Henry V, Agentcourt & Teaching the Deaf

Candi Mascia Reed, Ed.S., coordinator/teacher for
the Mountain Lakes high school and middle school programs,
in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, and adjunct
professor at Kean University, is excited to be teaching
Henry V to a new class of deaf and hard of hearing students
this year. She welcomes comments to this article:
reedspad@bellatlantic.net.
When I announced to my colleagues
that my English classes would be doing
Shakespeare’s Henry V, I was greeted
with stares of incredulity mixed with
the proverbial raised eyebrows!
Weren’t they struggling enough with
modern English usage? Wouldn’t I
totally confuse them with words like
thee and thou? I explained that not only
would my seniors study the play, but all
my deaf and hard of hearing students,
regardless of their ages, reading levels,
or academic abilities, would study it. In
fact, in its treatment of war, swords,
death, sex, guts, blood, and betrayal,
Henry V is excellent reading for impressionable
teens.
I must admit, my bravado was
tinged with self-doubt. I had never
before attempted to teach a
Shakespearean play, but felt responsible
to do so when one of my former
students came to visit and asked why
I had never taught her William
Shakespeare in high school. I vowed,
then and there, to introduce my students
to the foremost poet and playwright
in the English language.
My initial introduction to Henry V
was through Mobil Masterpiece Theatre,
a Kenneth Branagh presentation
broadcast on PBS in its entirety on
April 26, 1992. This two-and-one-half
hour closed-captioned film was the
perfect visual supplement to the written
text. Additionally, Mobil provided
an excellent teacher’s guide that
included previewing background information,
five teaching units, and a pullout
poster for classroom display.
Set in British history and Elizabethan
language, this Shakespearean play
20 Winter 2000
Once more
unto the breach…
Shakespeare’s Henry V and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teens
By Candi Mascia Reed
Perspectives Around the Country
presents a challenge to any modern
reader, and my first goal had to be to
understand it myself. I began by setting
aside a relaxed weekend to view
the movie in the quiet of my own
home. With paper and pen in hand—
and the much maligned but extremely
helpful Cliff’s Notes—I proceeded to
watch one scene at a time. I viewed a
scene, paused the videotape, read the
Cliff’s Notes, and watched the scene
again. I did this throughout the whole
production, writing notes and recording
the minutes where each scene
started and stopped as indicated on
the VCR. After watching the entire
film and reading the Cliff’s Notes and
teacher’s guide, I noticed that my
appreciation and understanding of the
written text intensified, and I became
more adept at understanding 16th
century English.
My goal was for all students to
attain familiarity with the author
William Shakespeare, the plot of the
play, and the writing/speaking style
of the 16th century in comparison to
modern English usage.
I taught four periods of English.
Students in two periods were reading
at a 3.0 to 3.5 grade level. Students in
the other two periods were reading
at approximately the 7.0 to 9.0 grade
level. I adapted each lesson to fit the
language/reading levels of each class.
Every class was introduced to the general
plot line, some of the characters,
Shakespeare as a historical individual,
the Globe Theater, England’s Elizabethan
era, brief excerpts of the
Branagh film, and at least one of the
themes discussed below. The advanced
readers were also exposed to the whole
play, all the characters, and the entire
plot line.
Writing Themes
For readers at the 3.0 and 3.5 grade
levels, the play’s primary themes—love
and war— were the topics for thematic
writing and discussion. Readers at the
7.0 to 9.0 grade level discussed all of
the following themes and wrote about
one of them:
• The burden (hard life choices) of
being a leader
• Friends—torn between old friends
and new responsibilities
• Growing from a reckless youth into
a mature, responsible adult
• Patriotism (love of one’s country)
• War Power! How does one handle
it? Can it change you?
• What does war power do to people?
To countries?
• Love! Can you marry without love?
Class Discussions
All classes discussed the history on
which Shakespeare’s play was based.
A classroom map displayed the location
of England, France, and the
surrounding countries. I typed up a
summary of each act and scene and
displayed each on an overhead. For
less sophisticated readers, we read the
overheads together and I provided
additional background and vocabulary
definitions.
Questions Please!
Henry V offers students an opportunity
to connect the events in the story with
real-life situations and experiences.
Students in both reading groups discussed
the questions, and those in the
higher group had to write their
answers. Some questions were the basis
for some lively class debates and writing
assignments, particularly those
based on the battle scene. Here are
some examples of questions:
1. Describe some of the violent scenes
you saw in the battle scene; describe
some of the more compassionate
scenes. How can war be both violent
and compassionate? Can it?
2. The French suddenly realized they
were losing the battle. In anger, they
decided to kill all the young boys
(helpers) who joined King Henry’s
army. How did King Henry feel
about this? How did King Henry
feel about honor during war?
3. The Battle of Agincourt was very
brutal. Describe some of the scenes
that really affected you. What did
the battlefield look like after the
battle was over?
4. The English army was outnumbered
(what does this mean?). Why do you
think the English soldiers fought
so bravely and won? What did King
Henry say to the soldiers that
inspired them (motivated them)
so much? Think about the famous
speech that King Henry makes
before the battle.
Winter 2000 21
Henry V offers students an
opportunity to connect the events in
the story with real life situations and
experiences.
Example of an Overhead
England and France were bitter enemies and
fought wars between 1413–1415. King Henry
was a real king of England. Shakespeare
wrote the play Henry V in 1599.
1. France and England were enemies
for many years.
2. King Henry really did attack France
in a real war.
3. King Henry was one of the most
loved English kings and a great hero.
4. When Henry was a youth (teenager),
he was wild! The people called
him “Prince Hal”—which showed
that they did not have respect for
him. Why?
5. Henry became the king when his
father died. He promised his father
he would mature and be a great
king. He had to abandon his old
habits. He had to give up his “drinking
pals” because he realized he
had to become more responsible.
He was determined (really wanted)
to become a great king.
Example of a Summary—
“The Battle of Agincourt”
Plot Summary—Act IV, Scene 3:
The Battle at Agincourt in France
King Henry is the king of England. He
invades (goes into) France to take the throne
(power) away from the King of France
because he thinks the French king is against
him. King Henry is a good leader and his
people love him. They believe he is right to
invade France. His army follows him into
battle in a field called Agincourt in France.
The battle at Agincourt takes place
(happens). The French can’t believe how
bravely the small English army fights! The
English are winning! The French become
angrier and angrier. They kill all the boy
messengers (these are boys about 12 years
old who do not fight. Their job is to help
the soldiers with their weapons, take care of
the horses and the supplies, and help cook
and clean for the soldiers). The boys didn’t
even have weapons!
Now King Henry, who is a kind king,
becomes furious (extremely angry). He can’t
believe it! He orders all the French prisoners
to be executed (killed) instead of showing
mercy (kindness).
At the conclusion, King Henry discovers
that many French soldiers died but, surprisingly,
few English soldiers did. King Henry
thanks God and his soldiers.
Much Ado About Something!
Contacted by Dr. Reed, her former high
school students offered the following comments
about their encounters with Henry V.
The first time I saw the movie, I hardly
understood the language at all because it
was very new to me. That was the time
before our own modern language was born…
The acting itself was great, and once I saw
the movie it made me feel [that] I understood
most of it.
Mark Young—Gallaudet University
During class, when we were watching the
movie about King Henry V, I found the
beginning of the story diffiicult, and it made
me feel frustrated because they used the Old
English language that I never saw before…
[seeing the movie, studying Shakespeare]
was a good opportunity for me.
Christie DeBaco—Bergen Community College
It was interesting when I first learned about
the myths and war…It gave me the idea of
history with many different characters…It
was [an] experience…to learn about the
lives before us.
Rachel Moore—1995 graduate, now working full
time
22 Winter 2000
The students particularly enjoyed
the Shakespearean vocabulary and would
try to discern the meaning through the
actions in the movie.
Strategies For Studying Henry V
Grade Level 3.0–3.5 Grade Level 7.0–9.0
Characters Major Only All—major and minor
Plot Highlights Complete
Themes Two: War/love Seven: See listing, page 21
Language Copy passages in 16th century text Reading scenes in 16th century English
Captioned PBS Film Captioned PBS Film
Discussion in PSE Discussion in PSE
Written English assignment Written assignments on selected themes
Support Maps, overheads, transparencies Maps, overheads, transparencies
Branagh film Branagh film
Shakespeare Made Easy, Barrons, 1985 Shakespeare Made Easy, Barrons, 1985
Meaning Through Language
I used Shakespeare Made Easy, a guide
published by Barrons (1985 series),
that presents a scene by scene rendering
of the Shakespearean text in present
day and Elizabethan English for
students at both reading levels. Since I
knew exactly where each act and scene
began and ended from my notes, I was
able to comfortably and quickly start
and stop the movie to give students
enough time to answer questions and
discuss vocabulary and usage. The
students particularly enjoyed the
Shakespearean vocabulary and would
try to discern the meaning through the
actions in the movie. They were able to
discuss the meaning behind each line,
appreciate the beauty of the language,
and also realize its complexity.
For higher level readers, we read
some scenes—the battle scene and the
love scene—in the original text. For
lower level readers, I made copies of
the introduction. This activity was a way
to showcase the beauty of the language,
and afforded students the opportunity
to discuss how to interpret it into signs.
In the end the experience was
highly successful. Not only did all
my classes find the story interesting,
but the students were also intrigued by
the language and thoroughly enjoyed
the movie. Each year, my classes have
studied other Shakespearean plays.
Some plays are better received than
others, yet nothing is more memorable
than the first time my students
met Henry.
Shakespearean Web Sites
The Bard Conquers New Territory
With the advent of our classroom
hookup to the Internet, we look forward
to exploring the plays of Shakespeare
through the World Wide Web.
Of special interest perhaps is the site:
www.4shakespeare.com. This site provides
links to everything from the text
of Shakespeare’s plays to dramatic,
historical, and educational materials.
Vocabulary throughout the plays
is in hypertext for easy access to
definitions. 
Winter 2000 23
The Web provides a rich source for information about Shakespeare. TOP: http://www.tech-two.
mit.edu/Shakespeare. BOTTOM: http://library.advanced.org/19539/front.htm.

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