Henry V Coursework

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Melanie Parkes

Henry V Coursework

From "nimble-footed madcap Prince of Wales" to the "mirror of all Christian kings":

Select what you consider to be some important episodes in the play and discuss Shakespeare's dramatic presentation of Henry's career. How does Henry come across to an audience as a man and a king?

As a young man and heir to the throne, Henry is shown by Shakespeare to be ambitious, calculating and in some respects cold-hearted. At the end of Act One, Scene Two, comes one of the most important speeches in "Henry IV". Hal speaks his soliloquy in verse, which is a contrast to the light conversation earlier in the scene. The verse makes him seem more of a nobleman and is more fitting to the Prince of Wales. He knows that his friends are unsuitable for a prince and that his behaviour has attracted serious criticism. However:

"...Herein will I imitate the sun,

Who doth permit the base contagious clouds

To smother up his beauty from the world."

This is not the most endearing of speeches. We have just met Hal's friends and seen how he acts with them,