He is Shakespeares ideal man: a man of action, Christian, brave and a highly successful leader. Do you agree with this assessment?

Authors Avatar

“He is Shakespeare’s ideal man: a man of action, Christian, brave and a highly successful leader.”  Do you agree with this assessment?

In Henry V it emerges that to be a good king does not necessarily mean being an ideal man.  An example of this is the claim to the throne by the divine right of kings “Derived from Edward, his great grandfather.”  This quote suggests that Henry was supposed to be king and justifies him going to war with France.  In addition he calls upon God through the “divine right of kings”, throughout the play which suggests that God wants Henry to be king.  On the other hand it appears that he has no loyalty to his previous friends as he contributes to the death of Bardolph and Sir John Falstaff.  Moreover Henry has reformed like “The strawberry grows underneath the nettle/ and wholesome berries thrive and ripen best/ neighboured by fruit of baser quality.”  Henry is now a wise and sober king and concealed this when he was young but transpired to be an excellent king.

Henry is a Christian king and calls upon god on numerous occasions during the play.  An example of this is when he does not want to fight because of the sickness amongst his men, but if the French confront him he will not avoid it.  Henry says “Yet forgive me, God,” and “Yet, God before, tell him we will come.”  He demonstrates that he is a fine Christian monarch with the French ambassadors stating that they can speak freely, “We are no tyrant, but a Christian king.”  Henry questions whether he should have been given the thrown through the divine right of kings, “As touching France, to give a greater sum/ than ever at one time the clergy yet/ did to his predecessors part withal.”  All the way through the play Henry demonstrates how he should be the king “May I withright”.  This implies that Henry ought to be king, as he associates with God, which means that he is the chosen one and should be the monarch of England.  He even atones his father’s murdering of Richard.  This shows that not only is he doing the best for what was happening in the present but he was also making amends for what his father, Henry IV did, which not only shows maturity but the fact that he is willing to learn from mistakes that his predecessors made.  The decisions Henry makes during the play can also demonstrate how good a Christian king he is, but it can be disputed that being a good king juxtaposes with being a good Christian.  This is apparent especially with issue of the war as there is a thin line between doing what is morally correct and just being a man who can be blamed for an unnecessary bloodbath.  An example of this is when he says he does not want to fight because of the sickness amongst his men, but if the French confront him he will not avoid it.

Join now!

Henry showed in the play that he reformed his character as when the Bishops are talking about Henry’s reformation “And therefore we must needs admit the means/ how things are perfected.”  This shows Henry has got divine grace and has changed from a drunk to a civilise man.  Furthermore “Under the veil of wildness” shows that he has always been clever and capable, it was just hidden, intellect maturity.  He has the ability, perhaps a façade “grew like the summer grass, fastest by night.”  This statement shows that although on the outside it looks as if he is a ...

This is a preview of the whole essay