Class And Class Of Commoners In King Henry

King Henry V’s rhetoric often relies on contrasting the noble class and class of commoners, which are seen, by Shakespeare, to not be as polarized as some would believe, because both contain universally human elements.
Although King Henry’s speech to the traitors creates the clearest discussion of the upper and lower socio-political classes, the context for the speech is fundamental to properly understanding and analyzing it, as well as giving further evidence on its own. Specifically, before switching to scene two, the play focuses on a group of commoners. In the final four lines of the scene, Nym calls Henry, “a good king,” and Pistol states: “Let us condole the knight, for, lampkins, we will live” (2.1.125-28). The word “lambkins” is especially important, because the only other place it …show more content…
King Henry’s speech to the traitors in the second act is clear example of this theme. The first and second scenes of the act describe the expected actions of the nobles and commoners, but also their actions in reality, which vary greatly from what is expect. Although they are religious, well-learned, and of noble breeding, the nobles fall prey to traitorous persuasions, while commoners maintain complete loyalty. In Henry’s other speeches, he continues to draw out the unexpected similarities between upper and lower classes. Henry tells his soldiers “that you [commoners] are worth your breeding,” which is often a description of nobility, as nobility is based on birthright and breading (3.1.28). The difference, for Shakespeare, does not appear to be the arbitrary distinction between one group and another, but each person possesses human elements and they can either display the noble or non-noble