Essay On Henry V

Question
Explore the complexity of the
character of Henry V.

Word count
1279+-

By Manav Shah 10C

situation and many of his people have different views on him. His actions to the

common people are different than to his nobles and other men in his court,

displaying the lack of trust and love his commoners have for him, and the way

the king tries to gain his people’s trust. Henry V is easily enraged by the doings of

the people around him, however he manages to take that and use it for his own

benefit. His character builds and broadens as the play progresses.

At the beginning of the play in Act I Scene I (I.1), the Archbishop and the

Bishop are discussing the impacts a bill the king has passed will have on them. “It

must be thought on. If it pass against us / We lose the better half of our

possession.” (I.1, Page 6) The Archbishop fears this bill will strip the clergymen

of their highly valued lands and offered to the knights, earls and other post-

holders in the army. They decide to divert the King’s attention from this new law

by encouraging him to take over the kingdom of France. “There is no bar / To

make against your highness’ claim to France.” (I.2, Page 11) By saying this they

are condoning the King to wage war on France and forget about the laws he had

decided to apply in his own kingdom. This reaction clearly displays the extent to

which Henry V is naïve and easily manipulated by his own ‘loyal’ subjects.

In the Prologue, the Chorus is asking the audience to use their

imagination to create a war scene as it would impossible to create it on stage.

“Then should the warlike Harry, like himself / Assume the port of Mars, and at

his heels / Leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire / crouch for

employment.” (Prologue, Page 5) The Chorus calls Henry, or Harry, warlike,

which depicts the King as an expert swordsman and a brilliant commander

during times of battle. However these two sets of qualities – one being aggressive

and strategic and the other being over trusting and blind - raise a question as to
why such a skilled fighter can be so easily manipulated and fooled by his own

clergymen? Maybe its because King Henry in his court is a completely different

person than King Henry on the battlefield, allowing him to be baffled so easily.

Towards the end of Act I Scene 2, Henry V receives a gift from Lewis, the

Dauphin via the French Ambassadors. “He therefore sends you, meeter for your

spirit / This tun of treasure.” (I.2, Page, 18) As it turns out, the Dauphin has sent

the King of England a box full of tennis balls to mock him for claiming dukedoms

in France. The Prince’s rash actions vividly depict what he, the Dauphin thinks of

Henry V - nothing but a joke and a meaningless threat. “When we have matched

our rackets to these balls / We will in France, by God’s grace, play a set / Shall

strike his father’s crown into the hazard.” (I.2, Page 18) The King’s reply to the

ambassador’s message seems rather well thought and specifically worded, which

hints at the intelligence of Henry V – he uses a lot of tennis references in his

response (‘rackets’, ‘play a set’, ‘strike’ and ‘into the hazard’) just like the

Dauphin decided to do with the tennis balls. It almost seems like the King is

using the opportunity to send a threat in the form of a witty comeback for the

Dauphin’s ‘gift’.

However this quick show of wit contradicts the instance where the

Archbishop and the Bishop hoodwink the King; the difference between the two

instances being that the former was to his enemy and the latter to his subject.

This change in audience could mean that the King trusts his subjects blindly

without ever speculating any show of dishonesty and corruption, as he did in Act

I Scene 1, and that his subjects don’t respect him enough to not take advantage of

his character and the situation.

In Act IV Scene 1, Henry V disguises himself as a soldier and goes out to

see the situation in his camps and ends up talking to some of his soldiers. “Ay, he
said so, to make us fight cheerfully: / but when our throats are cut he may be

ransomed, and / we ne’er the wiser.” (IV.1, Page 71) The two soldiers are

debating, with Henry V (under disguise), the dedication of the King towards his

soldiers and the high possibility of him deserting them in times of peril while

Henry V obviously has a different view. “Methinks I could not die anywhere so /

contented as in the King’s company, his cause being / just and his quarrel

honorable.” (IV.1, Page 69) He is trying to raise the respect and trust that runs

through his camps by going out and chatting with his men in order to better

understand their views and them. This is what a good king is supposed to do and

when Henry V does it, it just displays his growth as a king and as a person. It also

shows that his relationship with his men has been unstable from the start but as

the play progresses, Henry V attempts harder and harder to gain the trust of his

people.

Towards the end of Act IV in Scene 8, the number of casualties for both

sides is presented to the King to which he reacts like a good ruler. “Come, go we

in procession to the village: / And be it death proclaimed through our host / To

boast of this, or take the praise from God / Which is His only.” (IV.8, Page 97)

This statement clearly shows how the King respects his fallen enemies and

warns his own men of the death penalty for boasting. This is a sign of a just king.

However the King is also heard giving credits to God for the win, which could

contradict his being respectful to the fallen French and in lieu, was praising the

doings of God himself; which could mean he was just a religious king.

After having won the battle against the French, King Henry V has a

meeting with the French King and his family, Henry V’s relatives. While

conversing with them Henry V demands Katherine to be left behind with him, so

that he may talk to her. “Yet leave our cousin Katherine here with us; she is our
capital demand.” (V.2, Page 105) He intends to take Katherine with him, as his

ultimate prize for the victory. He decides to talk to her, even though they cannot

speak the other’s language fluently but Henry V thinks language isn’t a barrier:

“If you will love me soundly / With your French heart, I will be glad to hear you

confess it brokenly with your English tongue.” (V.2, Page 105) Henry V

contradicts himself when he says the latter line of the dialogue where he states

he still needs to hear Katherine say the words while just prior to that he says its

okay if she loves him from her heart. As a king he always need yes for an answer

and cannot take anything else. Their relationship is a rather humorous one,

where each cannot fully understand the other and a translator is used to help the

two to converse. This suggests the weak bond in Henry V’s relationships or how

he cannot maintain a relationship without the help of a third person.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Shakespeare, William Henry V. UK: Penguin Books: 1968.

Print.