Homework for Tuesday, Dec. 4

Click here for the video we didn't get to watch in class. Act 1 takes up the first twenty minutes. Warning: it's noisy, and they cut a lot of lines.

Here's your assignment for the weekend: Read and annotate Act 2 of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. Answer one of the questions below in a well-developed paragraph:

1. A major aim of Act 2, scene 2 is to make the audience laugh as much as possible. Nevertheless, is Falstaff  serious in parts of this scene? Write a rhetorical analysis of Falstaff's language that explains whether he is jesting throughout the scene, or if he turns serious at key moments.
2. Do Hotspur and Lady Percy really love each other? Write a rhetorical analysis of Hotspur and Lady Percy's conversations in scene 3, and explain why they speak to each other as they do. You should consider the context of the conversation as well as each character's purpose and persona in developing your response.
3. In Act 2, scene 4, Hal and Falstaff take roles as Henry IV and Hal in preparation for Hal's impending visit with his father. With an emphasis on their language, explain how Hal and Falstaff convey the king's seriousness.

Homework for Friday, Nov. 30

Read and annotate Act 1, scene 3 of Henry IV, Part 1. Your goal in this reading is just to understand what is happening. For that reason, you have no writing due this Friday. The plot developments are complicated, so we need to make sure we understand what is happening before unpacking the characters' rhetorical situations and their rhetoric. If you still have no idea what is happening when you finish reading scene 3, don't hesitate to consult this web site. Also, make sure you bring with you the assignment that was due on Wednesday that I did not collect. We will continue our discussion of Hal's soliloquy.

Homework for Wednesday, Nov. 28

Read and annotate Act 1, scene 2 of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. Then, complete the following for Hal's soliloquy at the end of this scene: Write one or two paragraphs that identify Hal's rhetorical situation, and then explain how that rhetorical situation influences what he says in the soliloquy and how he says it.

Homework for Thursday, November 15

In William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, read and annotate the following introductory materials:
Introduction, pp. vii-xix
Key Facts, pp. xxvii-xxviii
List of Parts, p. 3

Be prepared to answer the following questions in class:
1. Which play does the story of Henry IV, Part 1, follow? (0-1 sentence)
2. Summarize the events that lead up to Henry IV, Part 1. (4-6 sentences)
3. Identify the following characters and their distinctive traits (2-4 sentences for each):

• 3a. Prince Henry/Harry/Hal 
• 3b. Falstaff 
• 3c. King Henry IV 
• 3d. Percy/Hotspur 

4. How does the play begin? (4-6 sentences)
5. What does Machiavelli have to do with Henry IV, Part 1? (2 sentences)
6. Who are the most prominent characters?
7. Which sources did Shakespeare (probably) rely on to write Henry IV, Part 1?, and what liberties did he take with the historical facts? (2-4 sentences)
8. Keeping in mind that a character list can be arranged in various ways (e.g., the prominence of the roles or the order of appearance), by what principle is the List of Parts arranged? (0-1 sentence)

(All right, it's actually a little more than ten questions. My bad.)