Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Henry IV Act 1

so i just finished reading the first act of henry the 4th. There are two reasons I had to read it again. number one because the old english language is hard to comprehend at times. also because the last edition that I read on my ipad was not the right one. I like this play so far. it has an interesting plot so and it makes you think while you read. the king seems to be a bit crazy because of the fact that he likes war and wants to initiate a battle with the holy land. The only valuable reason that he has is for the honor and the glory. None of the two are more valuable then hundreds of lives. I think it was on the third scene that a battle scnene was described in which depicts a field filled with dead people. That scene is tragic by itself but the fact that one of the king's messengers was disgusted instead of pitiful, showed what kind of people they are. And I know that this is a time where prisoners were looked as money bags but, it's inhumane to treat others like that. Once the Welshman were captured they lost everything and can only return to normal if their family pays the ransom. After that the play decides to switch over to the fact that one of the king's soldiers does not want to give up all the prisoners he obtained after a battle to the king, which is customary. Then it goes to the king's son, Hal or Harry,  and it shows him hanging out with his drunk-fat-friend falstaff. They decide to plan a prank/ heist. They want to prank falstaff but also commit a crime. Overall I enjoy the play and I always enjoyed reading Shakespeare. I'm not a big follower of the history behind all his plays but hey help. I am always more interested in the plot. Sort of like how in his play, "much ado about nothing", the title alone is amazing. After reading said play, you can interpret that title as "too much fuss about physical relations." I haven't read any other plays besides Romeo and Juliet, much ado about nothing, and hamlet. So I'm very excited on how each character will develop. But most specifically I am interested in the king's son and wether or not he can prove to others that he is worthy.

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