King Henry: A Rhetoric Warrior William Shakespeare’s Henry V, tell the epic tale of King Henry on his military conquest through France. King Henry is a very dynamic character but, by looking at the emotional aspects of the major speeches given by King Henry in the play, we can see that King Henry possesses a masterful control of the english language that allows him to accomplish things that seem impossible. This is an important character trait to note because it reveals that while King Henry is praised throughout the play for his accomplishments on the battlefield, his true military prowess lies in his rhetoric. To start, King Henry’s speeches are very emotionally loaded. In order to get the best out of this men, King Henry employs mentions
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He first shows his control of language at the gates of Harfleur at the beginning of 3.1. King Henry claims,
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man,
As modest stillness and humility,
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger. (3.1.3-6)
With war upon the English, King Henry uses a metaphor to animate his soldiers. He tells them that in peace, being a man takes no extra emotion. In war however, he claims, men must assume the role of a tiger. While he could have simply stated that during war men must be fearless, hungry and bloodthirsty, he uses the metaphor of the of a vicious tiger to capture all those emotions and more in a single sentence. Later, while still at the gates of Harfleur King Henry shows his vast vocabulary again by using grotesque imagery and vivid word choice while talking to the governor. King Henry shouts to the governor,
The blind and bloody solider with foul hand
Defile the locks of you shrill-shrieking daughters;
Your fathers taken by the silver
He first shows his control of language at the gates of Harfleur at the beginning of 3.1. King Henry claims,
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man,
As modest stillness and humility,
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger. (3.1.3-6)
With war upon the English, King Henry uses a metaphor to animate his soldiers. He tells them that in peace, being a man takes no extra emotion. In war however, he claims, men must assume the role of a tiger. While he could have simply stated that during war men must be fearless, hungry and bloodthirsty, he uses the metaphor of the of a vicious tiger to capture all those emotions and more in a single sentence. Later, while still at the gates of Harfleur King Henry shows his vast vocabulary again by using grotesque imagery and vivid word choice while talking to the governor. King Henry shouts to the governor,
The blind and bloody solider with foul hand
Defile the locks of you shrill-shrieking daughters;
Your fathers taken by the silver