Contextual Study – Exploring Connections –Henry V and a film of our choosing.

Rubric for Module A

In this elective students will explore how meanings of a pair of texts (Henry the Fifth (V) [play] will be studied alongside with Platoon can be shaped and reshaped by considering the nature of the connections between them. Exploration of the connections between the texts will enhance understanding of the values and contexts (refers to an attitude or belief that is of significant to the individual) [E.g. Integrity, compassion, wisdom and faith]) and contexts (the influences on a text that help shape the values, historical, political, religious, cultural, social, personal. [Influence/ forces that shape the representation of values.] of each text. Relationships between these texts may be implicit or explicit. Connections may be established through direct or indirect references, contexts, values, ideas, and the use of language forms and features. (BOS Prescriptions 2009 – 2012)

textual influencesd

Values:

- compassion- truth- integrity- moderation

Values will connect the need for ^ the time and place.

investigate poems and films, and text types.

1. What is meant by the term context? Provide some examples of contextual influences.

The influences on a text that help shape the values, historical, political, religious, cultural, social, personal.

2. What is meant by the term values? Provide some examples of values, including three of your own personal values.

Refers to an attitude or belief that is of significant to the individual E.g. Integrity, compassion, wisdom and faith

3. Although values can remain universal and enduring, they will be affected by their respective contexts? Can you think of any examples where this may be the case?

Religion may respect value such as integrity, faith and wisdom, whilst other contexts such as historical may admire the compassion, wisdom and other values.

4. How can contextual forces affect the representation of specific textual values? What might affect the way a writer chooses to represent specific characters and the values they reflect?

Contextual forces affect the representation of specific textual values through the characteristics of the writing, the connections of both the values and context. The time and place of where and when the composer was when he chose the characters, the representation of the characters reflect the values.

1. If you had to create a text such as apply or a file or a computer game of the afghan conflict (or another contemporary conflict of your choosing) featuring the Taliban and Barack Obama how would you represent them? Give at least 3 reasons to justify your representation.

2. What would the purpose of your text be? List some of the key scenes.

3. The purpose will determine the focus of the text; what will be the focus of your text, e.g. if it is to represent the plight of the women and children in Afghanistan, you might focus on their suffering.

4. What key values (broadly speaking the attitudes and beliefs that you as the composer of text) do you wish to convey to the audience?

5. Who would be the intended audience? How does the audience influence what your focus will be and the text genre e.g. Teenage boys might be more interested in battle scene and prefer to view a film or play a computer game.

Character List

Plot Overview

Although written in 1591 the plot is set in the early fifteenth century. The political situation in England is tense: King Henry IV has died, and his son, the young King Henry V, has just assumed the throne. Several bitter civil wars have left the people of England restless and dissatisfied. Furthermore, in order to gain the respect of the English people and the court, Henry must live down his wild adolescent past, when he used to consort with thieves and drunkards at the Boar’s Head Tavern on the seedy side of London.

Henry lays claim to certain parts of France, based on his distant roots in the French royal family and on a very technical interpretation of ancient land laws. When the young prince, or Dauphin, of France sends Henry an insulting message in response to these claims, Henry decides to invade France. Supported by the English noblemen and clergy, Henry gathers his troops for war.

Henry’s decision to invade France trickles down to affect the common people he rules. In the Boar’s Head Tavern in Eastcheap, some of the king’s former friends—whom he rejected when he rose to the throne—prepare to leave their homes and families. Bardolph, Pistol, and Nim are common lowlifes and part-time criminals, on the opposite end of the social spectrum from their royal former companion. As they prepare for the war, they remark on the death of Falstaff, an elderly knight who was once King Henry’s closest friend.

Just before his fleet sets sail, King Henry learns of a conspiracy against his life. The three traitors working for the French beg for mercy, but Henry denies their request. He orders

that the trio, which includes a former friend named Scrope, be executed. The English sail for France, where they fight their way across the country. Against incredible odds, they continue to win after conquering the town of Harfleur, where Henry gives an impassioned speech to motivate his soldiers to victory. Among the officers in King Henry’s army are men from all parts of Britain, such as Fluellen, a Welsh captain. As the English advance, Nim and Bardolph are caught looting and are hanged at King Henry’s command.

The climax of the war comes at the famous Battle of Agincourt, at which the English are outnumbered by the French five to one. The night before the battle, King Henry disguises himself as a common soldier and talks to many of the soldiers in his camp, learning who they are and what they think of the great battle in which they have been swept up. When he is by himself, he laments his ever-present responsibilities as king. In the morning, he prays to God and gives a powerful, inspiring speech to his soldiers. Miraculously, the English win the battle, and the proud French must surrender at last. Sometime later, peace negotiations are finally worked out: Henry will marry Catherine, the daughter of the French king. Henry’s son will be the king of France, and the marriage will unite the two kingdoms.

Shakespeare often manipulated historical ‘truth’ to enhance the dramatic possibilities of his work and support the prevailing political needs of the reigning monarch – in this case Elizabeth 1. His plays can therefore be seen as acts of political propaganda which was an important role of Elizabethan theatre. Ultimately, these mythological representations of important historical figures become ingrained in the public psyche and fiction is accepted as fact. Henry V has often been seen as a courageous, pious and intensely patriotic King who compromised his own desires for the greater good of England.

Now watch the trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s film version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm6NdJAeKEc

Question : What impression of Henry’s character do you receive? Is he represented as a hero or a villain?

How does it introduce any of the followwing key themes;

King Henry's moral and emotional growthHenry goes through subtle changes during the course of the film, as he comes of age, turns his back on his wild ways, and: assumes the responsibilities of leadership. The film focuses on his internal struggles when, for example, he must banish Falstaff or execute Bardolph.

The ethical and moral implications of leadershipHenry must face up to the isolation of kingship and the weighty demands of his subjects: "Let us our lives, our souls /Our debts, our careful wives,/Our children, and our sins, lay on the King! We must bear all" (n.I.223-226) He must assume responsibility for the death and sacrifice of war, and bear the guilt of knowing his father usurped the crown from Richard II.

The nature of powerThe film explores power and who wields it. It portrays Henry as both a powerful king and a pawn in the power struggle between church and state. It examines how Henry learns to wield his power and his insights about governing, "for when lenity-and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner" (rIl.6.II2-lI3); the power of his

common touch with the soldiers; the power of his simple charm with Katherine; and the remarkable power of his oratory.

PatriotismThis film features the stirring speeches of a valiant warrior king. It portrays the struggle and victory of order over the chaos of rebellion. When Shakespeare wrote the play, it was not only to glorify Henry V but also to glorify Elizabeth I and England's greatness during her reign.

WarThis film raises questions about the price and nature of war. It explores whether or not Henry uses war to establish his own strength. The issues it presents are not only relevant to 15th-century Agincourt, but also to the 20th century, the wars in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, and the turf battles in our cities.

Appearance or reality? Truth or myth?

Access the link below and, in pairs, read the following information about the real Henry V and complete the table below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/henry_v_01.shtml

The ‘real’ Henry V Shakespeare’s dramatic manipulation of Henry V

His victories were triumphs of hype, stained by the blood of war-crimes. His piety was remarkable, especially in zeal for burning heretics, but a saint he ain't.

After Henry's death, English propaganda constructed an even more elaborate legend: of his self-transformation, after a reckless youth, into a model of responsibility.

What contextual forces influenced Shakespeare’s creation of Henry V?

The need for political propaganda and a play that inspired feelings of Nationalism and patriotism at a time when the English were about to wage war on the Irish.

The belief in the Divine Right of Kings and divine retribution – invasion and bloodshed could be justified if was perceived that God had allowed it.

The role of the theatre as a political tool for maintaining power and control, flattering the reigning monarch.

Gender – powerful patriarchal representations foreshadowed the transition from Queen (Elizabeth 1) to King in England.

The power of theatrical performance and persuasive oratory.

The Battle of Agincourt, 1415

Myth: England's triumph

"For England, Harry and St George" ranks with Trafalgar and Waterloo in the annals of English arms. It was the climax of English success in the French wars.

England was unable to hold in peace what it had won in war”

Henry V was recognised by the Burgundians and most of Europe as King of France. Ironically, he was the first who was believed not to have spoken French.

Henry returned to London to a hero's welcome, with city aldermen coming to meet him at Blackheath and escorting him for five hours to London Bridge. Marrying the French Queen Catherine supposedly ended the 100 years' war.

But then it took five years for the French finally to capitulate at the treaty of Troyes (1420) and Henry to enter Paris in triumph. Worse, England was unable to hold in peace what it had won in war. Henry could not stay in Paris and keeping an army on mainland Europe was expensive.

In 1422 he succumbed to the battlefield curse of dysentery and the glittering new empire fell upon the shoulders of his 10-month-old son. A mere seven years after Agincourt, war broke out. Inevitablement.