'Henry V constantly refuses to accept responsibility for his actions. He has yet to mature and shows no understanding about the true nature of kingship'. How far do you agree with this judgment of Henry?

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Hasanabbas Rehemtulla        Coursework        

‘Henry V constantly refuses to accept responsibility for his actions. He has yet to mature and shows no understanding about the true nature of kingship’. How far do you agree with this judgment of Henry?

By the end of ‘Henry V’, Henry seems to be a transformed person. From a king who is being manipulated from all sides, he leads his country to win a seemingly impossible war against France. On the other hand, this does not mean that he is a model king because there are many instances in the play when he shows that his real character is contrary to this.

        Once the war starts, Henry does not regret his decision to go to war and more importantly; accepts that it was his own decision that England is now at war. This is shown in Act 3, Scene 1 where Henry is motivating his army by saying things like “Stiffen the sinews, conjure up the blood” and “Cry, ‘God for Harry, England and Saint George!’”. Here, he is trying to improve the performance of his army and increasing their morale at the same time. Henry uses strong verbs such as “stiffen”, “conjure” and “cry” to increase the effect of his overall speech, which encourages the army to do the actions at that moment instead of doing them in the battle.

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        On the other hand, in Act 4, Scene 1, whilst Henry is reflecting on being a king, he breaks down. He does not want to be held responsible for what happens to his soldiers. He says “We must bear all” and subsequently breaks down by saying “Not today, O Lord, Oh, not today”. At this point he is turning to God and praying, almost begging him to help. This may also prove that he does not know what kingship is really about because he says that the only advantage that kings have over normal men is “general ceremony”. He is ...

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