Washburn Shakespeare (Spring 2019)

I can’t be the only one who thought of “Undercover Boss” when King Henry V disguised himself as a soldier and conversed with his officers.  The way he talked so highly of himself reminded me of the Saturday Night Live segment with Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in an “Undercover Boss” spoof.  I have embedded that video for your convenience, since my post is partly based on it.  Now you might be asking, what does a historical figure from a Shakespeare play have in common with a hotheaded space brat in a popular modern franchise?  A King of a powerful country on Earth seems lightyears away from a Sith apprentice on Starkiller Base (literally).  However, I would argue Henry V and Kylo Ren have a lot in common such as a need to be liked, a weird sense of apology, easy provocation, something to prove, and a need to break with the past.  I first made the connection between Henry and Kylo when I read Henry’s “Undercover Boss” scene and was reminded of the SN...

Henry V has left me with many questions about Shakespeare's motivation on how he portrayed characters, but his portrayal of Capt. Fluellen is one that leaves me wondering if Fluellen is more nuanced then I initially thought. While reading Henry V, I found Fluellen to be nothing more than a bombastic character which provides readers with comic relief, yet I can't help but think there is more to his character then just his humorous lines he delivers throughout the play.  Fluellen is made to look foolish to appeal to the audience, but his loyalty to the Henry helps endear him to the audience.  Fluellen's humor is on display when he speaks with Gower about Henry's origin story.  He says, " I tell you, Captain, if you look in the maps of the world I warrant you sall find in the comparisons between Macedon and Monmouth...is both alike" (842).  He goes on to say, "If you mark Alexander's life well, Harry of Monmouth's life is come after it indifferent...

*Warning: Discussion of rape* While reading Henry V , I was pretty ambivalent toward the titular character until partway through Act 3. What was the tipping point, you may ask? Look no further than Act 3, Scene 4, where our favorite(?) king threatens the governor of a French city with mass murders and rapes. As you do. The scene starts out simple enough, with King Henry beseeching the Governor to give up while the getting is good: "If you surrender now, we'll be chill. But if you make us come in there, we'll have no choice but to rape your wives and daughters and kill your infants." I'm paraphrasing, obviously, but the message is still intact. King Henry actually says, "What is't to me, when you yourselves are cause, If your pure maidens fall into the hand Of hot and forcing violation..." (817). So, not only are we getting some pretty awful threats along the lines of raping wives and daughters and impaling babies on pikes, we also get a nice dose...

Hello! If you're here, thanks for checking out our course blog for English 345/Honors 301: Shakespeare at Washburn University for the Spring 2019 semester. This space is where I and my students will be sharing our thoughts and experiences throughout the semester as we explore several of Shakespeare's plays as we participate in two different events: Washburn University's themester on the Freedom of Speech and Expression, and the Qualities of Mercy project, a collaborative teaching project involving 14 different schools across the United States each adapting/performing a regional interpretation of a scene from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice . If you'd like to know more about the course, you can access the syllabus here: EN 345 Syllabus . If you'd like to know more about the Washburn Themester, check out the Themester website here: Washburn University Themester . This blog will be available to read to the public as part of the Washburn University Themester,...