Topic > Henry IV and As You Like It: The Relationship Between Older and Younger Men

Compare the relationships between older and younger men in the following excerpts; pay close attention to the use of dramatic language and the opportunities the text offers for different emphases in the production: 1 Henry IV, 2.4.109-62 (Bevington ed., pp. 182-6) and As You Like It, 2.3. 27-77 (Brissenden ed., pp. 131-3) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe two excerpts differ greatly in their approach to relationships between older and younger men. In summary, the As You Like It scene is serious and moving, conducted in verse, concerned with questions of fidelity, and uses biblical references for metaphor. The Henry IV scene is humorous, conducted in prose, concerns betrayal and lying (even if set in a farcical context), and refers to common sayings in its metaphors and oaths. Both scenes examine the comparison between the old world and the new, at different levels of meaning. In both scenes there is the potential to portray them in opposition to audience expectations: comic elements could be introduced into the As You Like It scene and the Henry IV scene could be obscured in places. The extract from Henry IV is entirely conducted in prose; its use may be assigned by social distinction, from superior to inferior characters, or it may be used by one of high status to another, as a calculating insult. In this case, however, it is appropriate for the environment of the Eastcheap tavern and is used between people of various statuses to express their friendship. Hal actually moves between the world of Eastcheap prose and the noble world of exalted blank verse. The use of prose in the tavern is simply a different register and does not necessarily make it an inferior form; Falstaff's prose often seems to speak more truth than the elevated language of the courtiers. Here too the use of prose has the effect of increasing the pace of the scene, and the lively exchange of short dialogues confirms this: HAL: Why, you son of a bitch, what's going on? FALSTAFF: Aren't you a coward? Answer me. And Poins there?POINS: Zounds, you fat paunch, and you call me a coward, by God, I will stab you.1 Henry IV 2.4.134-39In contrast, the extract from As You Like It is conducted in blank verse. His measured, unrhymed iambic pentameter was the most popular poetic form, or vehicle, of English Renaissance drama. It tends to be used by high-ranking figures, as a sign of mutual respect or to speak from above to those below. In this excerpt, however, Adam would be considered inferior to Orlando, yet they converse in blank verse with no intention of insult. A character as humble as Adam, like that of Caliban in The Tempest, gains reverence and status through his use of verse and shows the mutual respect and friendship between the pair. Adam's rhyming couplets in his final speech give a formal reinforcement to his resolve and a cue to the conclusion of this part of the play, which, apart from the small scene 3.1, takes place in the forest. The blocks of dialogue here are much larger and the use of verse slows down the scene, allowing the audience to fully contemplate it. It is important for the audience to listen to what is said here and understand the nature of Orlando and Adam's relationship, whereas much of the humor in the Henry IV scene requires less attention and has already been teased earlier in the show when we hear Poin's Scheme in 1.2. An actor can vary the register and tone of their speech to build the character of their role and interact with other roles in the scene, as there are potentially multiple performances within each speech. Vary the pronoun of the secondperson between "you", "thee" or "you" and their possessives, "your", "yours" or "yours", was a crucial method of indicating status and registering in the early modern period. The use of "you" expresses affection between family and friends, or condescending superiority towards an inferior, or contempt towards strangers. In Henry IV, Hal refers to Falstaff as "you" in friendly terms, but angrily changes, perhaps in jest, to "you" when Falstaff continues to ignore him: "And now, you woolsack, what do you murmur?" [2.4.129]. Falstaff alternates between “thou” and “thou,” and although it is not clear textually, the scene may be directed in such a way as to cause him to refer to Poins as “thou” and Hal, “Thou, Prince of Wales! " [2.4.133] as 'you'. Around this time, "you" was used to mean someone of lower status or someone you didn't know well - Falstaff could imply both of these feelings, as he is angry that Hal thought himself too good for the raid, and disappointed in a friend, someone which he should have known well. In the excerpt As You Like It, Orlando refers to Adam throughout as "you", as is common from masters to servants, but here he seems to express their friendship. However, Adam still feels the need to refer to Orlando as "you", until his final speech in which their loyalty to each other is confirmed and he announces, "Master, go forth and I will follow you," [2.3.70] while retaining the title of "Master", to preserve a certain distinction of status. Interestingly, many of the allusions in the As You Like It extract are taken from the Bible, underscoring the formal and somber nature of the scene. For example:ADAM: Take this, and he who feeds the ravens, Yea, providently provide for the sparrow, Be comfort unto my age. As You Like It 2.3.44-46 It is a reference to the fact that God feeds the ravens in the Psalm 147:9, Luke 12:24, and Job 38:41. God's concern for the sparrows is mentioned in Matthew 10:29 and Luke 12:6. The phrase "yet I am strong and vigorous" [2.3.48] reiterates: However, it reverses the meaning of Psalm 73:4, where the psalmist complains that the wicked, who are strong and vigorous, or vigorous, always seem to be better off. Adam's implication here, however, is that he retained his strength because he did not give in to worldly temptations. Also, the lines: ORLANDO: ...no one will sweat except for promotion, and having this stifles their service even with having. As You Like It 2.3.61-63 It may have come from the parable of the sower, Matthew 13:22, where the world is suffocated by the deceitfulness of riches. In the Henry IV extract, however, it is clear that the allusions concern alterations of common sayings of the time, rather than the authority of the Bible. “There is nothing but knavery in the wicked man,” [2.4.119-120] is a variation of the saying, “there is no faith in man,” and “…your lips are scarcely wiped from when you're drunk." 'st last' [2.4.147-8] is an ironic variation of the saying 'you haven't licked your lips since you lied last.' "Then I am a killed herring", [2.4.24] uses the saying, "thin as a killed herring", (one who has spawned and is particularly thin and emaciated), ironically due to Falstaff's large size . Furthermore, Falstaff swears very unusually, in keeping with the comic nature of the scene. Instead of the traditional "By God..." or "By Heaven..." or "...may God smite me," etc., use vows such as: "Before I live this life, I will sew socks,' [2.4.111-2] '...then I'm a dry herring,' [2.4.24] and, 'I'll never wear hair in my face again,' [2.4.132 -3]. parallelism with Falstaff is found in line 145-5, 'I am a thief if I have drunk to-day' and in line 158-9, 'I am a thief if I were not at half-sword with a dozen of them for two hours together.' This adds humor to the scene as it is ironically significant that Falstaff is a thief as he was not ahalf a sword with a dozen men: no one could accuse him of lying. Other examples of parallelism include the mention of "a thousand pounds" on line 139, and again on line 153, presumably the sum stolen from the gang. Elsewhere in the play, the sum is 300 marks, or 200 pounds, but here the exaggeration is appropriate to Falstaff's earlier hyperbole: "I would give a thousand pounds to be able to run as fast as you can." In the extract As You Like It, Orlando's final speech ends with the word "content", used by Celia in her final couplet before leaving the court for the forest [1.3.137], giving a circularity to the plot: both characters they are unjustly banished from their home and seek refuge, peace, or "contentment" in the forest. It has already been pointed out that the excerpt from Henry IV is intended to be the beginning of a very funny scene. Falstaff's rebuke of Hal and Poins for being cowards is ironic since the audience knows that they robbed him and his gang, behaving in anything but a cowardly manner. Other humorous aspects include Falstaff's disgruntled way of ignoring them, his outrageous imprecations and curses, and the fact that we see him fall into Poin's trap and listen to "the gibberish lies which this same fat thief will tell," [1.2.174-5 ]. Falstaff strikes a comic pose of pious virtue in his vows to make and mend socks, replace soles, and sing psalms. Numerous references are made to Falstaff's corpulence, a universal topic of mirth, including "Titan", [2.4115] the irony of "I'm a kipper", [2.4.124] "one of them is fat and getting old , ' [2.4.125-6] 'sack of wool', [2.4.129] 'son of a bitch, round man' [2.4.134] and 'fat belly' [2.4.138]. However, darker elements may be introduced in this scene, contrary to the audience's expectations. It has already been pointed out that the seemingly casual interchangeability of "you" and " you" may be a calculated attempt to show Falstaff's true anger and disappointment in Hal. Elsewhere in the play, there is little evidence to suggest that he knows the plot, although it has been produced this way in the adaptations of eighteenth century, but only by adding lines to the original script. How much sense of betrayal lies behind Falstaff's comic surliness? Falstaff's mention of "a lath dagger" [2.4.131] alludes to a scenic property of the Deputy figure in moral comedies, used as a comic weapon. In this allusion parallels can be drawn between Falstaff and the figure of Vice, who was not only hilariously comical but intrinsically evil. Therefore, the scene could also serve as a precursor to Hal's eventual rejection of Falstaff, adding a dark, ironic twist to the proceedings. The extract from As You Like It is taken from a serious scene between Orlando and his faithful servant Adam - this in itself is a far cry from the quarrelsome and deceitful scene between Hal and Falstaff. It is significant in the context of the rest of the play, as it is the last court scene and concludes, in a sense, that section of the play. It also hinges on one of the central themes of the work: the comparison between the old and the new world. It has been pointed out that dark undertones could co-exist in the light-hearted Henry IV extract and, similarly, part of this scene could be played comically to ease the tension. When Adam offers Orlando the five hundred crowns of his life savings, the container in which they are presented has different performances, from a tiny drawstring bag to enormous buckets of pennies, almost impossible to lift. This portrayal of the two extremes presents Adam as a comical figure due to his stereotypical altruistic and Christ-like role. The examination of the values ​​of a world