The aim of this task is to help students to understand the role of The Chorus. Students will consider how verbal imagery can conjure up a scene. They will also explore how images can be physicalised and brought to life by the person describing them. Through this task, students will think about how the Chorus can guide the audience through the story and evoke the setting for each act of the play.
Throughout Henry V, the chorus uses vivid visual imagery to paint pictures in the minds of the audience. In this activity, you will explore the role of The Chorus by using your own words to describe a scene in depth.
1. In groups or as a class, form a circle and choose one person to begin. Start with a one-sentence description of a scene – it can be anything you like, such as “two friends sat by a campfire”, or “the dog and its owner arrived at the park”. As you go around the circle, each person needs to add one detail to the image, until it is as fleshed-out as possible. Try to use metaphors and imagery as much as possible, to bring the scene to life.
For example:
Person One: Two friends sat by a campfire.
Person Two: The flames were glowing red and orange.
Person Three: The eerie hoot of an owl echoed in the darkness.
Person Four: The stars flickered and lit up the sky.
And continue, adding more rich visual imagery and detail to the scene and its characters.
Note: The aim of this activity is not to move the plot of the story forward, but rather to describe a single moment in as much detail as possible.
2. Once the circle is complete, go around a second time. Use the same words and phrases that you came up with last time, but now select a single gesture or pose to accompany your words and help to paint the picture. Use your gesture to illustrate your words and bring them to life.
3. After you have gone around the circle a second time, your teacher will ask everyone to freeze in the pose or gesture that they used. Look around the circle and take in the image that you have created. What can you see? What is the general tone of the scene? What story does it tell?
4. After the task is complete, discuss what you have learned: How do words and phrases paint a picture? Which kinds of words are the most evocative? Which images stood out the most and why? Which gestures brought the words to life most clearly?
Note to teacher: This task can also be a written task. If it is a written task, students can draw an image or find one online instead of creating a tableau.