143, Henry says "we do not mean the coursing snatchers only", referring not only to the predator of France – which is an animal that is trying to overpower England – but it is also referring to the whole situation. Henry shows his angst to the Scots in this line, possibly calling them the “coursing snatchers.” Henry also comments about dogs when he is making his famous war speech to his men, “I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game's afoot." This is very inspiring to hear, because by calling them greyhounds, he is calling them pure-bred, racing animals. Greyhounds are highly trained animals, and it is a very complimentary thing to call them, almost saying they are bred to kill. On a slightly less glorious note, the next perspective on war is war as sex. This section of war is very commonly used, simply because it is very accurate. War, particularly at the time when Henry V was written, is seen as a very male-dominated area. Men prove themselves to be worthy, to be courageous, strong and praise-deserving. Sex, particularly in cases of rape, is also seen as men overpowering a woman, or situation. In a way, it shows a male’s strength. Rape is about the possession of woman, and this war is about the possession of territory. This means that the quote, "cities turned into a maid; for they are all girdled with maiden walls that war hath never entered," shows the taking of a woman’s virginity is like the taking a city. We see another example of war as sex when we hear "the blind and bloody soldier with foul hand defiles the locks of your shrill-shrieking daughters," (3.4.34-35) which represents the lack of men left to protect the women and the idea of war raping a land. The next perspective on war is war as butchery. This representation of war is naturally going to come up often because war is essentially based on death and surviving it. Shakespeare uses quite a crude way of speaking about death, for example when he speaks to fathers of Harfleur about their “naked infants spitting upon spikes" (3.4.38). His (Shakespeare’s) mannerisms when speaking about the dead are often graphic, as he tends to go into detail about "when all those legs and arms and heads chopped off in a battle shall joint together at the latter day and cry all, 'we died at such place,' some swearing, some crying for a surgeon" (4.1.124-127). Another perspective on war shown in Henry V is war as entertainment. War could be describes as entertainment, a sort of aristocratic sport, much like “the coursing snatchers only”, which would be coursing hares. This view on war as entertainment is then supported by the Dauphin comment to the French King, saying that the English “were busied with a Whitsun Morris dance." (2.4.25) The Morris dance is usually thought of as entertainment because it is performed to an audience. This is suggesting that the war is just an example of the English performing, putting on a show, and the French shouldn’t be afraid. The last perspective on war offered by the language is war as glory. Ely is talking about why the English should fight, and be proud to do so, because of their ancestors and "the blood and courage that renowned them run is in your veins, and my thrice-puissant liege is in the very May-morn of his youth, ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises" (1.2.118). This comment is about honour, it is about excitement, it is about adventure but also a certain vigour that goes along with war. Exeter also gives an input of war as glory by saying that when they die his “soul shall thine keep company to heaven. Tarry, sweet soul for mint, then fly abreast, as in this glorious and well-foughten field we keep together in our chivalry.” (4.6.16). This is a really complimentary comment to make because Exeter is saying that not only will they go to heaven together, but also he would be happy to die and move on with these men. This creates a sense of equality among all of them, and a belief in being loyal and united, which is supported by Henry’s war speech, given to prepare the men, in which he says "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers" (4.3.60).
War in Henry V is especially representative of Henry himself. As the play progresses, we really get a sense of his power and strength, particularly in the scenes leading up to war. We see a very emotional side to him when he is convicting the men who betrayed him to death. This quickly moves on as he prepares for battle,
so as an audience we see him at his extremes of anger and delight. War is usually about representing your country, it is about being proud and patriotic, which is exactly was King Henry is. The whole play he is shown as a patriotic, active leader. Having studied earlier works by Shakespeare on Henry, we know that this new, powerful king is different from his former self, the Harry he was in his youth. In this play, Henry seems to have grown up in the King he was destined to become. Another connection to be made between war and King Henry is the unity that goes with being a good king and fighting well in war. Before going into battle, Henry inspires his men to fight well by making an immensely powerful speech, in which he refers to him men as brothers. This shows that they are united and he is worth just as much as they are. Despite being a King, Henry believes in social equality. We then see Henry as more than just one thing. Not only is he a great, glorious, and patriotic King, but he is also part of the messy and bloody side of war, a side where death was not only a possibility but also a probability.
War and Henry V’s story would have been of great relevance to an Elizabethan audience, which it was directed to. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, the general public was very devout. They believed in the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings, which stated that Kings are God’s representatives on Earth and someone could only become a King through succession. Because of this view of Kings, Henry is seen as a holy ruler, despite the instability of Richard II. This whole problem with succession is also very relevant to the audience because it repeating the problem the monarchy had, two hundred years on. The Elizabethan audience would have a great amount of respect for Henry, simply because he is a King. Another way the audience would be able to relate to this play is through the soldiers’ opinion on life after death. They believed that death had to be honourable and righteous because it decided whether they would live in eternal happiness or hell. Despite popular belief, war was not seen as honourable or righteous, so the death could have been neither. This meant that
confession was necessary before war, which is why before fighting at Agincourt, Henry’s soldiers all confessed before priests, to make sure they died well and religiously fulfilled. Henry also would have encouraged this as he is devout and refers to God as a higher authority.
This play successfully depicts different sides of war. There would have been some problems with doing so, for example difficulties with staging a war, so in order to convey the message, the play relied on Shakespeare's language, the audience's imagination, and chorus’ epic speeches. The chorus asked quite a large amount of from the audience’s imaginations, for example when he asked them to picture "the vasty fields of France" (1.1.12) and "the very casques that did affright the air at Agincourt" (1.1.13-14). This play shows that there are many aspects of war, and it can be understood by a variety of people, from an Elizabethan audience to a contemporary one.