In the historical play Henry V by William Shakespeare, we are introduced to the story of a young and mysterious King Henry V of England, and his quest to conquer France under the reign of Charles VI of France. (“Henry V (play)”) details Henry’s life leading up to and following the Battle of Agincourt in the year 1415. From the very beginning, the Chorus portrays Henry as a glorious King who is about to engage in an epic and glorifying battle with the French. However, the Chorus then reveals that the play will not be as heroic and godly as initially envisioned. This is because there is a shortage in the resources necessary to depict this great spectacle, and it is instead the audience’s responsibility to both create and imagine the play. The
…show more content…
Although one may first envision Henry as solely a fearsome and cold-hearted figure, there is also a clever and tactical portrait of Henry that can be discerned from this speech as well. In particular, he incorporates an allusion to God to convey his devotion to him, and to proclaim God’s approval with him in striking vengeance upon France when he announces: “But all this lies within the will of God, \ To whom I do appeal, and in whose name \ Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on, \ To venge me as I may and to put forth \ My rightful hand in a well-hallowed cause.” (302-306). This allusion to God can be interpreted as a reference to the famous Biblical verse from Galatians 6:7, “You reap what you sow”, as well as the phrase, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. In this speech, Henry is alluding to these phrases as a sense of Biblical justification for him to impose destruction on France for being mocked. This passage also demonstrates Henry’s rhetorical savviness in making decisions rather than purely going off of first instinct. At the same time, this passage also shines light on Henry’s high self-confidence. This is evident when he alludes to “the will of God” to indicate that even God will be fighting with him in battle, and that he is fighting for a “well-hallowed cause” that is backed by the
Although one may first envision Henry as solely a fearsome and cold-hearted figure, there is also a clever and tactical portrait of Henry that can be discerned from this speech as well. In particular, he incorporates an allusion to God to convey his devotion to him, and to proclaim God’s approval with him in striking vengeance upon France when he announces: “But all this lies within the will of God, \ To whom I do appeal, and in whose name \ Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on, \ To venge me as I may and to put forth \ My rightful hand in a well-hallowed cause.” (302-306). This allusion to God can be interpreted as a reference to the famous Biblical verse from Galatians 6:7, “You reap what you sow”, as well as the phrase, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. In this speech, Henry is alluding to these phrases as a sense of Biblical justification for him to impose destruction on France for being mocked. This passage also demonstrates Henry’s rhetorical savviness in making decisions rather than purely going off of first instinct. At the same time, this passage also shines light on Henry’s high self-confidence. This is evident when he alludes to “the will of God” to indicate that even God will be fighting with him in battle, and that he is fighting for a “well-hallowed cause” that is backed by the