Henry V a flawed hero?

Authors Avatar

Henry V a flawed hero?

Can Henry be perfect? Is it humanly possible to be perfect? Some characters in the play say that Henry perfect for example the Bishop of Canterbury says, “Hear him but reason in his divinity”. This means you should listen to him and discuss his godliness. Others in the play, like the Dauphin, say that he is flawed he says Henry had a “vain and giddy youth”. In this essay I am going to explore the meaning of flawed and how flawed Henry is according to the other characters in this play. The meaning of flawed is to have flaws; flaws are faults, imperfections or blemishes.

Henry V, the eldest son of Henry IV and Mary Bohun, was born in 1387. He married Catherine, daughter of the French King Charles VI, in June 1420. His only child, the future Henry VI, was born in 1421. In his early years he was a man who liked to drink and used to spend a lot of time in the local pub and when he found out he could be king he changed his attitude. The French all have different opinions of Henry. The French king sees Henry as a real threat and says, “He is as water to the sucking of a gulf”. In modern terms this metaphor means that he is an underrated force and will be ruthless in battle. Where as the Dauphin, the king’s son says that Henry is immature and that he had a “vain giddy shallow humorous youth” which could just be a reflection on the Dauphins own childhood as his could have been like. By saying that Henry is immature it gives me the impression that Dauphin is frightened of Henry. Dauphin says this as a way of making himself fell better and easier about the oncoming situation of war. There is only one more French person who has a strong opinion of Henry this is the French Constable. He is the most realistic about Henry as he has a very high rating of the English king and says that Henry is “dignified and that Dauphin should not underestimate the power of him and his country”.

Join now!

The church also has a lot to say for Henry’s character they believe Henry is a true lover of the church, first Canterbury says Henry is “full of grace, and fair regard” fair regard in this sense means he is well respected within the church. Then Ely adds “a true lover of the holy church” from these two sentences we can tell that Henry is very religious and is respected within his religion in his country and well known among the highest ranks in the church. I also believe that if Ely and Canterbury have such high views of Henry ...

This is a preview of the whole essay