Review: Henry IV Part 1 and 2 by William Shakespeare

Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 by William Shakespeare
Series: War of the Roses
Published: 1596-1599
Publisher: It's a classic, guys...
Pages: 96 and 80

Memorable historical drama concerns rebellion against King Henry led by Harry Percy ("Hotspur") and other nobles, complicated by the king's difficulties with his wayward son, Prince Hal. Superb blend of courtly intrigue, battlefield action, and low comedy featuring Sir John Falstaff, all expressed in fine blank verse and stirring prose.

Whoaza. I mean, just whoaza. 

Before I start ranting about this play, let me clarify, I am a Shakespeare lover. This means I read his plays for fun outside of school, and I think the language is beautiful, and don’t have a problem understanding it. Now. If you’re not that kind of person, DON’T TURN AWAY YET. There may yet be hope.

Plays were written to be performed, not read. But more often that not, we read/act it to gain a better understanding of the play because of the different english. 

This is what I did for this play. We began reading it in class (by which I mean acting, guess who volunteered to be Falstaff?! *cough, don’t judge me, cough*). I believe we were only two acts in, but by then, a very firm foundation about the characters and their roles had been laid. I then watched the movie, The Hollow Crown. Some of you tumblr folk may have seen GIFs from this movie lurking about in the form of Hiddles.

and

and…these….

Really, they are not hard to find at all. 

This movie, though, is a fantastic adaption. The actors do a fantastic job of developing their characters, the cinematography is excellent, and the language is easy to follow (kudos to the actors). Possibly me favorite Shakespeare Historical Drama, that I recommend to anyone looking for a few good feels and laughs.