A.P. Literature Is About To Go Invisible: November 4, 2014

Focus: What does Henry IV suggest about honor?

1. Warming up with quick whip-around of symbolic choices in Act 5:

The most important choice that The Hollow Crown makes in its depiction of Act 5 is ___________________ because ________________.

On Friday, Joe asked, "Why is this play called Henry IV?"  Not a bad question, Joe.  The BBC apparently agreed with you because they renamed it The Hollow Crown.

• Why do you think they chose this title?  Why focus on the crown, and why is it hollow?

• Do you think that it better fits this play than the original title?  Why or why not?  

• Can you think of a better title?

2. Reading Falstaff's speech about honor and viewing the Orson Welles performance of it and his thoughts on Falstaff as a nostalgic representation of an earlier, more innocent England.

3. Mental jousting by considering the following questions:

• Henry IV is an honorable king.
• Honor pertains only to the dead, not to the living.

• Henry IV is essentially an anti-war play.

4. Wrapping up the play with some big ideas:

• The most important moment in Henry IV is when...

• The most important relationship in Henry IV is between...

• The most important shift in Henry IV is when...

• The most important aspect of Henry IV that doesn't change is....

• The most interesting foil in Henry IV is...

• The most prominent image in Henry IV is...

• A significant question that Henry IV raises is....

A heads-up: We will have a Tuesday writing, but it will not be Question 3; instead, it will be a poetry prompt that (as you could probably guess), focuses on a Shakespearean speech.

SHIFTING GEARS...

5. Creative freewriting: Offering you last year's thoughts on being invisible

• Describe a time (or two) in which you felt invisible.

• What does it mean to be invisible?

HW:

1. The majority of your draft should be completed; feel to share part or all of it with me for feedback (or, even better, come in for a conference).

2. Please bring TWO of the quotations you are using/plan to use in your essay to class on THURSDAY, along with any analysis you have done of them. If you don't have a laptop, please bring in a hard copy.

3. By Friday, please compose your big question blog entry for Henry IV, Part 1.