“Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leashed in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment.”
Only Mars could play the part of Henry and do it justice. This image suggests that Henry has the hounds of war at his heels; he is controlling the hounds and therefore is seen to be extremely strong and powerful. The image symbolises authority, dominance and power, and in the Tudor times, this vignette would provoke the audience to admire Henry and be in awe of his grandeur. Shakespeare presents a warrior king and great leader in the Battle of Harfleur. In Act three, Scene I, Henry gives a speech to the armies illustrating his ability to persuade and also speak to any class of people:
When Henry says,
“Once more into the breach, dear friends.”
The use of the word “friend”, makes the army feel as if they are his equal, Shakespeare creates a king that works alongside his army and the audience can relate to Henry’s character. Shakespeare presents the audience with his view of the ideal monarch in Act II Chorus Henry is:
“the mirror of all Christian kings”
Shakespeare illustrates that Henry is an even better king because of his reformation. After Henry’s father died it was as if,
“Consideration, like an Angel, came
And whipped the offending Adam out of him”.
The reference in this quote to a biblical story emphasizes Henry’s present piety contrasted to his previous sin.
In the opening scene the Churchmen discuss his overnight reformation from wildness to a saintly, grand king. He has become miraculously perfect, a good king, and a lover of the church, and a politician, as well as a soldier.
The Churchmen explain that
“The strawberry groweth underneath the nettle
And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best
Neighboured by fruit of baser quality”.
This image illustrates that Henry is the ‘strawberry’ and has developed into a better king after growing under the shadow of nettles. Shakespeare is contrasting Henry’s past and present, so the audience believes him to be an even greater king. As the audience can see the huge contrast between his past wildness and the good leadership qualities he now possesses. This is illustrated by his reaction to the Dauphin’s insult. He does not allow himself to show anger but speaks with composure and irony saying:
“We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us.”
Shakespeare illustrates that Henry believes in justice and honesty. He proves that he is a good leader when he condemns his own friend Bardolph. When he hears of Bardolph stealing from a church, he puts aside his personal feelings and does his duty, beheading his friend to uphold justice.
Shakespeare presents Henry as a moral and honest man; Henry asks the churchmen about his claim to the French throne, saying:
“May I with right and conscience make this claim?”
Some believe Henry wants a clear conscience because he is an honest man. Arguably he doesn’t want to lose the war and the confidence of his people and therefore wants an acceptable reason to go to war with France. Others suggest that Henry intends to go to war but wants someone else, for example the churchmen to take the public responsibility.
An inspirational and successful leader in war is important to both Tudor and modern audiences, a leader should give orders and clear direction, but treat people as they would like to be treated. Modern audiences may interpret Henry differently from the Tudor audiences, for example, as a strong leader but perhaps with more weaknesses than Shakespeare illustrates. Unlike the Tudors, a modern audience would want their leader to have a conscience when running a country, in the Tudor times the monarch was more powerful and important than in the present day as it is the Prime Minister who now plays the role of leader.
Kenneth Branagh interpreted Henry in the 1980’s version of “Henry V”, as a monarch with more weaknesses, human frailty and more emotion than the Olivier version. This would appeal more to a modern audience than Olivier’s version would. The Branagh film also portrays Henry as a strong, undefeated, glorious warrior king that presents a very strong exterior to his troops, but there is a look of relief on Henry’s face when Harfleur surrenders. This version would appeal more to a modern audience as it portrays Henry as an ordinary man with weaknesses similar to any other. However, Tudor audiences probably would not have wanted their leader to show any weaknesses or flaws. They wanted a leader who could defend the country and lead armies into battle as Henry is seen to do.
The differences between the Olivier and Branagh films display how well audiences want to see their Henry. The Olivier film does not show the scene where King Henry prays that God will not punish him for his fathers mistake, because at the time when that film was made audiences would still not want to see their leader portrayed as doubtful of his position when going into war. The Branagh film uses this scene to make Henry seem more human and a vulnerable man with emotions. I believe that the two films are both good versions of Shakespeare’s “Henry V”, each appealing to the audiences of its own date. However, I believe that the Olivier version is more “correct” in portraying Henry in the way that Shakespeare would want him to be presented to his Tudor audience, but the Branagh film in my opinion is a more convincing account of Henry as a human being. When reading the play during a war I believe that a modern audience would want to have a strong, decisive, honest leader. But they would still want the leader to have good morals and be portrayed as an ordinary man. Modern audiences like to see and understand the moral issues, difficult decisions and inner turmoil whereas Tudor audiences would no doubt prefer the strength, poser and decisive monarch.
There are major differences between the impact of the film versions of “Henry V” and reading the play. When watching “Henry V”, on stage or on film the audience can see the actors and can see their reactions and emotions better than some readers can visualize it. The Tudor audiences would have had high expectations of their king. Henry is portrayed as a strong glorious, warrior king, who is a great ruler of England.
Bury Grammar School (Girls)
33221
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