Henry V - What sort of man and what sort of king does Henry seem to be in the first two acts?

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AMDG                English Coursework on Henry V                11/1/04

What sort of man and what sort of king does Henry seem to be in the first two acts?

The bishops refer to Henry in the first scene as “a sudden scholar” who can “reason in divinity.”

Canterbury says, “The king is full of grace, and fair regard.

Ely quotes “and a true lover of the holy church.

The two bishops, pretty much have the same view on Henry, they think highly of him.

Henry’s past is described by Ely and Canterbury, the two bishops. Canterbury quotes,

“Since his addiction was to cause vain,

His companies unletter’d, rude, and shallow,

His hours filled with riots, banquets, sports;

And never noted in him any study,

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And retirement any sequestration,

From open haunts and popularity.”

Ely says, “The strawberry grows underneath the nettle.”

And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best.

These two lines I think are the most two important lines in Ely's speech. Ely is trying to say, “The strawberry grows underneath the nettle,

And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best,”

It’s saying that underneath Henry’s past yobbish behaviour, that deep inside was a nice man.

The next scene brings about the talk of war.

We enter the king’s palace and for the first time we get to see king Henry and what ...

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