Day 184: So I read Henry V...man, that guy's a dick

Minimalist Henry V, from my Minimalist Shakespeare series

I don't know if Shakespeare's Henry V is historically accurate, but if it is then Henry V was a jerk. He makes speeches that essentially amount to "Hey, don't blame me if I order my troops to murder all your babies and rape all the women." He has his friends killed for being thieving rogues, as though he's never even heard of hypocrisy or irony. Then he rallies troops into a potential suicide mission by saying, "C'mon guys. I thought we were friends!" (That's his famous "We the few, we merry band of brothers" speech.) Then he marries the French princess to consolidate power between France and England (she has no say in it) and when she asks him not to kiss her out of respect for propriety, he makes sexualized remarks and kisses her anyway (he doesn't kill any babies at least...well not babies). 

I guess a flawed moral compass does NOT magically correct itself once someone is given absolute power. Over all, he's heralded as a pretty good English king.

UPDATE: I realize I forgot to explain the above picture. Henry V has tennis balls. And leeks. I'm not even joking. It's hard to explain.

Day 175: What I Learned from Henry V, Part 1 of...Sigh...I don't know anymore

What have I learned? I'll tell you what I've learned. I've learned nothing because once again I haven't read the play. I'm hopelessly behind now and I think the real question is fast becoming, "How QUICKLY can I read Shakespeare, especially if I want to accomplish this goal?"

This is me in the coming days/weeks/months:

via

Note: I got the above image from memegenerator.net but I don't know who created the original image (if it's you, and you'd like me to take it down, please let me know), but it sort of reminds me of Kendall's artwork from thisisnotthatblog.com, which is a fantastic blog and you should totally check it out.

Day 171: Henry V Lego

Here's another Lego Shakespeare vignette from brickshelf, this time a scene from Henry V.

Unlike the Sock Monkey Shakespeare from yesterday, this one doesn't look like the men with swords are attacking him, just waiting for his command. Hmm...maybe I'll have to actually get around to reading the play to find out which it is.

Is it just me, or do those soldiers look a little bit like Mounties?

Day 170: Henry V Sock Monkey

Sock Monkey Henry V by David Jones (fineartamerica.com)

Oh noes! They've got plastic swords! You're trapped, Sock Monkey Henry V!

Day 169: New Play Tuesday! Henry V

Henry V Wordle on SCC English

Well Henry IV is dead and Prince Hal--now King Henry V--is in charge. What could possibly go wrong? I wonder if "Pistol" is a person or if there are just a lot of people shooting pistols at him. Also, who's Fluellen? It's like someone was named "Llewellyn" but they had the flu all the time so people were making fun of him.

Day 41: More Lego Shakespeare!

Othello

Here are some more Lego Shakespeare, this time from brickshelf. Enjoy!