Monday, August 19, 2013

How would you describe the style of the prologue to Act 3 of William Shakespeare's play Henry V?

The style of the prologue to Act 3 of Shakespeare’s play
Henry V might be described in a number of ways, including the
following:


  • Unifying,
    as in the opening word “Thus,” which links Act 3 with the immediately preceding
    act.

  • Alliterative, as in the
    words “with imagin’d wing our
    swift
    scene
    flies” (1) or the words
    Than that of
    thought”
    (3).

  • Employing assonance, as
    in the words “motion of no
    (2).

  • Dialogical, as when the
    Chorus directly addresses the audience by referring to them as “you”
    (3).

  • Smoothly flowing
    (notice how relatively few of the lines in this speech end with any kind of punctuation;
    this is known as enjambment).

  • Richly
    adjectival
    , as in the following lines, asking us to notice the
    king’s

readability="5">

. . . brave
fleet


With silken streamers
the young Phoebus [fanning].”
(5-6)



  • Emphatic
    in its use of verbs
    , as in “Suppose” (3), “Play” (7), “behold” (7),
    “Hear” (9), etc.  Such phrasing gives enormous energy to the
    speech.

  • Often abrupt, as in
    such short phrases as “Play with your fancies” (7) and “Follow, follow!” (17). Yet these
    short phrases are typically used to punctuate and interrupt much longer sentences, thus
    giving the speech a great deal of rhythmic variety, so that it never seems
    monotonous.

  • Innovating and
    inventive
    in some of its phrasing, as when the Chorus refers to ships
    “Breasting the lofty surge” (13).

  • Vivid in
    its use of imagery
    , as when the Chorus describes
    how

readability="7">

. . . th’ invisible and creeping wind
[can]


Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea” . . .
 (12)



  • Imaginative
    in some of its imagery and
    metaphors, as when the Chorus compares ships at sea to “A
    city on th’inconstant billows dancing”
    (15).

  • Unconventional
    in some of its phrasing, as when the Chorus mentions a “fleet majestical” rather than
    the more predictable phrase “majestical fleet” (16).

  • Skillful in using emphatic
    lists
    , as in the reference to “grandsires, babies, and old women”
    (20)

  • Humorous and playful,
    as when he refers to a

readability="7">

. . . chin . . .
enrich’d


With one appearing hair
(22-23)



and also when he
plays with very heavy and exaggerated alliteration in line
24.


  • Courteous, as
    when the Chorus ends his speech by once more begging the audience’s
    indulgence.

All in all, this speech is lofty,
soaring, eloquent, witty, and highly imaginative.  It displays the very kind of
heightened imagination it hopes to stir in the audience. It advances the plot of the
play (as in lines 28-31), but it also contributes mightily to the epic, heroic tone of
the work.  It is patriotic, rousing, celebratory, and clever.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Film: 'Crocodile Dundee' directed by Peter FaimanHow are stereotypical roles upheld and challenged?

One of the stereotypes that is both upheld and challenged is the role of the damsel in distress. Sue is supposed to be the delic...