You have 40 minutes in which to complete the following timed essay. Please begin your time with your first reading of the prompt.
The following open ended question was taken from the 2010 AP Literature and Composition Exam.
BEGIN TIME - 40 minutes
"In the following soliloquy from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II, King Henry laments his inability to sleep. In a well-organized essay, briefly summarize the King's thoughts and analyze how the diction, imagery, and syntax help to convey his state of mind."
How many thousand of my poorest subjects
Are at this hour asleep! O sleep! O gentle sleep!
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness? (5)
Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs,
Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,
And hush'd with buzzing in night-flies to thy slumber,
Than in the perfum'd chambers of the great,
Under the canopies of costly state, (10)
And lull'd with sound of sweetest melody?
O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile
In loathsome beds, and leav'st the kingly couch
A watch-case or a common 'larum-bell?
Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast (15)
Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains
In cradle of the rude imperious surge,
And in the visitation of the winds,
Who take the ruffian billows by the top,
Curling their monstrous heads and hanging them (20)
With deaf'ning clamour in the slippery clouds,
That with the hurly death itself awakes?
Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude
And in the calmest and most stillest night, (25)
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a King? Then, happy low, lie down!
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
__________________________________
huts
not impartial
In William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II, King Henry cannot sleep. He fervently complains about his troubles, comparing his difficulties with poorer subjects of his country. Confused and bitter, the king addresses sleep and questions why it would comfort lowly, stinky individuals in favor of providing rest to the king in all his splendor. Shakespeare employs vivid images, varied sentences, and iconic words to express the uneasy, self-centered, semi-mad state of mind the king possesses.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare uses precise language to impart his meaning to the readers. Unfairly, King Henry blames sleep itself for his insomnia and views his subjects with disdain and jealousy. He switches from flattering sleep, calling it “Nature’s soft nurse,” to describing it as “thou dull god”; his inconsistency implies he suffers from abrupt changes in mood and crankiness, common signs that he is suffering from sleep loss and is slightly out of his mind. Further on, his selfishness is revealed through the careful description of his subjects compared to himself. King Henry asks why sleep “liest…with the vile/ In loathsome beds” instead of in his perfumed chambers. Clearly, this king cannot fathom why any being would choose a peasant over a rich king for company or service.
Because sleep evades him, King Henry’s insecurities shine through his speech. Shakespeare wrote this passage as a monologue and accurately depicted the thoughts and feelings of a confused, self-centered person who is ignored. King Henry proposes many questions in his conversation with sleep; he depicts situations in which sleep favors the lowly instead of the rich in them. Overall, he focuses less on sleep forsaking him and more on sleep choosing the poor over him. His arrogance compels him to expect the best treatment and to whine when it is not given to him.
Shakespeare, through the king’s questions, describes several instances of lowly subjects in the fond embrace of sleep. The main image given to the readers is that of sleep as a nurse. It acts motherly towards the individuals it favors, cradling them and allowing them to rest safely and peacefully.
*Ran out of time*
Because of time constraints, make sure to give good examples of all three elements early on. This way the AP reader will know that you understand diction, syntax, and imagery and how to apply it. Overall, great analysis!
ReplyDelete