King Henry V Character Analysis

    In Henry’s speech, he first sets the stage by using a proud tone while explaining the importance of war with Britain. His illustrious delivery of the speech itself is very moving, as the efforts to convince America to settle on the side of war. He goes on to convey, “Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of  those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power” (Henry 38). His tone of taking charge and only accepting the best from his country supports the claim that Henry is indeed the proud man he is. Henry also in his speech uses an enlightening tone to inspire his crowd he uses terms to explain how he will settle for only the best for the country. He uses phrases such as, “The war is inevitable-and let it come!” (38). This phrase brings up the emotion of the crowd as they believe in war, and Henry himself is full of power as he enforces that war must go on. He uses such enthusiasm and inspiration to uplift himself and the crowd to ensure that war is necessary. Overall, Henry;s tone of the proudness and

However, Machiavelli's implies that a leader who strives to be loved would avoid punishing his people; hence this leader is vulnerable to a transgression by his people since there are no repercussions for opposing his rule. The example of Scipio he used portrays this perfectly as his army rebelled due to his kindness. The absence of repercussions for opposing a prince hence can lead to their authority being undermined, which suggests that it is better for a prince to be loved rather than feared. However, this ignores that people can be blinded by their love for a leader, robbing them of their ability to transgress in the way that he describes; the supporter of President Trump demonstrates this perfectly.

As a king, Henry becomes known for being a man of resilience, strategy, and combat. These traits, according to Machiavelli, are necessary to become the “ideal king.” As stated by Machiavelli, “…a prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules.” (Machiavelli) This can be seen when the Dauphin presents Henry with a gift of tennis balls and an insulting speech practically telling him to stay out of grown men’s affairs. This gives Henry the leverage he needs to start a war with France without looking like the instigator. He can now put the blame of war on the Dauphin and the many lives of whom will be killed. Henry uses this to move toward his strength and show his full potential.

Almost every scholar who has learned about King Henry V can agree that he is one of the most popular kings of his time period. Henry V was a young king so many scholars have questioned his actions. Especially, due to his earlier lifestyle because Henry V was an immature adult before he became king but when he became king he seemed very wise. This might be because he did not want people to expect much of him. But, one question that has been debated for a long time now is: is Henry V a Christian King or a Machiavelli tyrant? Henry V was a Machiavelli cruel leader and not a Christian king for these three reasons: He was not merciful, he led his men into battle because of his own desires, and Henry’s disguise.

“He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity. He saw that he would again be obliged to experiment as he had in early youth. He must accumulate information of himself, and meanwhile he resolved to remain close upon his guard lest those qualities of which he knew nothing should everlastingly disgrace him.” (Crane, Chapter 1) From this quote the reader can tell that Henry is fearful about whether he has the courage to fight in a battle. Henry assumes that war is only for creating heroes and that they are granted prestige in society. When he recalled his mothers advice, he realizes that it isn’t about making a name for himself, but meeting his responsibility honestly even if he has to sacrifice his own life.

During the war, Henry’s emotions overcome him which compels him to make wicked decisions. After the war begins, Henry is committed to winning and does not care about the obstacles that lie ahead. After his friends are slaughtered, Henry decides that “every soldier kill his prisoners.” (4.6.38) All the prisoners taken by the English were slaughtered because Henry’s emotions interfered with his decision making. Moreover, Henry’s intellect got in the way with his decision-making, which cost the lives of many

Henry’s internal struggle is his view of courage. Henry believes courage is something a person earns and achieves. He never experienced war, but has dreamt and, “He had imagined peoples secure in the shadow of his eagle-eyed prowess. But awake he had regarded battles as crimson blotches on the pages of the past. He had put them as things of the bygone with his thought-images of heavy crowns and high castles.” (Crane 3) Henry wants to go to war to become a hero. He thinks that he has courage and could go to war and get all the glory. Henry runs from battle and has guilt, he comes up with excuses, he is a piece of the army and should save himself. When Henry comes back to the battlefield, he sees wounded soldiers and, “At times he regarded the

Henry wants to be the hero but he doesn’t think the war is really coming.He thinks that join the army has proved his bravery already,sometimes the people makes him think he is a hero now.He had, of course, dreamed of battles all his life--of vague and bloody conflicts that had thrilled him with their sweep and fire. In visions he had seen himself in many struggles. He had imagined peoples secure in the shadow of his eagle-eyed prowess,…but it, he thought, had been long gone over the horizon and had disappeared forever(chapter

Shakespeare’s ‘King Henry IV Part I’ centres on a core theme of the conflict between order and disorder. Such conflict is brought to light by the use of many vehicles, including Hal’s inner conflict, the country’s political and social conflict, the conflict between the court world and the tavern world, and the conflicting moral values of characters from each of these worlds. This juxtaposition of certain values exists on many levels, and so is both a strikingly present and an underlying theme throughout the play. Through characterization Shakespeare explores moral conflict, and passage three is a prime example of Falstaff’s enduring moral disorder. By this stage in the play Hal has

A hated leader would invite a rebellion that would try to remove him from power. On the other hand, a leader should not be loved. Showing too much compassion will make the people think you are weak, and he would permit disorders to continue. Machiavelli urges the leader to always be personally armed, and preparing for war, even in peace time. The leader must continually train his body and mind for combat. He believes that people are fickle and greedy, so they will take whatever you give them. Ultimately, he believes the leader should do and say anything to keep the people happy, but when it comes down to it, what makes them happy may not be best for the state as a whole.

Before the battle started all the troops were nervous and hesitating to fight, but Henry V gave them an exceeding motivating speech. He was able to build the men’s feelings, values and equal

In the creation of a text the composer’s choices relating to the ways in which they construct the text are used to position the responder towards a desired interpretation. This is particularly evident in texts concerning people and politics as the composers shaping of the text manipulates the responder to favour a particular political view or person’s perspective. In the play ‘King Henry IV Part One’ (c.1597) writer William Shakespeare constructs the text so that the audience conforms to his idea of the rightful ruler as influenced by his personal and historical context. Similarly, in the television series ‘The Borgias’ (2011) created by Neil Jordan the text is constructed so that the audience favours the corrupt Pope despite his flaws, which

Henry the Fifth has been noted as England’s best King throughout history. He was loved among the common people and nobles alike for his fairness, his effectiveness on the throne, his justness, and his ability to relate to people of all classes. The kings that reigned before him, especially his father King Henry IV and King John, provide a striking contrast to Hal’s attitude on the throne. Kings of the past had not experienced the life of the common people, and chose to lead their lives in the realm of the castle. As we witnessed in I Henry IV, Hal’s father even went as far to discuss this approach to ruling at length with Hal. Henry IV believed that a king was best admired and supplicated if he was kept

Niccolo Machiavelli stressed that “one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved…for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails.” He felt that a true leader must be cunning and deceptive, winning the hearts of his people through power and influence. If he could not be liked, he could at least get by knowing he has intimidated these below him into submission. However rash or cruel this may seem, Machiavelli’s argument is not one to be countered easily.

Determining the qualities in which a leader should possess has been a argued about for centuries. In “The Qualities of the Prince” Machiavelli describes the qualities he believed that a leader should have. The quality that brought the most interest to me was “it is much safer to be feared than to be loved.” Being a loved leader creates the opportunity for others to manipulate them easily, where a leader who is feared is in control, and is respected. Machiavelli states that “since men love at their own pleasure and fear at the pleasure of the prince, a wise prince should build his foundation upon that which belongs to him, not upon that which belongs to others: he must strive only to avoid hatred.” There are many examples of leaders who are