17:38 Henry VI, part 3

Day 17 of 38:38
Henry VI, part 3

Part three is the part with the most cruelty, the most bloodiness, the most terrible acts. And yet, what makes this play so remarkable is the way Shakespeare shows up opposing sides to the same personality. We see the unfeeling cruelty the characters enact on each other, but we also see deep grief and caring from these same people. Richard Duke of York is proud and haughty, but his speech after he sees the blood of his youngest son, Rutland, is infused with anger -- anger coming from sadness. It is painful just to read it, let alone see it performed ("This cloth thou dipped'st in blood of my sweet boy, / And I with tears do wash the blood away.").

The sheer cruelty of Margaret in this scene, boasting and mocking Richard Duke of York is contrasted with her love of her son Edward. "No, no, my heart will burst an if I speak; / And I will speak that so my heart may burst."

And Richard, who seems to have so little humanity in his own play, is devastated by the news of the murder of his father and brother:
I cannot weep, for all my body's moisture
Scarce serves to quench my furnace-burning heart;
Nor can my tongue unload my heart's great burden,
For selfsame wind that I should speak withal
Is kindling coals that fires all my breast,
And burns me up with flames that tears would quench.

I would imagine it is easy for people to dismiss this play as a bloody spectacle, but what really sticks with me is the emphasis on family, family love and family loyalty. There is not only the fact that characters are enraged when their family member is slain and then seek revenge, but Shakespeare also gives us the father who killed his son and son who killed his father scene.

I think it is easy for production to forget to play the family aspect when performing a History. They get caught up in the violence, and the politicking, and the schemes for the crown. Michael Boyd quite brilliantly kept us aware of the family dynamic when he directed the Histories cycle for the RSC. He did this by having the same two actors play all the minor father-and-son duos. They were Henry Percy and Hotspur. They were the Master Gunner and his son. They were Talbot and son. They were the above mentioned father-who-killed-his-son and son-who-killed-his-father. Finally they were Lord Stanley and Richmond in Richard III. To see the same actors portray this relationship over and over packed quite an emotional wallop.

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Favorite Female Character:
Margaret
Favorite Male Character:
Richard (that shall be III)

Laugh out loud:
George He is the bluntest wooer in Christendom.

"That's what she said!":
Edward To tell thee plain, I aim to lie with thee.

How insulting:
Richard Duke of York Thou art as opposite to every good
As the antipodes are unto us,
Or as the south to the septentrion.
O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!

Shakey loves his meta:
Richard I'll play the orator as well as Nestor.

Oh, misogyny:
Richard A woman's general -- what should we fear?
(Note: It's a grave mistake to underestimate Margaret, as Richard will learn.)

Boys are silly:
Margaret Go rate thy minions, proud insulting boy!

Favorite Moment/Line:
Richard Why I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry "Content!" to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.
I'll drown more sailors than the mermaid shall;
I'll slay more gazers than the basilisk;
I'll play the orator as well as Nestor,
Deceive more slyly than Ulysses could,
And, like a Sinon, take another Troy.
I can add colors to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.