King Henry IV, Part I

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

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I love the Histories! I‘ve finished reading the Folger edition of H4I, so tonight I will watch the Hollow Crown episode: Our king of the moment is Jeremy Irons 🤴

This is the play in which Falstaff is introduced, a prince redeems himself and, we see how Hotspur earned his sobriquet!

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Dogearedcopy

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

I've started my "Henry IV Trilogy" by listening to a BBC: In Our Time podcast about Owain Glyndŵr-- a rebel who posed a serious threat to H4 in the early day of the king's reign and who still holds a place in many Welsh nationalist hearts (or so I am told). I‘m also interested in reading some of the women mystics of the time, i.e Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe (grateful to have a Norton Anthology around!)

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zsuzsanna_reads

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

This might be interesting for those who are doing the #shakespearereadalong : there are two episodes of BBC In Our Time on the relationship between Shakespeare and historical fact. The first us on the Plantagenets (including the current readalong play, Henry IV part I) the second is on the Roman plays. Here's a link to the podcast:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0000nd9

@GingerAntics

Lcsmcat Thanks for sharing! 6y

GingerAntics Oh wow, that‘s awesome. Definitely checking this out. Thanks for posting this. 6y

batsy Nice! Thank you. 6y

TheBookHippie Thanks !!! 6y

41 likes4 comments

merelybookish

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

I'm woefully behind on this month's #shakespearereadalong
On the upside, my copy has excellent cover art. Just look at that handsome face! 😆
@GingerAntics @readinginthedark

TheBookHippie Same —but I‘m almost caught up !!!‘ 6y

GingerAntics 💙💙💙 6y

readinginthedark I'm so behind, too! 😭 I thought I was catching up and then spent several days not sleeping, so... 6y

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Lcsmcat

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

And the puns keep coming! #shakespearereadalong

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readinginthedark

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

I had a busier weekend than expected and only ended up with 7 hours, but it was still fun! Made a little progress on 5 different books, including Act I of this play. It was a bit confusing, but I enjoyed the wordplay, as usual. Curious to see what Prince Henry will do after this. Could go anywhere!
#24B4Monday #ShakespeareReadalong
@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65 @GingerAntics @merelybookish

GingerAntics He‘s a bit of a twat if you ask me, but you might like him. Spoiled brat comes to mind, too. 6y

Andrew65 Seven hours is still a good total, especially on a busy weekend. 👏 Thanks for taking part. 😊👍👏 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics Agreed, he does seem really spoiled! I'm just curious to see where he ends up and what he does, 'cause he seems to be playing all sides right now. Kind of funny that he's setting everyone up to be happily surprised by disappointing them now. 6y

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readinginthedark @Andrew65 Thanks for hosting; it was fun! 6y

GingerAntics @readinginthedark I know. The intro stuff in my book hinted at him actually doing the opposite, but at the moment I‘m not so sure. I guess we will see. 6y

Andrew65 @readinginthedark Thanks, hope to see you again at the end of March. 😊 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics 🤔Interesting! I never read the intros of classics until I finish the piece because I don't want spoilers. So, I guess I'll see Pelican's take after the fact! 6y

GingerAntics Whoops. I won‘t say anything then. 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics 😆 No worries! I don't worry about it as much with the Shakespeare plays because there's still so much to be gleaned from the language apart from the action. But a lot of classics totally ruin what will happen if you read the intro. first. 6y

GingerAntics Yeah, I have found that with many classics. I think that‘s why I like the edition I do. They give you information, but they don‘t give anything away. In fact, there are times where you don‘t totally understand why something matters and then when you read the play you suddenly go “oh wow that was really important actually.” 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics Which edition are you reading? 6y

GingerAntics I read the RSC/Modern Library edition. Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen are really good about keeping the intro stuff concise and not giving anything pivotal away. Every now and then there is something you know is coming because they‘ve mentioned it, but you don‘t know how or where, and it‘s generally not pivotal to the play. They don‘t ruin the ending or anything. 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics Good to know! I'll have to track down one of those next time maybe. 6y

GingerAntics Sometimes libraries have them. Other times you have to order them online or get a digital copy. As digital copies go, they‘re relatively inexpensive...about $3. 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics Cool, I'll check it out! 6y

wordzie Did u like it? Did you like it a lot? Did love it? Are u still #currentlyreading? Just wondering I have it but haven't read it yet. 6y

readinginthedark @wordzie Still currently reading! I'm in the middle of Act II right now but need to pick up the pace a bit 'cause I'd like to participate in the #ShakespeareReadalong discussions on @GingerAntics page. Not really sure how I feel about it yet. It's not as poetic as Richard II but has a bit more witty wordplay, I think. You should read it now and join us! 6y

GingerAntics @wordzie what she said. Join the party!!! 6y

GingerAntics It is much different than Richard. I‘m wondering if that isn‘t purposeful, showing the juxtaposition of the two different men. King Richard and King Henry are very different monarchs, with very different life experiences (at least in adulthood), so it seems fitting their plays would be very different. Even children. Richard had none. Henry‘s got at least two. 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics Good point! Good ol' Will was always one for setting the right tone for the characters! 6y

GingerAntics I don‘t know why I didn‘t think of that until right now, but it does seem very like Will to do something like that. 6y

wordzie @readinginthedark thank you! I will join this party!! @GingerAntics 😎 🙌 6y

GingerAntics @wordzie YES!!! I‘ll add you to the tagged people. 6y

readinginthedark @wordzie Welcome! 6y

51 likes24 comments

readinginthedark

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

Look what came in finally from the library! Read a few scenes before bed, and I'm at 5 hours total so far. I definitely won't make it to 24, but maybe I could double what I have and hit 10 tomorrow. 🤷‍♀️ It's been fun either way. And hopefully I can finish Acts 1 & 2 of this to catch up! #24B4Monday #ShakespeareReadalong
@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65 @GingerAntics @merelybookish

GingerAntics I haven‘t read Act II yet and I‘m leading. I‘ll have to read it in the morning before I post. 6y

Andrew65 Double figures would be good, you can do it. 👍😊 6y

readinginthedark @GingerAntics I do that almost every time I host! 😆 I think I'll be able to catch up tomorrow if not today. 6y

readinginthedark @Andrew65 Thanks! 6y

wordzie 🙌 6y

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Mtroiano

King Henry IV, Part I | William Shakespeare

I‘m going to go ahead and admit I needed a modern translation for this...
“Unless hours were glasses of wine, minutes were chickens, clocks were whores' tongues, sundials were whorehouse signs and the sun itself were a hot woman in a flame-colored dress, I don‘t see any reason why you would need to know the time.”
#shakespearereadalong

GingerAntics

GingerAntics I agree that that part was special. I relied entirely on context and footnotes here. If you find a modern translation of that line, I would love to see how that‘s handled. Part of me is thinking, sheesh, if you haven‘t wound your pocket watch lately, just say so. 6y

zsuzsanna_reads Thanks, I had no idea what leaping houses were! 😂 6y

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