The use of rhetorical questions which is evident throughout the entire extract has been used by Shakespeare to convey Henry’s uncertainty and doubtful state of mind, once again suggesting his personal insecurity to the audience. An example of a rhetorical question can be found in lines 214 to 215 “What kind of god art thou, that suffer’st more/Of mortal griefs than do thy worshippers?” Shakespeare’s noun choice of ‘god’ to which Henry compares himself to, has been carefully constructed to remind us of his ‘heavenly’ qualities which are first established through Canterbury’s speech in act 1, scene 1. Shakespeare does this to show Henry seeing himself as a Christian leader conveying to the audience that his highly considered religious position causes him angst. Shakespeare’s use of alliteration and assonance, ‘more of mortal’ stresses the ‘grief’ Henry must carry with his regal obligations and is to some point onomatopoeic, with the vowel sound resembling that of moaning when in pain, conveying his deep conflicting feelings. The verb choice ‘suffer’st’ further suggests Henry’s anguish that he must bear the burden of guilt expected by ceremony. In turn Shakespeare’s use of rhetorical questions suggests his attempt to create the image of a ‘perfect king’. Henry is seen by the audience for the first time questioning and doubting his role showing his position as a human. Therefore with characteristics of both a king, as seen in earlier scenes of the play, and as human Henry’s position is seen as balanced, a quality that is suggested to be had by great leaders.
During the soliloquy the hyperbolic ‘O’ has been used to heighten the importance of what Henry is about to say capturing the audience’s attention through it’s long exaggerated sound. This artificial mode of address which is prominently employed by the Chorus is used by Shakespeare in Henry’s soliloquy to build up its intensity making a powerful impact upon the audience. For example in the following quotation (line 206-208) the use of the hyperbolic ‘O’ starts a ladder effect of increasing syllables controlled through the mean of commas. This in turn signifies a building of emotions, or perhaps Henry’s frustrations.
‘O hard condition, twin-born with greatness,
Subject to the breath of every fool, whose sense
No more can feel but his own wringing.’
Shakespeare has inventively put the comma after the words ‘hard condition’ which are subsequent to the powerful ‘O’ to emphasise Henry’s demanding position at this crucial point of the play. In addition Shakespeare uses the compound adjective ‘twin-born’ to show the duality of Henry’s position, as a great king and as a great human.
The following last two lines in the quote could be interpreted in many different ways by an actor, such as comical, sarcastic or serious. The comical approach would further stress Shakespeare’s attempt to show Henry’s human side in the soliloquy, however this view seems to over exaggerate Henry’s finer regal position, with the audience most likely to loose respect in him as comedy condescends characters (low life characters act 2 scenes 1+3, French ladies act 3 scene 6). For drammatical effect a sarcastic or serious viewpoint would more likely to be appropriate and effective as the audience will take Henry’s thoughts on his position more seriously than if it was comic.
Shakespeare refers to the regalia of the monarchy in a list building up the running theme of inconsequential ceremony in the soliloquy. The familiar use of comma as a listing device is used by Shakespeare to dismiss the trappings of pomp and ceremony as unimportant. This is shown in the following extract (line 232-238):
‘I am a king that find thee, and I know
’Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball,
The sword, the mace, the crown imperial,
The intertissued robe of gold and pearl,
The farced title running ’fore the king,
The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp
That beats upon the high shore of this world;’
‘The’ has been fore-grounded and repeated by Shakespeare to further denote the regalia’s majestic importance and convey Henry’s trapped position within ceremony. These majestic symbols are implied by Henry as the burdens of a King, with which causes him to loose sleep over. The long exaggerated lexis of the list which employs such noun choices of ‘gold’ and ‘pearl’ connoting splendour, emphasises the burdens of authority and suggest the image that they are a façade of which behind lurks Henry’s position as a normal human being.
The antithesis of a King employed by Shakespeare is to that of a ‘wretched slave’ (line 241) suggesting Henry’s emotional burden of ceremony. The noun ‘slave’, connotes the lowest citizen, as it was in Roman times, and is completely exaggerated by the adjective choice ‘wretched’ which creates melodrama both from his inner condition and the drama previous, when meeting the soldiers and hearing their polemic views of the King. In a play which ranks the social status of country men so specifically this extreme term of a ‘wretched slave’ is a mark of the intensity of Henry’s feelings. Shakespeare has carefully junxtaposed these two contrasting words of ‘king’ and ‘slave’ in an attempt to reveal to the audience Henry’s inner turmoil and conflicting views reflecting his position. This view suggested is that being a king is much harder than it looks, as there are invisible constraints to which duties hold. Overall Shakespeare calling King Henry a ‘wretched slave’ conveys the view of self pity and shows the audience his emotionally corrupted and personal position.
In line 255 the ‘wretched slave’ is compared to a ‘lackey’ (line 245) connoting a pawn from that of a chess game, that can easily be taken. This simile suggests that Henry’s public position is always being analysed, and if he doesn’t maintain this position it is only a matter of time before he is taken by the pressure of his suppressed human emotions. This view of pawn also suggests the idea that his human characteristics are held hostage by his daily responsibilities as a dutiful monarch. Such as in light of recent events at Harfleur, Henry’s remorse for the loss of life does not stand in the way of his royal rites of the French throne.
Overall the dramatic purpose of act IV, scene 1, lines 203-257, reflects the debates of kingship, with Shakespeare’s ‘model of the ideal king’ being portrayed through Henry’s personal side which is seen for the first time by the audience. This in turn allows the audience to see Shakespeare’s full characterisation of Henry showing his positions as a, Christian leader (), a statesman (), a judge (), a warrior (), and now as a human. Through the use of language features found in the major soliloquy the audience now can reflect on the ‘3D’ position of Henry, as a king and as a human being.
1814 words (not incl. title)