Shakespeare Coursework - Henry V
In Henry, how does Shakespeare avoid “much disgrace with four or five most vile and ragged foils. Right ill disposed in brawl ridiculous” in depicting the Battle of Agincourt on the Elizabethan stage.
As the play commences, William Shakespeare has to depict a fight scene at the Battle of Agincourt. When one considers the time period it would have been rather difficult to perform these scenes. This is also due to the fact that Elizabethan stages did not have the use of advanced special effects and consequently they were very basic. The Elizabethan theatre used no real sets and only the most essential set pieces and props. Shakespeare had to find various ways to portray the story and he mainly focused on the acting rather than the props. As it was impossible for Shakespeare to create a real life battle scene, the Chorus apologises for this in the prologue, “Oh, pardon: since a crooked figure may attest in little place a million, and let us, ciphers to this great account, on your imaginary forces work.” In this essay, I will explain the difficulties that Shakespeare faced when he had to recreate the story of Henry V, ranging from having a small performing space, few props size and having only a handful of actors.
One way in which Shakespeare depicts the battle scene is to appeal to the audience’s imagination. The Chorus urges the audience to think beyond what they saw on stage, “now entertain conjecture of a time”, and to envisage what it would be like if they themselves were involved in the scene. In addition, the Chorus also appeals to the audience’s sense of sight and sound. Shakespeare has to rectify another issue. The performance took place in the afternoon, yet the battle scene was at night. To emphasise darkness once again Shakespeare uses the Chorus, “the poring dark” and “chide the cripple tardy-gaited night”. The language used stresses the point that the battle scene is set at night facilitating the audience’s imagination. Additionally, Shakespeare uses personification such as, “like a foul and ugly witch” to describe the night. This adds to the drama of the play as the language makes the audience compare the night to a witch, which has negative connotations. This made is easier for the audience to understand certain aspects of the play such as the night. Finally, Shakespeare shows the distinct contrast between the French and the English armies. The English army was portrayed as being less than convinced of their chances of success due to inadequate size. This compares with the French army, whose contingents were courageous and arrogant in assuming that they were going to win the battle. This illustrates how Shakespeare makes the audience develop sympathy towards the English.
