Henry V by William Shakespeare (Henry IV - William Shakespeare)

Member Name: coolkatie01

Product:	Henry IV - William Shakespeare
Date:	18/10/03 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: chorus acts as a great intervention between scenes

Disadvantages: none

“ Canterbury: The courses of his use promised it not…
Ely: We are blessed in the change “
(Act I Scene I)

Henry V is the final play in Shakespeare’s tetralogy, a series of four plays that chronicles the rise of the house of Lancaster to the British throne. The future King Henry V, known then in Henry IV parts 1&2 as Prince Hal, is a young rogue, who occupies the majority of his time causing grief with his lowlife friends, Falstaff and Bardolph being two of his closest. Yet following a final plea from his father (King Henry IV) at his deathbed, Prince Hal vows to be a responsible king. Upon his father’s death, Hal is crowned King Henry V, and when Falstaff and his compatriots come to greet him, the new King rejects them, possibly symbolising that he wants to put his disreputable past to bed.

In order for Shakespeare to successfully transform Hal into king, he must show the audience that King Henry V not only beholds the qualities common to a great ruler, but that he is also able to live down his disreputable history. In the first scenes of the play Shakespeare makes these points apparent. From what the King says, his actions and his remarks towards others, the audience is made aware that King Henry V is a changed man.

The first scene introduces us to Ely and Canterbury, two wealthy bishops, who are discussing how to focus the King’s attention on invading France (to become heir), rather than a bill that needs to be passed or declined. Neither of the bishops wants the bill to be passed, because as a result the government would be authorised to take away land and money held by the Church, hence they would be worse off. To encourage the king to concentrate on the invasion, Canterbury promises to raise a very large "donation" from the clergymen of the Church to help fund the king's war efforts. Through the political scheming of Canterbury and Ely, we see that Henry has gotten th
e Church to give him money in return for his safety. The support of the church also makes his campaign against France more justifiable, and it helps win him the support of all Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England through the church's influence. King Henry is introduced as a clever, thoughtful, and efficient man. He seems to be thinking carefully about whether or not to invade France. Although his decision seems to suit the clergymen very well, it is not clear that he has allowed them to manipulate him. Henry warns Canterbury very sternly that the lives lost in war must be on Canterbury's conscience, if he misleads the king.

During the scene between Canterbury and Ely, Shakespeare gives evidence as to Henry’s change in character. He conveys this to his audience through the two clergymen. Whilst plotting, both men remark on the fact that the King is a completely different man than expected. They refer back to his adolescent years as a youth and to his seeming lack of interest in the crown. They comment on the fact that since assuming power, Henry has become deceitful in his approach to affairs of state, showing that he is a great politician, great military strategist and dealmaker. They also spend some time admiring the virtue and intelligence of him. They note, "The courses of his youth promised it not"; i.e., no one knew the king would turn out so well because he squandered his adolescence in "riots, banquets, sports" and generally hanging around with lowlifes. Shakespeare has shown that the king’s reformation is a sign for the future, and that by miraculously changing his ways, he has become a source of strength and determination.

Shakespeare again shows Henry’s strength in character, through the scene involving the present from the Dauphin. Once Henry has sent word; laying down his claim to certain parts of France, the Dauphin of France sends Henry an insulting response. As a symbol of unity
and friendship the Dauphin had sent a crate of tennis balls, rather than a precious, expensive item. This may have been to tell the king that the Dauphin sees him as a joke, a game for fun and mockery. The Dauphin may be under the influence of Henry’s frivolous past and acting upon misguided information. Yet nevertheless King Henry is enraged by the joke and his frighteningly cold speech to the ambassador is masterful in its transformation of something so ridiculous as tennis balls into something genuinely threatening. Henry starts out being deceptively mild--"We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us" but then recognises the Dauphin’s error in judgement. Henry declares his intent to invade and conquer France and that the price of this "game" will be the kingship of France. Henry concludes his speech by saying that the Dauphin will regret his mockery of the English king” when thousands weep more than did laugh at it" (l. 296).

In the case of Henry V, Shakespeare demonstrates that unlike many leaders; who rise to power and then fall to death or destruction; Henry differs in that he alone realises he must fall in order to rise. He tells the messengers from the Dauphin:
"But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state,
Be like a king and show my sail of greatness
When I do rouse me in my throne of France:
For that I have laid by my majesty
And plodded like a man for working-days,
But I will rise there with so full a glory
That I will dazzle all the eyes of France" (Act I Scene I)

Henry therefore describes himself as a king who has already been down on the ground with the workingmen. He is now ready, as he tells us, to show his "sail of greatness" and "be like a king". Through the language of Shakespeare Henry comes across to the audience as necessary but harsh, able to turn civil war into a religious crusade. However, i
n the process he puts aside his former friendships, as we see in the scenes involving the death of Falstaff, upon which the hostess viewed that Falstaff would die because "the King hath killed his heart". This sense of disregard and emphasis on the future is also re-iterated in the treason scene. Henry V is a classic tale of power, betrayal, unity for the cause of war and above all the rising of a great king. A must for all Shakepspeare fans.

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