On Tuesday, we spent a lot of time talking about Katherine: how she seems more similar, in some ways, to Buckingham than to Anne; how she speaks for (?) the people in 1.2 and, in 3.1, insists on being spoken to and seen with her women "as at work"; and, finally, how she refers to herself not only as a "poor woman" but also as a queen, and daughter of no less a person than the King of Spain.
We also talked about the proleptic quality of the play -- how the present, past, and future seem to be collapsed together. More interestingly and provocatively, we asked whether the play invites us to perform the kind of (typically irresponsible) reading we as good historical critics don't like to do -- a reading that sees future events like England's Civil War being referenced in a play that was written well before those events have taken place.
Further thoughts on any of these points? Or anything else you'd like to draw our attention to before class this afternoon?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The contrast between Queen Katherine minimizing herself and highlighting her powerful rank speaks to her unique cunning as a character to adopt different female roles that will give her an advantage. In Act 3 Scene 1, Wolsey approaches Queen Katherine politely and with great respect and grace. He claims that he is not coming to her "by way of accusation to taint that honor every good tongue blesses" (54-55). Queen Katherine then uses Wosley's own sentiment to adopt the role of a "wretched" (106) and "scorned" (107) lady in order to evoke his sympathies. Queen Katherine's subsequent self-piny seems overly dramatic and unbelievable especially when she ironically claims to be "a woman, lacking wit" (3.2.177).
ReplyDeleteI think an interesting contrast arrises between Queen Katherine's feigned womanly sorrow and Anne's genuine pity for Queen Katherine in Act 2 Scene 3. Anne's sadness towards Queen Katherine further highlights the sneaky cunning of Katherine's character to take on a role of a "poor lady" (2.3.16) that is capably of evoking pity.
BenDC says...
ReplyDeleteAlice makes a valid point. Henry VIII is a political play so Lady Katherine ability to switch between female roles is no surprise. Katherine's politically smart moves highlight her cunning - whether it is maintaining a sound image by refusing to speak in Latin (3.1), being concerned about her subjects (1.2) or knowing when to sell herself as royalty or poor (2.4).
In my opinion, we are not poor historical critics if we draw information about the English Civil War from Henry VIII even though it was written prior to the war. I feel that the play merely evokes the sentiments and tensions at the time, which led up to the English Civil War. It is only natural we read it in such a manner.