Fit // HoUinger Corp. pH 8.5 PR 2809 .03 Copy 1 THE STUDY OF King Henry Fourth PARTS I-II Studies of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare, No. 3 BY H. A. DAVIDSON, M. A. MADISON, WISCONSIN JULY, 1908 TXl LiBf^A.RYofCGf«GKESs| Two GooIbs Seceivfid NOV 19 i90i3 ^ CUSS qJ AXc, No. I l^'^^^^^j-ti Copyright 1908 By H. A. Davidson Author and editor of the Study-tiuide Series, author of "Literary Study for Busy People," "The Gift of Genius," etc. CONTENTS PAGE The Study of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare 5 The Study of the Drama 11 Note-Book Work 15 The Purpose of the General Topics 18 References for the Study of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare: Required Books 19 English History 20 Life and Times of Shakespeare 21 The Dramatic Art of Shakespeare 22 Theory of Dramatic Art 23 Reference Books 23 Supplementary Reading 23 The Reading of Criticism 24 The Study of King Henry Fourth 25 Topics for Study: Section I. Preliminary 31 Section II. Act 1. The Difficulties of a King by Act of Parliament 33 Section III. Act 2. "A Truant to Chivalry". 37 Section IV. Act 3. The King's Broken Reed 40 Section V. Act 4. The Eve of Battle 43 Section VI. Act 5. The King's Son to the Rescue 44 Section VII. General Topics 45 The Study of King Henry Fourth Part II 47 Topics for Study: Section I. Preliminary 47 Section II. The Broken Compact. 49 Section III. The Death of Henry IV 52 Section IV. Prince Hal becomes King Henry V 54 Section V. The Plot of Henry IV Part II 5B Section VI. General Topics 59 The Study of the Historical Plays of Shakespeare H. A. DAVIDSON This guide for the study of Shakespeare's historical plays is arranged for practical ends. No attempt has been made to specialize the study in any one direction. The aim is rather to secure intelligent reading and thorough familiarity with the text of the plays and at the same time to aid effectively in the study of the drama as a form of literary art. The objects which have determined the selection and ar- rangement of topics for study may be summarized as follows: It is intended to aid students, first, in reading with close attention, and in retaining, from scene to scene, the dramatic significance of all that has preceded, that, as the plot develops it may carry the imagination steadily forward to those com- plex crises of dramatic action in which many conflicting mo- tives mingle. Secondly, to aid in understanding the dramatic relation and significance of plot and counter-plot, of mingling tendencies and forces. Thirdly, to aid readers in catching, in each scene and act the true significance of the characters that carry the action. In the dramas of Shakespeare interest always centers in the 6 action. {Scenes are not arranged for the purpose of presenting characters, but characters are never mere lay figures brought together for the purpose of acting. Words and acts spring profoundly and intimately from what the persons are; acta seem to reveal depths and complexities of human nature such that the qualities of men and women predetermine events. Fourthly, the topics for study are arranged for the purpose of leading students indirectly, but effectively, to an under- standing of the principles of dramatic art as manifest in the writing and arrangement of plays. Fifthly, little emphasis has been placed, in topics for study, upon reference work. A few books of reference have been sug- gested in the bibliography; these should be used constantly as aids, whenever the reader's familiarity with the vocabulary, syntax, or widely varied illustrative material in use in Shakes- peare's day is insuflacient for clear and full apprehension of the dramatist's meaning. A limited vocabulary, or unfamiliar- Ity with the literary conceits and phrases of the Elizabethan period might easily deprive the reader of a just understanding of the text and, certainly, of appreciation of the rich play of fancy, the ready wit, and the glancing intelligence of the master mind of the period. The study of the language and the literary qualities of Shakespeare's text as an end, should be reserved for the class-room, or the seminar, in connection with an adequate library and under competent guidance. Sixthly, no adequate study of the sources of Shakespeare's plays is possible apart from the resources of libraries. Such references to sour'ces as are found in this Study-Guide are lim- ited in scope and intended only for the illustration of the dramatist's skill and method in adapting old material so that, in the result, the borrowed parts assume new and more sig- nificant meanings and contribute to a whole of high dramatic value. This topic, when pursued as an end by students of competent training and scholarship, is rich in the reward it offers. The Arden edition of the text suggested for use, contains the material for an elementary study of Shakespeare's rythm and lines. Further study of this topic is left to the initiative of individual students, or the guidance of instructors. Many subjects of special study, not touched upon in this guide, will suggest themselves to Shakespearean scholars, but they do not fall within the scope and purpose of this little book. For the most part, also, such subjects are profitable only for advanced students who need no other guide than the purpose in hand, and who are abundantly able to avail themselves of the ripe scholarship of those who have given years to the special topic that claims their interest. It remains to say a word of apology for the mingling of the study of English history with the study of Shakespeare's plays. In a narrow sense, the student of the historical plays of Shakes- peare has no concern with the period of English history in which the events of the play belong. He asks from what source Shakespeare drew his material and, when he has found the chronicle, or the earlier play, used by the dramatist, he directs his attention to the discovery of the selection and adaptation by which the new play was arranged. The Shakespearean scholar is, theoretically, impregnable in his position that we should inquire only for the contemporary historical source of 8 the characters and events used by the dramatist as the basis of the scenes and acts he imagined. In practice, this is usu- ally interpreted narrowly and, as a result, attention is cen- tered upon the Chronicle or 'Lives,' or earlier play, from which the dramatist borrowed. This examination fails to re- veal a most important element in Shakespeare's work, one, in truth, of greater significance than any single source of con- versations, or scenes, or stage arrangement. Into his adapta- tions of old chronicle-plays or histories, Shakespeare infused something derived from no one of them, — a new relation of parts, a deeper understanding of political events, an interpre- tation of history as he knew it, that seems almost prophetic. To the question of how he came upon this wide comprehension of the meaning and trend of events extending over several generations, it is an easy answer to suggest the genius of the greatest dramatist the world has known, but a closer analysis shows that Shakespeare's special gifts lay, first, in his exceed- ing readiness and versatility in absorbing phases of the life, belief, and knowledge of his own generation; secondly, in his power of intellectual detachment from his own experiences so that he both shared the emotions and experiences of his fellow men, and also compared, related, and judged; and thirdly, in such gifts of mind or temperament that he unconsciously grasped the fundamental and permanent principles of drama- tic art. The first of these qualities made him the great ex- ponent of the minds and passions of all men in all ages; the second made him a practical student of political and historical events, and enabled him to interpret their meaning; the third, his supreme gift as a dramatist, enabled him to present the rich fruitage of his mental activity in an art-form of perma- nent and living vitality. The result is that in his interpreta- tion of history, in his understanding of men, or of times, Shakespeare often outruns his own historical knowledge. In King Richard Second, for instance, he seizes upon the great transitions taking place in that age and by a stroke of genius he relates them, both to the theories and practices of royal pre- rogative in the reigns of the Plantaganet kings of England, and to the rise of those forces that, long after, in the reigns of Henry VIII. and of Elizabeth, brought forth the new England of modern times. Of all this, the student of Holinshed's Chronicle or of The Troublesome Raigne, or of Marlowe's Edward Second, learns little; but if, presently, he turn to modern histories and, by means of the best, inquires what the underground forces were that shaped the destinies of the English people between the time of King John and that of Richard Second, he will find later, on comparison, that Shakespeare has included in his play almost every one. The demands of the laborers, the far reaching results of the Black Death, the changes in industry, the rise of a commercial class, the passing of the power of the armed knight and the decay of the walled town, the new demands of the Commons, the attitude of the church, are all touched upon. To the careful student of history, the play seems to embody the complex elements of unrest that marked the age, while Richard and Hereford respectively stand for the earlier and the later conceptions of kingship in England. The critic and the historian seem to be writing from essen- tially similar points of view when Professor Hereford speaks 10 of "the political problem of the history, — that struggle be- tween legitimacy and aptitude which the nation so rapidly settled in favor of the latter," as the key note of the situation in the play, and the historian, Bishop Stubbs, in his discussion of the causes of Richard's downfall, uses these words, **Henry IV. coming to the throne as he did, made the validity of a parliamentary title indispensable to royalty; and Richard II., in vacating the throne, withdrew the theory, on which he had tried to act and by which he had been wrecked, of the supremacy of prerogative."! Shakespeare was familiar with the administration of af- fairs and the relation of classes in the age of Elizabeth and drew, at any moment, unconsciously, upon a fund of knowledge which could be paralleled in our time only by most thorough and painstaking study of the history, ideas, and political events of the age in which he lived. In a day when scenic presentation was a chief means of communicating ideas and information passed from group to group by word of mouth, it seems probable that the public may have been more familiar with the important events of national history than in the present age of many books. This common fund of knowledge, familiarly held in mind, Shakespeare counted upon in his au- dience, and it is precisely this background for the apprecia- tion and enjoyment of the historical plays that the modern reader lacks. It seems certain, then, that such a study of his- tory as will in a measure provide a substitute for this vital, sub-conscious familiarity of the men and women who first saw these plays with the present and the traditional past of their ^ Sec. 269, chap, xvi., v. 2, Stubbs*, Constitutional History of Eng- land. 11 own age, must contribute much to a better understanding of the dramas. It is also frankly admitted that this guide is intended to serve a double purpose. Shakespeare's profound insight and his gift of interpretation suggest the wisdom of combining the study of his dramas with study of the history and times of which he wrote. For readers who seek culture and a better understanding of history and of literature, rather than special scholarship, the study, pari-pdssu, of literature and of the ages of which it is the most intimate, often the most reliable expression, is an incomparable means of attainment. THE STUDY OF THE DRAMA Aristotle defines tragedy as "an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude." The defini- tion, with modifications, will serve for other plays than trage- dies. A drama must present an imitation of an action which is complete, well arranged, and of purport calculated to im- press or interest. Aristotle's definitions are, historically, the sources from which our theories of dramatic art have been derived, and there is still no better beginning of study of the form and structure of the drama than parts of the Poetics, The following definitions, briefiy quoted from Butcher's trans- lation, are fundamental in an understanding of the principles of dramatic sequence and unity of action: "A beginning is that which does not itself follow any thing by causal necessity, but after which something is or naturally comes to be. An end, on the contrary, is that which itself naturally follows some other thing, either by necessity or in 12 the regular course of events, but has nothing following it. A middle is that which follows something as some other thing follows it. A well constructed plot, therefore, must neither begin nor end at haphazard, but conform to the type here described." * * * * * * ''The plot being an imitation of an action, must imitate one action and that a whole, the structural union of the parts being such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed. For that which may be present or absent without being perceived, is not an organic part of the whole." The following suggestions are designed for the women of study clubs, readers, and isolated students who seek aid in critical study. Students working in classes with an instruc- tor and having access to discussions of dramatic art should follow other methods, or use these suggestions as an adjunct to broader and more analytic work. After the preliminary study indicated for each play: I. For each act, fix firmly in mind the leading characters and note for each, — a. Name and relationship. b. Leading facts in the life of the person, if historical. antecedent to the beginning of the play. c. Character and role among comrades, antecedent to the beginning of the play. Note. — The reader should become so familiar with these before enter ing on the studiy of the act that, in answer to the calling of names, she can make ready response with brief descriptions and characte sketches. II. At the beginning of each act, fix firmly in the mind 13 time and place, and for every act after the first, notice the time intei^al between the close of the previous act and the beginning of the next; ask (a) What is supposed to have oc- curred in this interval? (b) How is this interval managed or accounted for, in the setting, or acting of the play? III. At the -conclusion of the reading or study of each act make a plot outline which will show, — a. By scenes, the purpose of each. b. The main purpose or subject of the act, as a division of the play. c. The beginning of the plot, if the act is the first; in later acts, the situation which serves as beginning of the act. d. The relation of each scene, in order, to the main pur- pose, or plot of the act; that is, the part, or step in the plot of the act fulfilled by the scene. e. In each act, the most significant moment, correspond- ing in a general way to climax in the play. f. The conclusion of the act. g. The threads of interest, or unfinished sequelae^ at the conclusion of the act; these will be clues to follow, and a main source of interest in succeeding acts. The development of the unfinished sequelae will also be a test of the unity of the play and reveal the skill of the dramatist. Note. — The "Topics for Study" for each act will guide to the selec- tion of the true plot sequence, and the "General Topics" are arranged to give a similar summary and critical estimate for the play as a whole. The following brief statement of the theoretical organiza- tion of tragic drama is not intended to take the place of books 14 on this subject, or as a guide for special students. For readers who have no books on the theory of dramatic art, it will be an aid. Historical plays are not necessarily organized in the form of the tragic drama, but this type has so manifestly in- fluenced the form and arrangement of all plays that the un- derstanding of it is essential for study of dramatic structure in any of its varied forms. In the theoretical drama it is supposed: I. That in act 1 we should find an introduction to the main group of the dramatis personae, including the central figure or hero; a clear indication of essential facts such as time, place, and antecedent events necessary for understanding pres- ent action; the beginning of the plot, or dramatic action, and an indication of the problem, including some hint of every element working in this main plot toward an end. II. That in act 2 the counter-plot should develop; that is complications, difficulties, and dangers impending to thwart the action initiated in act 1 should be fully indicated, together ^th the dramatis personae among whom they originate. III. That in act 3 we should have the bringing together of these two groups of persons, of these opposing plots, and a struggle of forces, not apparently decisive, but indicating with certainty to all except the participants the final result. Note. — In a five-act tragedy, the climax is usually in the third act It is not difficult to give a theoretical definition of the climax but the determination of the climax, or moment of finality, in a given action Is often puzzling. Climax may be tested by the question whether every element of determining force in the result has yet come into full play ; for, if new elements are still to enter, then the Issue is not yet fully joined, — a moment still more doubtful may arrive, oi reversal may take place; but if determining elements have not yei become effective, then the issue still hanlgs in the balance, and the 15 action has not yet come to a true climax. The term climax is often used for the dramatic scene in which the final issue is joined, for the moments of intense suspense preceding the arbitration of fate, but the true climax lies in the brief space of time that marks the final turning ; before that breathless instant, diminishing effort still rests upon some unexhausted source of hope ; after it, though bat- tle rages and counter-plots arise, the end is sure, and when it comes, one looking back sees in what moment it was written down in the book of fate and realizes that since that time action has been no more than the subsidence of expended forces, the after results flowing from decisive acts or incident:^ IV. In act 4 the dramatis personae, often unaware, them- selves, that the decision of fate has been reached, take heart of courage to renew the struggle. The on-looker, although he has understood the trend of events more clearly than those who take part in them, must still be almost persuaded when he sees the reviving courage and strength of the protagonists that they have yet a fighting chance. Upon this act depends, in great part, the high charadter of the tragedy in the end. The braver the effort, the more unsubdued the spirit, the bet- ter the muster against fate, the more pitiful the downfall which reveals the overwhelming odds, the predetermined event, the irremediable ruin. V. The final act of the tragic drama returns, from its first moment, to the expectation of catastrophe with which the third act closed and is, in reality, the bringing to view of the ruin then wrought, in all its results. NOTE-BOOK WORK In the study of the drama the note book is for the purpose of preserving for constant use outlines, tables, and references. Information found in books should be cross-referenced in the text of the plays, but collections of facts gathered from many 16 sources are more accessible and useful when organized in the form of brief outlines in note-books. The editor of the Arden edition of King John has included a most useful leaf from his own note-book, p. 143. — Chronicle of the Reign of King John. To be useful, the note-book must be paged, and cross refer- en'ces to it placed in the text. Note-book work of a more ex- tended kind should be required of students working in classes with the aid of special libraries and instruction. A. PRELIMINARY TOPICS I. A list of the Norman and Plantagenet Kings of England, with dates of reigns. II. Geneological tables arranged as in Green's Shorter History of Elngland. a. Showing the descent of the Kings of England, from William I., to Henry IV. b. Of the family of Henry II., showing children, mar- riages, and descendants, as far as necessary, for the dramatis personae of these plays. c. Of the family of Edward III., in the same way. d. Of the family of John of Gaunt, showing the chil- ren of Blanche of Lancaster, and also the children of Katharine S^vynford; that is, the family of the Beauforts. III. Preliminary to the study of King Richard Second, make a chronicle of the important events of his reign simi- lar to the one given in the Arden edition for the reign of John. 17 IV. Biographical notes of characters: These are for historical characters found among the dra- matis personae and are a means of securing that familiar acquaintance with them as individuals which is essential to imaginative reading of the drama. V. In the text of King John, mark in each act all passages which show the indebtedness of Shakespeare to the earlier play, The Troublesome Raigne of King John. This will be preparation for the topics of Section IX, p. 43. B. TOPICS FOR THE STUDY OF THE PLAY I. Ke9p, by acts, from stage directions, notes, ^ta., a time analysis, and statement of place, etc., for each act of each play. This may be kept in the text by noting at the begin- ning of each act: a. The date of the beginning, or the interval since the last act closed. b. The time of the act, as far as given. c. The place where the scenes are supposed to be. For instance, Richard Second, act 1. Time, April l8, 1398; place, Richard's palace, Windsor. II. Cross-referencing and annotating: Essential facts? which should be borne in mind may be added by note or reference, in the text; for instance, act 1, Richard Second, note in the margin for name of John of Gaunt horn in 1340; note for King Richard, aet. 31 years, etc. When- ever an item is found by searching, a reference to book and page should be added in the text, even if it be to the notes of the edition in use. 2 18 THE PURPOSE OP THE GENERAL TOPICS. The general topics for the study of the historical plays of Shakespeare have a double object. They are intended as a summary and review of the detailed study just con- cluded, and they should serve to emphasize the relation of parts, and give a broad view of the dramatic significance, power and charm of the play. Topics for these purposes will be found under "A." Critical study must derive its value from intimate knowl- edge of detail and close study of parts, but unless, after a time, the fragmentary results of such study are used in pur- suit of some definite end as the basis of comparison, infer- ence, conclusion, the student is little advanced intellectually, by all his toil. The second division of general topics is added for the use of students and classes having access to special libraries and time for extended and critical study. These topics are suitable either for written papers or for brief discussions in which carefully organized material gath- ered from previous reading and study is used as data. Topics requiring special library facilities may be omitted when these are lacking, or when the study of King John i&' under- taken in clubs for purposes of general culture. The topics suggested for critical study do not include even a small part of the many interesting subjects suggested by each one of Shakespeare's plays. A few have been selected which seem especially pertinent and fruitful. Others, it is hoped, may appear in later editions of The Study of Shalces- peare's King John; such are, The stage presentation of the play ii* in Shakespeare's time, Shakespeare's usage in verse, rime, etc.. Study of the literary qualities of Shakespeare's plays in re- lation to the conceits, forms of expression, etc., of the age of Elizabeth. Topics for critical study of the dramatist's work as author, stage manager, etc., for study of the sources of his play, and for advanced study of the drama of Shakespeare in its great qualities have not been included; such study is, in its nature, comparative, and should be undertaken only after careful study of a considerable number of plays. REFERENCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE HISTORICAL PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE* REQUIRED BOOKS FOR STUDY OF KING HENRY FOURTH, PART I AND II AND KING HENRY FIFTH Shakespeare, W. King Henry Fourth. Part I. Arden edition. Heath, 25c. The Arden edition is chosen because the notes and introduc- tions give especial attention to plot and dramatic arrangement. King Henry Fourth. Part II Part II has not been edited in the Arden edition. The Eversly edition, edited by C. H. Hereford and published by Macmillan, is recommended if available. The volumes of this edition are not sold separately. The entire set of eleven vol- umes is listed at ten dollars. Any good text will serve, such, as the Cambridge, Temple or Larger Temple. King Henry Fifth. Arden edition. Heath, 25c. King Henry V. Richard Mansfield^s Acting Ver- sion. McClure, 50c. ♦Prices quoted are list prices. Libraries secure the usual dis- counts on these prices, and individuals can sometimes obtain reduc- tion. Books not available through regular dealers are marked Out of prvnt. These may be found in the public library, or may be picked up second hand. 20 Wendell, B. William Shakespeare. Scribner, $1.75. Warner, B. E. English History in Shakespeare's Plays. Longmans, $1.75. Gairdner, J. I-Iouses of Lancaster and York. (Epochs of History) S<;ribner, $1. Church, A. J. Henry Fifth. (English Men of Action) Macmillan, 75c. Kingsford, C. L. Henry V., the Typical Mediaeval Hero. (Heroes of the Nation) Putnam, $1.35. BOOKS FOR THE LIBRARY ENGLISH HISTORY Norgate, K. John Lackland. (Heroes of tne Nations) Put- nam, $1.50. Stubbs, W. The Early Plantagenets. (Epochs of History) Scribner, $1. Green, Mrs. J. R. Henry the Second. (Twelve English Statesmen) Macmillan, 75c. Maurice, C. E. Stephen Langton. (English Popula,r Leaders) King, 7s. 6d. (Out of print.) Bateson, M. Mediaeval England. (Story of the Nations) Putnam, $1.35. Gairdner, J. & Spedding, J. Studies in English History. Douglas, 12s. (Out of print.) For the chapters on the Lrollards. Bright, J. F. English History, v. 1. Longmans, $1.50. Green, Mrs. J. R. English Tov/ns in the Fifteenth Century. 2v. Macmillan, $5. Trevelyan, G. M. England in the Age of Wycliffe. Long- mans, $4. Wylie, J. H. English History under Henry the Fourth. 4v. Longma,ns, $20. For the trial and deposition of Richard II. Pearson, C. H. History of England During the Early and Middle Ages. 2v. Bell, 30s. (Out of print.) Stubbs, W. Constitutional History of England. 3v. Long- mans, each $2.60. For Henry IV. and Henry V., v. 2. The analysis of the char- acter of Henry V. is the best estimate of his ahility as a ruler. Ramsay, J. H. The Angevin Empire. Macmillan, $3.25. 21 Gairdner, J. The Houses of Lancaster and York. (Epochs of History) Scribner, $1. Oman, C. W. C. Warwick, the Kingmaker. (English Men of Action) Macmillan, 75c. Stone, W. G. B. Shakespeare's Holinshed. Longmans, |5» (Out of print.) Hall, H. Court Life under the Plantagenets. Button, $2.50. Cutts, E. L. Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages. Virtue, 15s. (Out of print.) Gardiner, S. R. Atlas of English History. Longmans, $1.50. A good wall map of England. W. & A. K. Johnson's is the best and may now t)e l>btained in this country for a moderate price. Traill, H. D. & Mann, J. S. ed. Social England. 6v. Put- nam, each $5. For the England of Henry IV. and V., v. 2. LIFE AND TIMES OF SHAKESPEARE Lee, S. Life of Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1.75. Raleigh, W. A. Shakespeare (English Men of Letters.) Macmillan, 75c. Brandes, G. William Shakespeare, a Critical Study. Mac- millan, $2.60. Wendell, B. William Shakespeare. Scribner, $1.75. Mabie, H. W. V/illiam Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist and Man. Macmillan, $2. Bagehot, W. Shakespeare, the Man. McClure, 50c. Ward, H. S. & C. Shakespea,re's Town and Times. Lane, $3. Ordish, T. F. Shakespeare's London. Macmillan, $1.25. Stephenson, H. T. Shakespeare's London. Holt, $2. Winter, W. Shakepeare's England. Macmillan, 75c. Hales, J. W. The Age of Shakespeare. Macmillan. Warner, C. D. The People for Whom Shakespeare Wrote. Harper, $1.25. Creighton, M. Queen Elizabeth. (Epochs of History) Scribner, $1. Wheatley, H. B. The Story of London. (Mediaeval Towns) Macmillan, $1.75. One of the best books on London at the time of the his- torical events represented in these plays. Hall, H. Society in the Elizabethan Age. Ed. 3. Button, $2.50. Ordish, T. F. Early London Theaters. Macmillan, $2. Morley, H. English Writers, v. 10. Cassell, $1.50. V. 10 contains Shakespeare and his times. Lee, S. Stratford-on-Avon. New illus. ed. Lippincott, $1.50. THE DRAMATIC ART OF SHAKESPEARE Lounsbury, T. R. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Scrib- ner, $3. • Text of Shakespeare. Scribner, $2. Moulton, R. G. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Ed. ^. Clarendon Press, $1.90. Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Macmillan, $3.25. Brink, B. T. Five Lectures on Shakespeare. Holt, $1.25. Coleridge, S. T. Lectures on Shakespeare. (Bohn's Stan- dard Library.) Macmillan, $1. Ulrici, H. A. Shakespeare's Dramatic art. 2v. Macmillan, each $2. Smith, D. N. Eighteenth Century Essayists on Shakespeare. Macmillan, $3. Contains Morgann's essay on the dramatic character oi Sir John Falstaff. Snider, D. J. Shakespeare's Histories. Sigma Pub. Co., $1.50. Corson, H. An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. Heath, $1. Hazlitt, W. Lectures on the Age of Elizabeth and Charac- ters of Shakespeare's Plays. (Bohn's Standard Li- brary) Macmillan, $1. Gives most unfavorable view of Henry V. Hudson, H. N. Shakespeare, his Life, Art, and Characters. 2v. Ginn, $4. Baker, G. P. The Development of Shakespeare as a Drama- tist. Macmillan, $1.75. Warner, B. E. Famous Introductions to Shakespeare's Plays. Dodd, $2.50. 23 THEORY OF DRAMATIC ART Schelling, F. The English Chronicle Play. Macmillan, $2. Freytag, G. The Technique of the Drama. Scott, $1.50. Price, W. T. The Technique of the Drama. Brentano, $1.50. Hennequin, A. The Art of Play Writing. Houghton, $1.25. Butcher, S. H. Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art with a Critical Text and Translation of the Poetics. Ed. 3. Macmillan, $4. For advanced students. REFERENCE BOOKS Clarke. M. C. & C. C. The Shakespeare Key. Scribner, $7.50. Bartlett, J. Concordance to Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1.50. Abbott, E. A. Shakespearean Grammar. New ed. Mac- millan, $1.50. Schmidt, A. Shakespeare Lexicon. 2v. Lemcke, $8. Dowden, E. Introduction to Shakespeare. Scribner, 75c. Fleming, W. H. How to Study Shakespeare. 4v. Double- day, each $1. Corson, H. Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare. Heath, $1. Dyer, T. F. T. Folk-lore of Shakespeare. Harper, $2.50. Barnard, F. P. Companion to English History in the Middle Ages. Clarendon Press, $2.90. Oman, C. The Art of War in the Middle Ages. Putnam, $4.50. SUPPLEMENTARY READING Clarke, M. C. The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines. Scribner, $3. Rolfe, W. J. Shakespeare the Boy. Harper, $1.25. Black, C. W. Judith Shakespeare, Harper, $1.25. Bennet, J. Master Skylark. Century, $1.50. Jameson, A. B. Characteristics of Women. Houghton, $1.25. Lamh, C. & M. Tales from Shakespeare. Macmillan, $1. Marlowe, C. Edward Second. (Temple Dramatists.) Mac- millan, 45c. Note: — This play is easily found. Its importance lies in the fact that Marlowe was the first to adopt the material found In chronicles, history-plays, etc., to the form ol- dramatic art. This play, probably produced in 1590, seems to be the model from which Shakespeare first learned his own greater art. THE READING OF CRITICISM Students are earnestly requested not to read discussions of the plot or structure of these plays or of the characters in them, until the conclusion of the work suggested in Topics for Study. After the student has become familiar with the text of the play and has by study and comparison defined her own impressions of characters or plot, the reading of critical essays will suggest other opinions for comparison with those gained at first hand from the text. The reading of discussions of literature of which one is ignorant makes little Impression on the mind, and succeeding opinions, if different, displace those first read, since the reader has no reliable means of judging between them. 2S THE STUDY OF KING HENRY FOURTH, PARTS I-H The Relation of the Falstaff Scenes to the Dramatic Structure of the Plays Part I. of Henry Fourth is not arranged a^ a tragic drama. It is, first of all, a series of historical scenes, on a stage set for the advent of Shakespeare's hero-king, Henry V. In the difficulties on which the dramatic action turns, it repre- sents the transition from royal prerogative and hereditary right to government by the will of the Commons in Parlia- ment. The Percys, with their great holdings and special privileges in the north, represent the old feudal nobility; while the Earl of Derby, himself the head of a noble house, became Henry IV. on the condition of his recognition of the right of the Commons to give and to take away the English crown, and his heir, the young prince, mingled informally with the common folk of London. Between two extremes so far removed, there could be no marriage; the rebellion of the Percys was inevitable. This furnishes the situation with which the play opens, but, mingled with the historical scenes of the play, are others in which Falstaff leads the revels, and these form so slight a part of the more serious main action 26 that they have called forth much discussion in regard to the purpose they fulfill, and opinions differ. One authority suggests that Fal staff and his crew travesty the dying feudalism of the time in the spirit of Don Quixote; another sees in the knight "the most humorous figure in literature", and in the scenes of which he was a part, a picture of life in town, in Shakespeare's own time; to an- other, he suggests a satire on Puritanism. It may well be that the character was mingled of many elements and grew with the handling. The popularity, on the stage, of the scenes in which Falstaff appears must have been due entirely to the character of the knight, and the enjoyable, spontaneous humor of the incidents; nevertheless, in the serious, historical part of the play the slight dramatic structure rests upon this back- ground of life in the underworld of London. The dramatic plot turns upon the difficulties besetting the newly crowned Henry IV. Among these, chief and most fatal in the king's own estimation, was the reputed character of his eldest son, the Prince of Wales. In Richard Second, act 5, the dramatist touches upon this "unthrifty son", for whom his father bids seek among loose companions in the taverns, nam- ing him "young", "wanton", "effeminate." In the beginning of Henry Fourth, act 1, the king confesses that he sins in envy of Northumberland, "father to so blest a son." This ill-repute of the Prince, blown about by the Presenter, Rumor, arose from the company he kept and the escapades of his com- panions, a full share in which was commonly attributed to him. The difficulties manacing the stability of Henry IV. on the throne approach a tragic climax in the third act, in the 27 agreement of the chief conspirators and the conjunction of their forces. Had their plan succeeded, this culmination of the conspiracy in aggressive rebellion would assume the im- portance of a true climax in the tragedy of the quandam king, Henry IV. and the catastrophe in the fifth act would appear a fulfillment determined by previous events. The elements of this catastrophe are emphasized by the arrange- ment of scenes. The first gives, on the stage, an impression of the strength and assurance of the conspirators, but its dramatic significance lies in the persons who meet for the partition of the spoils. Glendower of Wales, the Percys, who bring Scotland in their train; Mortimer, guardian of the law- ful heir of England. Between the famous map scene and the arrival of the messenger who announces to the king the conjunction with the rebels, of the Scots under Douglas, a long scene is given to the interview of the king with the Prince of Wales. This reveals the fatal defect in his pre- paredness to meet the conspirators; the dramatist has even painted the moral by sharp contrast with the son of Northum- berland, the warlike Hotspur, the main dependence of the rebels, in the zeal and confidence of vvrhom there is presage of disaster for Henry. The tragedy thus carefully prepared for, is reversed at the proper time, in the very moment of catastrophe by the repentant Prince who thus fulfills the vow made in the presence of the king. In the moment of Henry IV. 's mortal peril, the son rescues his father, and, in the sequel, he also turns the wavering tide of battle and saves the day for England. On looking back, after the event, it easily appears that the dramatist, with cunning skill, con- y 28 cealed the elements out of whictL change of fortune might grow, within the tide of events setting the other way. The confidence of the conspirators who over-ripened the fruit they would gather, and the depression of a father whose "ear of greatness" had been abused by "smiling pick-thanks and base news-mongers," become warnings prophetic of the reversal that occurred. This closes Part I. Henry Fourth, a play showing, in ana- lysis, a theoretic unity and sequence of structure not ap- parent on the stage, since the disproportionate length and the realism of the Falstaff scenes, together with their immediate and irresistible appeal to the pit, wherein all men are of kin, dwarfs the real center of dramatic interest, substituting for interest in the story the more compelling interest in life itself. The second part of Henry Fourth, as an acted play, has little consistent dramatic structure, or unity. The historical scenes are composed of slight materials which in nature, or in incidents, parallel the plots in Part I. As a part of Shakespeare's great series, the purpose of the play is more evident. It furnishes the necessary transition from the vic- tory of Shrewsbury, and the consequent establishment of the king upon the throne, to his death, which seems, in the narra- tion, as no more than prologue to the accession of his son. To the support of this scanty, ill-organized material, the dramatist calls Falstaff and his crew, whose rich conjjbits would suffice to lure an audience through many acts lesjj|full of meaning. Enacted on the stage, critics are agreed thatjKiere is little dramatic organization in these alternating scetres. Yet it seems a mistake to suppose that Shakespeare, master <' I 29 of dramatic art, most skillful in the arrangement of parts for unity of impression, and culmination of effect, should have had no plan in mind in the composition of this play. Some semblance of plan there must have been, and it should be sought for in the function of Part II. in the development of the historical series, which leads us to the ideal of king- ship presented in Henry Fifth, Richard Second shows the king by hereditary right giving place to the man who, in the name of the Commons of England, takes up the crown be- cause he is fit to rule. In Henry Fourth, Part I., we see this king surrounded by difficulties that threaten to overturn his dynasty in the very beginning; from these he is rescued by the timely appearance of his son in a role befitting the heir apparent of a disturbed and restless kingdom. Where Part 11. opens, the old difficulties reappear, but the parts are reversed. Y/hereas, in Part I. the chief danger of the king lay in plots and conspiracies which, deprived of his son, he was unable to meet, now, in failing health, his anxiety centers in the character of his heir and the welfare of his kingdoni. Plots and conspiracies serve only\tQ^ illustrate and emphasize the need of a strong hand and a steady purpose in the man who was to rule the turbulent baronage of England. In the first act, the aftermath of Shrewsbury is shown: on the one hand, the power and resources of the feudal nobility, engaged in new conspiracies; on the other, by one effective glimpse, is revealed the character of the company in London to join which the Prince of Wales is journeying, well-content, from his brief hour of glory. The second act fulfills and illustrates the return of the 30 prince to old comrades and old ways, while the brief and apparently irrelevant scene thrust into the midst of merry ones, serves as a reminder that plots against the king have not ceased because Hotspur is dead. The careless prince, it seems, may lose a crown while he follows his jest. Then comes the third act which turns upon the distemper of the king and the disorders of his service, both of which threaten a tragic conclusion to a merry play, the play of the prince who lost a crown in a manner truly fitted to point a puritan moral. Reversal takes place in the fourth act, and brings the plot finally, to a climax in which the prince recognizes the lineal descent of kingship from his father to himself, and his own obligation to transmit it, in turn, unimpaired. This he promises in words more solemn than an oath, lifting, at the same time, the imperial crown to his own head. From this moment, King Henry V. bestrides the stage in royal dignity, and the motley crew of which he did erewhile dream, falls back into obscurity. On reconsidering the play from the point of view of the end there appears a thread of clear dramatic sequence which finds its conclusion in these closing scenes. From the time of Shrewsbury, the prince begins to detach him- self from his boon companions and the dramatist so brings the spectator on, that, when the moment arrives in which the new king refuses to acknowledge his old friends, it holds a relation of double significance to past incidents. In the king, the act appears as part of a premeditated pur- pose; but among his old companions of the night hours, the discourtesy is received as the tragic end of a dream-world in which all had seen themselves revellers at pleasure in the 31 palace of a king and holding up, not stray travellers on Gads- hill, but the Lord Chief Keeper of the revenues of England. There is even deep and homely pathos in the broken trust of the old knight; for, spite of evidence, readers and spectators must believe in the genuineness of his affection for the hand- some lad with whom he had made sport. TOPICS FOR STUDY SECTION I. PRELIMINARY 1. Who was heir to the throne by hereditary right after the death of Richard II? 2. Where and how was this person living? Did Henry IV. fear this claimant? 3. On what grounds had Henry claimed the crown from Parliament? 4. Wherein v/as Henry's position weaker than that of the hereditary heir would have been? 5. In what was the strength of his position? 6. How had Henry secured the support, — a. Of the nobles? b. Of the Church? c. Of London, and the eonunonalty? 7. Why did France refuse to acknowledge the title of Henry? 8. On his* accession, Henry demanded homage from the king of Scotland; was this homage refused because it was not due England, or because Scotland did not admit Henry's title? Note. — In this connection, discuss the hostile feeling toward Eng- land prevalent in Scotland and seek its cause in the relations of the two countries since the times of Wallace and of Bruce. 32 9. Define the attitude toward the king and the understand- ing on which it was based, of, — a. The Lords. b. The Commons. c. The Church. 10. In which of these lay the chief and most secure support of the king? Give reasons in full. 11. What difficulties had Henry to face in the beginning of his reign? 12. What powerful enemies, or lukewarm friends*, had he? Point out the men, and in each instance, give the reasons for disaffection. 13. What was the effect of the peculiar position in which Henry found himself on his personal relations with the nobil- ity of his realm? 14. Make a geneologicai table showing the descendants of Edward III. to Henry V., showing especially both marriages of John of Gaunt, and the children, and also the heirs of the Earl of March. See Arden edition of Henry Fifth, Green's Shorter History of England, etc. 15. Make, for reference, a genealogical table of the Percy family showing also relatives by marriage as far as the char- acters appear in the play, Richard Second. 16. Where were the estates of the Percy family? Enumer- ate their possessions and special privileges. 17. What was the occasion of the battle of Homildon in 1402? 18. What disagreement between the Percys and the king arose from this battle? 33 SECTION II. THE DIFFICULTIES OF A KING BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT ACT 1 Note. — If the study of H&nry Fourth does not immediately fol- low the study of Richard Second, in this series, section III. of that study, "The England of Richard Second," should precede the topics on Part I., act 1. 19. When and where does this play open? 20. What men in Parliament or in the royal household, had been among the king's officers in the previous reign? Note. — The royaS! household at this time, included all the great administrative officers of the government, since grants for public service were made to the kinig personally, who apportioned and dis- tributed the funds according to his own judgment or pleasure. The abuses to which this system gave rise were discovered in the historical study of the sources and the administration of the king's revenues, preliminary to the study of Richard Second. 21. Of the dramatis personae, give briefly for each one: a. Kis kinship. b. His part in the action of the former play. c. His character as presented In the former play. Note. — Information for this topic is to be found in the Arden editions of Richard Second, and of Henry Fourth. There is, how- ever an omission. Ralph, Earl of Westmoreland, belonged to the great house of Neville, more powerful than even the Percys of North- umberland. More than seventy manors, lying in six or seven dif- ferent counties, owned the overlordship of his family, and the head of the family was able; to muster for war an army of his own fol- lowers, men-at-arms, archers, and knights. After his coup ^ etat, in 1397, Richard II raised Ralph, head of the family, to be Earl of Westmoreland. Ralph Neville, however, was bound to the house of Lancaster by marriage and joined Boilngbroke when he landed at Ravenspur. Henry presently, made him Earl Marshall of England in place of the exiled Duke of Norfolk, and Ralph Neville, throughout life, remained a faithful adherent to the house of Lancaster. A daughter of this Ralph married the Duke of York, and his descend- ants played leading parts in the Wars of the Roses, and a grand- son was Warwick, the king-maker. For a full account of this family, see Oman's Warwick, the Kingmaker. 34 22. What indications of plot, or of theme, do you find in the opening scenes of Part I? The Kings Conscience: 23. What changes in the character of Henry as king appear in the opening scenes of Part I? Note. — The character study of Bolingbroke made for Richard Sec- ondf should be the basis of this comparison In Stubbs's Constitutional History of England, v. 2, chap. 18, sec- tion 301, is a comparison of Henry of Derby with Henry, tHe king. 24. In Shakespeare's play, what motives moved Henry to desire to go on a crusade? Note. — The dramatist attributes Henry's desire to lead a crusade to the Holy Land to remorse for the part he had taken in the de- position and death of Richard Second. In this, he followed history as set down in the chronicles. This form of expiation, however, seems to have been suggested by a visit in the first year of Henry's reign from the Emperor of the Greeks, who came to England in quest of aid against the Mohammedans. Henry entertaned him royally, and assumed the cross of a crusader, but, obviously, found it im- possible to leave his realm at that time. 25. Cite from act 2, Richard Second, all passages which point to a sequel, and explain their significance. 26. Who had been chief actors in the dethronement scene? The King's Relations with His Subjects: An editor of this play has' said that the defeat of Douglas at Homildon Hill and the preceding defeat in Wales of Morti- mer of Glendower form the real starting point of the play. Each was a distinct episode arising from antecedent events and conditions; give an account of the historical scenes and point out the significance of each of these fights. * SpeF.ed also Holmedon, and Humbleton (in Northumberland County, England). 35 27. Show the relation of these disturbances in the North and in Wales to the disturbances' and plots that followed the acces- sion of Henry II. 28. From historical sources, make an outline showing the main perplexities and difficulties, of Henry's position at this time. 29. Which of these difficulties did Shakespeare select as the dramatic basis of his* play? Of these, which is most empha- sized in the first act? 30. Why was the disposal of the prisoners taken at Holme- don an important matter? 31. Did the ransom and disposal of prisoners belong, of right, in the Percy family, or was it a royal prerogative?. Note. — The discussion of this question should be based upon pre- vious customs and the special privileges of the Percys as feudal lords. The King's Son: 32. a. What was the character of Prince Hal, as represented by his father in scene 1? b. What was the character of the Prince, as represented by Shakespeare in scene 2? c. WTiat is the dramatic reason for the soliloquy with which scene 2 closes? 33. What part had each of the characters in scene 3 borne in the play, Ri6Tiard Second? 34. To what lines' in act 5, Richard Second, do Worcester's words refer? What is the purpose of the reference here? 35. What real reasons had the Percys for quarrelling with Henry IV? 36 Tlie Conspiracy : 36. a. What persons were engaged in it? b. For each one of these, show (1) the motives that in- fluenced him to take part in a conspiracy against the king; (2) the risk he ran, — that is, what Jie must lose in case of failure. c. V/hat was the plot? — (1) what elements of success in it; (2) in v/hat was it weak; (3) in what did Shakespeare depart from historical facts in the combination planned; (4) what elements of per- sonal riralry, jealousy, etc., form a part of the plot; (5) what bound thes'e men together? (6) what pos- sibilities of discord among themselves do you note? General Topics: 37. a. How many characters are introduced in act 1? b. Characterize each distinctly. c. Which are essential to the plot? d. In which did the author find most delight? How do you judge? e. What is the subject or theme of the play, Henry Fourth, Part I, as set forth in act 1? f. What is the purpose of the first act of Henry Fourth, Part I, as part of the plot of the drama? g. What is* the purpose of scene 1 in the plan of act I I? Of scene 2? Of scene 3? '^l h. Wbat unfinished sequelae do you find at the close of act I— that is, what is the dramatic "situation?'^ 1. ^Mierein lies the conclusion of act 1? Why? 37 SECTION III. *