What is it about?
In Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 1, Joan of Arc is described with a lot of different words and in many different, often contradictory, ways. This article examines how the use of all these descriptions directs the way in which audiences view Joan of Arc and shows how the play exposes the artificial construction of reputation.
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Why is it important?
By quantifying and comparing the different ways in which the play uses descriptions for Joan of Arc, and two of her antagonists, Lord Talbot and Margaret of Anjou, this study visualises the underlying structures of Shakespeare's characterisation of these characters and exposes how it manipulates audiences' aliances and sympathies.
Perspectives
Reading or watching The First Part of Henry the Sixth always gave me the impression of being manipulated and swung back and forth between liking and disliking Joan of Arc, but I could not satisfyingly pinpoint what caused this sentiment. By literally counting and analysing all the different words used to describe Joan of Arc, Lord Talbot and Margaret of Anjou and putting the findings in tables and figures I could visualise this sentiment and better understand how the characterisation of these three characters functions.
Nathalie Borrelli
Université de Namur
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Witch, strumpet, maid and saint, English Text Construction, October 2024, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/etc.00064.bor.
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