince John to leave, which he won't.  They fight on.

IMPRESSIONS
The lines feel like true couplets now, virtually every line here is part of a rhyming couplet...ironic?  Considering the context: war, and the heat of battle.  Also, Talbot explicitly calls his son Icarus this time...some blatant foreshadowing, perhaps?

Talbot
Then follow thou thy desp'rate sire of Crete,
Thou Icarus; thy life to me is sweet.
If thou wilt fight, fight by thy father's side,
And commendable prov'd, let's die in pride.

Act V is right around the corner now!

Day Nineteen

Henry VI, Part 1

4.4

SYNOPSIS

This scene begins with Somerset lamenting York and Talbot’s hastened planning, and blaming them for his inability to back them up. He positions himself in direction opposition to York:

Somerset

York set him on to fight and die in shame

Again, Lucy shows up and urges Somerset this time to “Let not your private discord keep away/The levied succors that should lend him aid...” Lucy and Somerset then discuss whom is really at fault, whom is lying, etc. Somerset announces he will send some guys out, but Lucy tells him its too late.

IMPRESSIONS

Consecutive short scenes make for short blog posts which can be a godsend if you find yourself several posts behind. Ahem, just moving the narrative along...don’t know why it’s split again, but that’s more of a technicality than anything. Who cares in the end? Lucy again shows up and ties the two scenes together, but he seems to reserve more blame for Somerset here:

Somerset

If he be dead, brave Talbot, then adieu!

Lucy

His fame lives in the world, his shame in you.

I am eager for this play to be over, and I’m having some thoughts about the scope of each post, that perhaps they should be more than one scene so I can get through the play before it becomes tedious, though I’m not experiencing tedium at the moment. These plays are to be my supplemental reading and therefore am enjoy respite from the contemporary reading I’m doing.

Day Eighteen

Henry VI, Part 1

4.3

SYNOPSIS

Begins with a messenger telling York of the Dauphin’s movements, that D is on his way to Burdeaux to tangle w/ Talbot; he tells him about two armies greater than his joined D on his march. After the messenger leaves, York reveals that he awaits aid/supply from Somerset before he can assist Talbot who is expecting him. Enter Lucy who begs of York to assist Talbot as he is “girdled with a waist of iron...” Lucy almost demands York leave. York then curses Somerset again rather than doing anything. Lucy mentions Talbot’s son is racing toward his father, they haven’t seen each other in years. Though he is worried about how they will find each other just before they battle, he is still blaming Somerset for the delay. Lucy ends the scene lamenting the loss of the country.

IMPRESSIONS

Another short, sort of functional scene or bridge that gets us from one place to the other and dispenses information at us quickly rather than through action. We also learn that Talbot has a son. I noticed this scene had more outright rhyming patterns with definite iambic pentameter going, I mean the rhyming actually stood out...

Day Seventeen

Henry VI, Part 1

4.2

SYNOPSIS

Talbot shows up at the gates of Burdeaux and asks the General there to accept H6 as his king and if he doesn’t want Talbot to attack:

Talbot

Be humble to us, call my sovereign yours

…

But if you frown upon this proffer’d peace,

You tempt the fury of my three attendants,

Lean famine, quartering steel, and climbing fire

The General responds by telling him Burdeaux is “well fortefied,” and further informs him that Talbot is surrounded:

General

If thou retire, the Dolphin, well appointed,

Stands with the snares of war to tangle tee.

On either hand thee there are squadrons pitch’d,

To wall thee from the liberty of flight

Talbot, hearing the drums of the Daupin’s army, sends “some light horsemen” to check them out, then he laments about getting trapped: “O negligent and heedless discipline!” But suggest that they (the English) will not die without dying Not rascal-like, to fall down with a pinch,/But rather, moody-mad...”

IMPRESSIONS

This play is crazy back-and-forth. In once scene it’s almost certain the English are gonna triumph, the next they have over-reached somehow and I start to sense Talbot’s death. Short scene, in every edition.

...AND THEN SOME

From the outset, I’ve been a little conflicted about the first three plays being Henry VI plays...not that the first one hasn’t been good; it has, in fact exceeding expectations. But, I would like a little variety. So, at work, browsing the Oxford edition we have there, I perused the table of contents and was delighted to see this:

That’s gotta be more reliable than the Wikipedia page, right? Plus, I like the variety here at the beginning. There’s four plays before my current task. Second play will be the Two Gentlemen of Verona. Sweet.

Day Sixteen

Henry VI, Part 1

4.1 

SYNOPSIS

Everyone's gathered around H6 in Paris to watch him get crowned and to watch the Governor of France kneel before H6.  Falstaff shows up (which pisses Talbot off, obvs.).  Falstaff delivers a letter from Burgundy.   Before it gets read, Talbot tattles on Falstaff, strips Falstaff of his garter (F was a member of the Garter order or something), and H6 then banishes Falstaff.  Then Gloucester reads Burgundy's letter ("I'm French again"), and H6 sends Talbot after him to figure out why.

H6

Then gather strength and march unto him straight.

Let him perceive how ill we brook his treason,

And what offense it is to flout his friends.

Vernon and Basset then enter and restart their bickering and ask to be allowed to arm themselves and fight.  York and Somerset are there as well and suggest the fight is theirs alone.  H6, Gloucester, and Exeter ask them to just forget about it.  Then H6 says:

H6

I see no reason, if I wear this rose,

     Putting on rose

That any one should therefore be suspicious

I more incline to Somerset than York:

Both are my kinsmen, and I love them both.

Then H6 gives York and Somerset new responsibilities to get them to forget about their disagreement:

H6

Cousin of York, we institute your Grace

To be our regent in these parts of France;

And, good my Lord of Somerset, unite

Your troops of horsemen with his bands of foot

York leaves only thinking of H6 wearing the red rose, Somerset’s color. The scene ends with these observations from Exeter:

Exeter

This factious bandying of their favorites,

But that it doth presage some ill event.

…

But more, when envy breeds unkind division:

There comes the ruin, there begins confusion.

IMPRESSIONS

I find H6 somewhat lame, and it sucks that he banished Falstaff, who was H4's best friend (if I'm remembering correctly, they were best friends until he went from being Hal to H4...and then he disowned F as well...how old is F?). There is also a surprisingly immediate juxtaposition here between how Falstaff is treated and how the bickering losers are treated at the end of the scene.  While Falstaff is dismissed outright, Vernon and Basset, and York and Somerset (V&B's lords) are asked to come together for the sake of appearances.

H6

Henceforth I charge you,as you love our favor,

Quite to forget this quarrel, and the cause.

And you, my lords: remember where we are--

In France, amongst a fickle, wavering nation.

If they perceive dissention in our looks,

...[they will] be provok'd

To willful disobedience, and rebel!

So, if the disagreement between two guys would be enough to send a message to the French about the dissension in H's ranks, why wouldn't the outright banishment of Falstaff send the same message?  In fact, it would seem banishment was far worse a suggestion than a disagreement.  Disagreement shows passion, commitment to a cause for which either party would be willing to fight.  Banishment shows intolerance, frustration, but mostly ineptitude.  Mmm. He is young after all, and Exeter sort of alludes to future problems this will cause in his little soliloquy at the end.

LINE OF THE DAY

Not a line so much as a stage direction.  After the pomp of finally crowing Henry king, the severity and solemnity of the occasion is cut and emitted from me a laugh.

Exeunt Governor and Train.                 Enter Falstaff.

It really does signal a shift, at least temporarily, from drag-y seriousness to a least a little camp.  I particularly appreciate the distance between their exit and his entrance.  There's like a few extra beats in there that add to the levity.

Day Quinze

Henry VI, Part 1
3.4

SYNOPSIS
H6 is in court in Paris, Talbot shows up and describes, briefly, his victories.  H6 rewards him by naming him an earl.


H6
...stand up, and for these good deserts
We here create you Earl of Shrewsbury,
And in our coronation take your place.


Everyone leaves save Vernon and Basset who get into an argument, briefly, about the roses...supporting Plantagenet (now York) or suporting Somerset.  After Vernon slaps Basset, they decide to fight about it later mostly because there is a death penalty for drawing swords against each other.


IMPRESSIONS
Super short scene.  It's strange to note that several editions have this Act divided into seven or eight scenes, but my edition barely managed four (and this fourth scene is tiny, tiny, tiny).  The slap is hilarious.


LINE OF THE DAY
As Vernon and Basset argue, Basset insults Plantagenet (York), to which Vernon responds with this:

Hark ye; not so; in witness, take ye that. 

Strikes him.

...AND THEN SOME
Found this today which is a delight:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19245_the-6-most-wtf-moments-from-shakespeare-plays.html

Day Fourteen

Henry VI, Part 1

3.3

SYNOPSIS

Scene 3 begins with Joan consoling her battlemates and suggesting that Talbot should be allowed to relish his victory as it will make him arrogant, and then they can "pull his plumes and take away his train." The men, surprisingly, respond with accolades for Joan and tell her they will follow whatever plan she devises, build statues in her honor, etc., and Joan strikes upon an idea. She will "entice" Burgundy away from Talbot's army to join the French, his countrypeeps.

Joan

We will entice the Duke of Burgundy

To leave Talbot and follow us.

They track him down, see he is marching after the English, and the rest of the scene is a back-and-forth with Joan and Burgundy after which he is seduced by Joan to join his countryfolk at Charles urging.

Charles
Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy words.

Burgundy responds in a couple of different ways, first feeling bewitched:

Burgundy

...she hath betwitch'd me with her words...

and by feeling guilty to a degree, having abandonded his country and his people:

Burgundy

I am vanquished...

Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen,

And, lords, accept this hearty kind embrace.

My forces and my power of men are yours

IMPRESSIONS

Well we get at least two different feminine sides to Joan here, both of which men find distinctly appealing. She starts off as the sweet, maternal figure, consoling the losers, and telling them how she's gonna make it all better.  She ends the scene by "seducing" Burgundy with her words, which I found at least surprising because he wasn't actually seduced by her sexuality or her femininity, per se, just her feminine wiles. At any rate, Burgundy's double-betrayal feels like a setup for more exciting things to come.

LINE OF THE DAY

Joan, again, with the line of the day. Once she has convinced Burgundy to re-join the French, she mocks him (and, ironically, the country and countrymen she used to guilt him back):

Joan

Done like a Frenchman—turn and turn again!

What seems most clear about this line is how Shakespeare feels about the French, having one of their heroes seem like a two-faced opportunist. Nach.

Day Thirteen

Henry VI, Part 1

3.2

SYNOPSIS

Joan and some of her men are outside of Roan, disguised as locals; she tells them to act like locals:

Joan

Take heed, be wary how you place your words,

Talk like the vulgar sort of market men

The point of which is to find where English defenses on the wall are weakest to allow Duaphin to climb the wall. As she and her men enter, Charles Dauphin and his men await her signal to enter and challenge for the wall, swords drawn...

Reignier

Enter and cry "The Dolphin!" presently,

And then do execution on the watch.

They win the wall and now taunt the English in the city from the Wall. Burgandy and Talbot are with Bedford who is dying. Joan takes particular delight in mocking Bedford which Talbot thinks is lame.

Joan

What will you do, good greybeard? Break a lance,

And run a-tilt at Death within a chair?

Then Talbot calls them out (the French) and demands they fight him on the field, but not Joan. The French then leave, telling Talbot they just wanted to alert him to their presence. When they depart, Talbot and Burgundy vow to return to town or die trying. And, when they try to move him, Bedford demands he kick it with his friends.

Bedford

Here will I seit before the walls of Roan

And will be partner of your weal or woe.

...

Methinks I should revive the soldiers' hearts,

Because I ever found them as myself

Falstaff then comes and goes, then the French are run out of town afterwhich Bedford feels he can die, and does.

Bedford

Now, quiet soul, depart when heaven please,

For I have seen our enemies' overthrow.

IMPRESSIONS

War. Pretty fun play so far, I have no complaints. I'll be interested to see, the more and more I read, how the writing of this play differs from the others to such a degree that its credibility is questioned. It was also great to see John Falstaff for the first time, albeit purely as comic relief, a grade-A coward in this scene, but really who can blame him...I think that makes him wise. Like I always says, better to be a living coward than a dead hero. Hmm, Bedford?

Captain

Whither away, Sir John Falstaff, in such haste?

Falstaff

Whither away? To save myself by flight.

We are like to have the overthrown again.

Captain

What? Will you fly, and leave Lord Talbot?

Falstaff

Ay,

All the Talbots in the world, to save my life.

Exit.

I thought it was strange that Talbot challenged everyone except Joan, even refused her outright when she accepted his challenge...

Talbot

Dare ye come forth and meet us in the field?

Joan

Belike your lordship...etc

Talbot

I speak not to that railing Hecate...etc.

But I guess since she's defeated him once, I understand his reluctance. "Is there anyone else up there I could fight?" I find myself rooting for the French here for unknown reasons.

LINE OF THE DAY

As the French mock the English from the Wall, Talbot gets into a verbal altercation with Joan. Joan busts out with this line:

Joan

If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow.

The way I interpret it is this: Talbot is all talk, when he talks: thunder, but Joan'll bring the rain. That's how I choose to read the line, it makes her sound pretty BA, though another reading is likely. In fact, I'm pretty certain she means Talbot is not all talk the exact opposite, but I'm ignoring that. I don't like that she's made to be afraid of Talbot in this scene; she kicked his ass years before, right?

Day Twelve

Henry VI, Part 1

3.1

SYNOPSIS

Henry enters Parliament with some of his guys and there is much infighting, back-biting, name-calling, etc., especially between Gloucester and Winchester. Henry brokers a somewhat-peace between the two. When the mayor arrives, he tells W and G about their men chasing each other with rocks (as they were "forbidden late to carry any weapons"); the rock-throwers eventually wind up in Parliament putting eveyrone in danger with their rock throwing. After some dangerous moments where G and W and H6 urge the rock-throwers (with "bloody pates") to stop to little avail, the violnece stops, G and W shake hands and make a tenuous peace.

Gloucester
here, Winchester, I offer thee my hand.

Then, moments later...

Winchester

Well, Duke of Gloucester, I will yield to thee;

Love for thy love and hand for hand I give.

...although they both reveal in asides they don't plan on keeping the peace.

Gloucester
So help me God, as I dissemble not!

Winchester
So help me God, as I intend it not!

Warwick then reads to the parliament about Plantagenet, who wants his rightful place to be restored. H6 does so, and names him: Earl of Cambridge, Duke of York.  Gloucester then convinces H6 to go to France, be crowned king there, and maybe end the war.  Exeter talks to himself about an old phrophecy that said H5 would win and rule over everything, and H6 would lose it all, and how he wished he could die before something like that happened.


Exeter
Exeter doth wish
His days may finish ere that hapless time.

IMPRESSIONS

Well, alright, H6 is all grown up now in the blink of a Star Wars-style screen wipe. He and a bunch of his guys go to Parliament, and all the guys bust out with a ahsouting match that seems to be mostly about influence, and whom has it over H6.  Most of this scene is taken up with this sort of discord which I wouldn't think anything more of if it wasn't for the end, and Exeter's strange prophecy...I say it's strange, but it's really not at all.  As I know nothing of this History, I'm pretty sure that was all foreshadowing.  And the fact that there are two more H6 plays...well, I'm pretty sure I am going to read all about the body rotting.


Exeter
As fest'red members rot but by degree,
Till bones and flesh and sinews fall away,
So will this base and envious discord  breed.


It's interesting as there has been very little magic or witchcraft, just men (and a lady!) dealing with each other, but what is it about H6 that breeds this discord?  Was it there all along and H5 repressed it?  This seems to be a thing long brewing and I guess appeasing Plantagenet is not enough.  We will see.

LINE OF THE DAY

When H6 asks the stone-throwers to knock it off if they love him, one of the stone-throwers replies:

1st Servingman
Nay, if we be forbidden stones, we'll fall to it with our teeth.

Funny, but also indicative of how little control H6 has over his peeps, and how it will all bite him in the ass one day.