Character Analysis: Charles VI

"Charles is the King of France, husband of Isabel, and father to Catherine and Lewis. In the play, he seems like a decent enough king (although the historical Charles VI suffered from mental illness and was referred to as Charles la Fou or "Charles the Mad").

In real life, Charles played a very minor role in the Battle of Agincourt (his Constable led the French army against the English), but in Shakespeare's play, Charles appears to be a capable political leader. Unlike his son, the Dauphin, Charles never underestimates Henry's threat to his realm. Instead, he orders his troops to fortify Frances "towns of war" and says, "Think we King Harry strong. / And princes, look you strongly arm to meet him [...] and he is bred out of that bloody strain / That haunted us in our familiar paths"(2.4.2). Charles refers here to Henry's uncle, Edward the Black Prince, who terrorized France and caused them "too-much-memorable shame." In this sense, Shakespeare uses Charles as a mouthpiece to praise England. At the same time, we can see that Charles is shrewd and he knows what he's up against. Also, he's no coward and he refuses to back down.

Even after Henry's army defeats the French at the Battle of Agincourt, Charles proves to be a shrewd and diplomatic king. He agrees to all of Henry's terms and signs a peace treaty that puts a (temporary) end to fighting and bloodshed (5.2)."

Reference: http://www.shmoop.com/henry-v/king-charles-vi.html

This interpretation reflects my own as I perceive Charles as a strong leader, unwilling to easily give up his country to England without a fight. This I believe is displayed in his angry approach, threatening to capture Henry as his prisoner and ask for ransom. To me this suggests that in the final scenes, the niceties which are heard from both Kings may not be genuine, with the subtext being that they only make negotiate in order to make peace.

I feel as though he looks also down on his son, the Prince Dauphin, for his naivety underestimating King Henry and playing petty games with him, sending him "the Paris balls" (tennis balls). This I feel is shown with  Charles' wish to keep him in Rouen instead of at the battle, suggesting he may also not fully trust his son.

I get the impression Charles is a strong King who cares for his country but in comparison to King Henry his approach is less hands on and he would not fight in battle with his people unlike Henry, which implies to me his somewhat less heroic. Charles seems to delegate duties to his court, implying that he may not be fully involved and cares more about status than his people. This is also shown when he says they must fight their battle royally and not carefully in Act II, scene 4.

Research: Tempest (Ariel)

The Tempest - Ariel (Act 3, sc 3 - 69)

You are three men of sin, whom Destiny, 
That hath to instrument this lower world 
And what is in't, the never-surfeited sea 
Hath caused to belch up you; and on this island 
Where man doth not inhabit; you 'mongst men 
Being most unfit to live. I have made you mad; 
And even with such-like valour men hang and drown 
Their proper selves. 

[ALONSO, SEBASTIAN &c. draw their swords] 

You fools! I and my fellows 
Are ministers of Fate: the elements, 
Of whom your swords are temper'd, may as well
Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at stabs 
Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish 
One dowle that's in my plume: my fellow-ministers 
Are like invulnerable. If you could hurt, 
Your swords are now too massy for your strengths 
And will not be uplifted. But remember— 
For that's my business to you—that you three 
From Milan did supplant good Prospero; 
Exposed unto the sea, which hath requit it, 
Him and his innocent child: for which foul deed 
The powers, delaying, not forgetting, have 
Incensed the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures, 
Against your peace. Thee of thy son, Alonso, 
They have bereft; and do pronounce by me: 
Lingering perdition, worse than any death
Can be at once, shall step by step attend 
You and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from— 
Which here, in this most desolate isle, else falls 
Upon your heads—is nothing but heart-sorrow 
And a clear life ensuing. 

[He vanishes in thunder; then, to soft music] 
enter the Shapes again, and dance, with 
mocks and mows, and carrying out the table]

At the Globe 
Played by Colin Morgan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfDO6DVIHPU

This is a strong portrayal of Ariel, where the character is performed in a bird like form with a burning anger towards the men cowering on the floor before him. The peak and troughs in Colin Morgan's performance give a different interpretation to my own but I feel as though it gives the character more dimensions and although very angry we see how Ariel uses their anger to instil fear into the men by lowering his voice and varying volumes. This I feel is more effective because the less someone does when their angry it is often more scary as you can't judge what they might do. This contrasted with bellowed moments keeps the other characters on their toes, unable to pre-empt what will happen which increases the tension.


The Harpie's Warning (2010)
- featuring Christopher Plummer as Prospero with Julyana Soelistyo as his servant/slave Ariel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZRNJeZFnQ4

In my opinion I like the strength the actress has put behind her words, however I feel as though she could change her volume, pitch and tone more often because although it is a strong, clear performance the same kind of voice is used constantly which I find could become boring. She needs more peaks and troughs, giving the performance some light and shade. I do, however, enjoy the powerful way in which she uses her voice to instil fear in the other characters using her booming tone.


The Tempest - film (2010)
-featuring Helen Mirren as Prospera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxKC9TPnwTM

For this interpretation I enjoy the scary way the actor uses his voice. 

I'm not sure I like what the character looks like and how it is physicalised but I find his interpretation of the text is closest to how I read it. He seems to have found similar breaks where he has found changes in "Ariel's" thoughts and stresses the words I believe have most power. For example when he emphasises the word "mad" he reflects the words meaning which I think helps both the other characters and the audience to understand what he is saying as well as encouraging fear.

Rehearsal: Synopsis table

ACT	SCENE	CHARACTERS	LOCATION	SUMMARY
I	Prologue	Chorus		They ask the audience to forgive them for the use of only humble actors instead of real kings and queens and ask for them to help by imagining what they are asked.
	1	Canterbury, Ely	London. The ante-chamber in the King’s palace	The two discuss King Henry’s old habits of drink and partying and how well they think he’ll do as the new king. They also mention news of a visiting French ambassador.
	2	Henry, Gloucestor, Bedford, Exeter, Warwick, Westmoreland, Canterbury, Ely	The same. The presence chamber.	They discuss that Henry has a right to France due to the Salique Law. France has sent ambassadors from the Prince Dauphin who gives the king a box of tennis balls which angers the king.
II	Prologue	Chorus		Now all the young men have been inspired to join the army and are travelling to Southampton whilst three of the Kings Lords have committed high treason.
	1	Nym, Bardolph, Pistol, Hostess, Boy	London. A street.	Pistol and Hostess have married, although Nym loved her. Hostess returns to tell them that Falstaff has died.
	2	Exeter, Bedford, Westmoreland, Henry, Scroop, Cambridge, Grey	Southampton. A council-chamber.	The King tricks the traitors into sentencing themselves for their act of treason and they are sentenced to death.
	3	Pistol, Hostess, Nym, bardolph, Boy	London. Before a tavern.	Hostess bids her husband and friends good bye, giving them all a kiss as they leave to war.
	4	Charles, Dauphin, Constable, Exeter,	France. The French King’s palace.	The French King worries about the English attack.  Exeter tell them that if they don’t surrender it will bring them bloody losses, to which the king asks for a day to decide.
III	Prologue	Chorus		The English have travelled to France, ready for battle at Harfleur. The Kings is told that Charles offers him his daughter and some small dukedoms, which he disagrees to.
	1	Henry, Exeter, Bedford, Gloucestor, Soldiers	France. Before Harfleur.	Henry gives a big inspirational speech to encourage the soldiers.
	2	Nym, Bardolph, Pistol, Boy, Fluellen, Gower	The same.	The three are reluctant and ushered on by Fluellen. The boy talks about their abuse of their position to steel.
	3	Henry, Governor	The same. Before the gates.	Henry enters Harfluer without any opposition.
	5	Charles, Dauphin, Constable, Bourbon	The French King’s palace.	The French monarchy are angry at England’s progression through France and asks for a message to go to Henry wanting him as their prisoner.
	6	Fluellen, Gower, Pistol, Henry, Gloucestor, Montjoy	The English camp in Picardy.	Bardolph’s to be hanged, his friends plea to Fluellen. Henry gets the message from Montjoy and is outraged.
	7	Messenger, Constable, Orleans, Rambures	The French camp, near Agincourt.	The French court talks about the close proximity of the English to their tents.
IV	Prologue	Chorus		The French are confident compared to the English and the battle is about to begin.
	1	Henry, Bedford, Gloucestor, Erpingham, Pistol, Gower, Fluellen, Court, Bates, Williams	The English camp at Agincourt.	Henry disguises himself and goes round the camp talking to the soldiers. He argues with Williams who makes a deal with him to punch Henry (whoever is wearing the glove) if they both survive the war.
	2	Dauphin, Orleans, Rambures, Messenger	The French camp.	The English are attacking.
	3	Gloucestor, Bedford, Exeter, Erpingham, Salisbury, Westmoreland, Henry, Montjoy, York	The English camp.	Talking about the king going in to view the battle. Montjoy offers the king one last chance which he denies.
	6	Henry, Exeter	Another part of the field.	The English have won but they discuss the deaths.
	7	Fluellen, Gower, Henry, Exeter, Gloucestor, Montjoy, Williams	Another part of the field.	The French are humbled by their loss and ask to bury their dead. Williams is set up by the King to punch Fluellen.
	8	Williams, Gower, Fluellen, Warwick, Gloucestor, Henry, Herald	Before King Henry’s pavilion.	Williams punches Fluellen who is outraged tells the King of the act. Henry lets Williams off because he was only keeping to his word.
V	Prologue	Chorus		The Kingis headed to Calais and prepares to go back to London but is invited to the French Palace.
	2	Henry, Charles, Isabel, Burgundy, Katherine, Alice, Westmoreland	France. A royal palace.	The two nations sign a peace treaty and Henry talks to Katherine about their proposed marriage.
EPILOGUE		Chorus		Refers to Henry VI who will follow this story which will cause them to lose France and make England suffer.

First session: Read through

The focus of the first rehearsal was to perform a read through familiarising ourselves with the play, the cast, who was playing what roles.
We performed  with a standing/walking read through, with actors entering the space to read as necessary for each scene and then we discussed what had happened after each few scene to help our understanding. 

I found it useful because I got a clearer understanding of the story as I was able to visualise the characters and see who was playing them. this also meant that I could see who my character needed to form relationships with. I did however find it rather long winded, although understood it was necessary  to aid everyone's understanding. The summaries helped me to consolidate what happened in the scenes and helped us all understand the scenes in the same way, making for a more unified cast.

As we stood as we spoke, the constant changing helped us to keep engaged and I found myself being able to visualise the story, bringing it to life, and start thinking about how I could portray my character. 
I found myself understanding the text better which also meant that relationships between characters could be developed. For instance I found how Olivia's character, the Prince of Dauphin, and my own character have a slight tense bond, although they are father and son. 

Shakespearean Insults

When looking into Shakespearean insults, to our modern ears it is amusing so I found it interesting and helpful to perform them as though they were the worst insults of today. We did this after first performing todays swear words and I see this as a helpful because although the contrast of the types of phrases is amusing, it also allows us to get a better understanding of the Elizabethan period. This gives us an idea of how to portray them in Henry V or in monolgues, aiding our characterisation.