A Bit of the Bard

FALSTAFF:  "What is honour? a word.  What is in that word honour?  air.  A trim reckoning!  Who hath it?  he that died o' Wednesday.  Doth he feel it?  no.  Doth he hear it?  no.  'Tis insensible, then.  Yea, to the dead.  But will it not live with the living?  no.  Why?  detraction will not suffer it.  Therefore I'll have none of it.  Honour is a mere scutcheon: and so ends my catechism."

Henry IV Part 1 Act V, Scene 1

A few days ago, I traveled down to Stratford-upon-Avon with some friends to visit the home of William Shakespeare and see the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Henry IV Parts I and II.  The play centers around the theme of leadership and what it takes to become a successful king.  The quote above exemplifies the premise of Part I in which Prince Hal, Henry IV's son, must redeem his honor in order to one day take the throne and leave behind his less honorable tendencies of spending his time amongst criminals such as Falstaff.  Falstaff contrasts Prince Hal in this scene as he rejects honor and acts like a fool rather than a soldier.  It is interesting to question whether Falstaff is simply being a coward in this scene or whether he is providing a more realistic approach to the concept of honor in which he does not glorify it like the members of nobility do.  Shakespeare explores what honor is and what it means to have honor.  Before I begin to analyze the entire play and turn this into an essay about that quote, I will leave it there and move on to the rest of my trip.

RSC Theatre

The RSC put on a wonderful production of both parts of Henry IV, but I preferred Part I to Part II.  Part I had a lot of action and humor whereas Part II had some humor, but much less action and wasn't as engaging.  It was still really nice to see RSC productions and hope that I can see more in the future.  They put on other productions as well besides Shakespeare's works, and they had several costumes on display from various productions.  There were all very impressive, and it was interesting to learn about each one even if I wasn't familiar with the production is was a part of.

I really enjoyed my time in Stratford-upon-Avon.  It is such a charming little town with little nods to Shakespeare throughout, but nothing overwhelming or too cheesy.  We visited several of Shakespeare's family homes such as his birthplace, his mother's farm, his family home, and the house that his daughter, Susanna, lived in with her husband.  They were so interesting to visit, and I learned so much from the guides in each residence.  I found it particularly interesting to learn about small things that have subtle references in his plays as well as some of the terms that we still use today that came from his time.  

The First Folio

We also visited Shakespeare's grave inside the Holy Trinity Church.  The inscription on his grave says, "Good friend, for Jesus' sake forebeare/ To digg the dust encloased heare; / Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, / And curst be he that moves my bones."  Quite fitting for the poet isn't it?

The rest of Stratford-upon-Avon was beautiful, despite the fact that it rained on us non-stop.  It is a fairly quiet town, but very peaceful.  

I would love to return to Stratford-upon-Avon again sometime and spend more time there.  I am sure that there is so much more to see and learn.  I hope to be able to see many more of the RSC's productions.  It was so nice to be able to indulge my love for Shakespeare and dedicate some of my time to learning more about the bard.

From here, we traveled down to Cardiff, Wales, but since this post is so long, I will continue it in a new one.  Up next: geeking out some more with a man called the Doctor and a time-traveling blue box!