Henry V

Henry V is the final play in Shakespeare’s second tetralogy of history plays and, like the others, reflects the Elizabethan interest in history and politics. As a biographical text, the play cannot be separated from history as “history is a story in itself” (Angus 2) and there are multiple historical constructs within it. Henry V is both a signifier and signified. It is a reconstruction of past events from an Elizabethan point of view (signifier) and, from a modern perspective is a consideration of the past determined by the current political and religious stage (signified) (Angus 6); a view which is tempered by portrayals of history over the last four hundred years. Henry V is a fictional construct of history drawn from texts considered authoritative…

Henry V was always going to be a bit of a deal breaker here. While the other plays in this series have all been previously adapted for television, Henry V has the double whammy of Olivier and Branagh’s on-screen precedents setting two very different benchmarks for all subsequent adaptations to try and match. The director can either meet the challenge head-on or change the rules and present a completely different beast altogether. And so The Hollow Crown came to a close with “The Tragedy of Henry…

Henry V is full of confusion and changing tides. The play opens up with the king Henry V who used to be the wild Prince Hal in Pt. 1 of Henry IV, but now he is a valiant and aggressive monarch who does what is “right” for his English nation. History goes back and forth between who should rightfully have the French crown: the English or the French? The English army also fluctuates between honorable men fighting a glorious war and those who are fearful and doubtful of the war’s necessity. Is this…

In shakespeare’s play Henry V, King Henry delivers his Saint Crispin’s day speech before he leads England into battle against the overpowering French army. King Henry V overhears some of the men in his army talking about their disadvantage in the battle. He calls the entire army’s attention before delivering his most famous speech which demonstrates his ability to make all of his men feel valued and equal, despite the fact that they come from various social classes. In the following three…

Shakespeare and Henry V: Instinct Over Intellect In Shakespeare's Henry V, the title character is a king renowned for his various strength as a leader. The Bishop of Canterbury, in conversation with another priest, attests to his skills as a speaker primarily. "The air," he says "is still" when the king speaks in "sweet and honeyed sentences" (l.i.51-53). Henry uses his talents as an orator to impress or to debate just as often as he uses them to persuade his enemy of something. In Act lll,…

reflection that they fail to see the opposite. In Henry V, by William Shakespeare, the Chorus describes Henry as the mirror of all Christian kings whom his men follow. Is Henry the reflection or the opposite of a Christian king? At first, Henry might seem like the true reflection of a Christian king based upon his moral and sincere actions. However, not all his acts are as virtuous as they appear and just as a mirror, Henry carries several flaws. Thus, Henry’s illusional actions reveal his…

expects. Henry V is another one of Shakespeare’s controversial plays. There have been many different ways of looking at the controversy, but Rabkin argues that they are all wrong. Rabkin states that “Shakespeare created a work whose ultimate power is precisely the fact that it points in two opposite directions” and ultimately, Shakespeare is pushing us to choose one of the two sides of interpretation (34). Rabkin compares this idea to the known illusion of the picture that, on one side, shows a…

seminal classic Henry V is the culmination of the Henriad tetralogy, and is an allusion to the aphorism that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” for despite being renowned as a warrior king in the Bard’s tale, King Henry fought his battles with the mettle of his rhetoric rather than the metal of his blade. This can be seen in the way in which he utilises orotund oratory to intimidate the citizens of Harfleur into surrendering, but perhaps his most monumental use of magniloquence was when…

Shakespearean Structure (An Analysis of Shakespeare’s choice of structure in Henry V) There are many components of literature that add to its effectiveness. While one may think that literature is merely good or bad based on the plot and use of words that is not necessarily the case. Much of literature is based on the structure of the plot itself. While this can seem like a minute function of a powerful story, it actually lends itself to make the story so powerful. Without proper structure, some…

Showcased in their workshop presentation, discussion, and performance of Henry V, the American Shakespeare Company (ASC) demonstrate significant understanding and enthusiasm in their interpretations of the play; namely in the portrayal of Henry himself. ASC Co-founder and Artistic Director Jim Warren professes that “like all of Shakespeare’s major characters, Henry is not just one thing. He’s calculating and heroic; he’s patriotic and ruthless; and he gets the girl with one of Shakespeare’s most…