1. Take two speeches by Herod (Acts 4-5) and explore how he views the/his situation.
2. Based on your response for 10-8 on Acts 1-3, bring up one or two issues that need exploration in class.
Herod is out of his mind in Act IV, Scene iv, when he believes that Miriam tried to poison him. He condemns her to death, yet as soon as the guards bear her away, he forgets the words he spoke just a few seconds previous and changes his mind (Lines 74-81). Specifically, in Line 76, he cries, “Here take her to her death. Come back! Come back!” This shift occurs with no warning, in the action or the text. There is nothing stronger than a period to foreshadow this sudden change. Herod is losing control and his rash actions prove it.
Herod’s final speech is full of praises about Miriam. She was the “imperial crown” of the female gender and “matchless” among women (Lines 164, 172). He wretchedly faces the fact that she is dead and he is “the villain that have done the deed, the cruel deed (Lines 186-187). His praises of her contrast with his view of himself. This leads Herod to wish that he will not live much longer.
In my last post, I observed “the abab rhyme scheme [in Miriam’s opening speech]. Instead of couplets, which traditionally symbolize unity and thus a working romance, the alternating lines symbolize two people on different pages.” I would like to discuss the significance of that, and other rhyme schemes (and maybe even other poetic devices within the text). For example, the Chorus always speaks in ababcc, with the last couplet indented. What kind of poem is this? Why does the Chorus always speak in the same form?
In my discussion of Act III, I mentioned that “marriage [is seen] in the context of different relationships, which makes the messages [about marriage] more universal.” Now that we have finished the play, what are Elizabeth Cary’s points about marriage?
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