How does Shakespeare shape the audience's response to Henry V?

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Dan Dowling 10N Wednesday 8th Dec 04

Shakespeare Coursework

How does Shakespeare shape the audience's response to Henry V?

We have read Shakespeare's Henry V and will be exploring how Shakespeare presents Henry's character, and how an audience would react to the ambiguity in his characterisation. Henry V was a king in Henry V, the eldest son of Henry IV and Mary Bohun, was born in 1387. His only child, the future Henry VI, was born in 1421. Henry proposed to marry Catherine in 1415.Catherine was the French princess at the time, Catherine's father, Charles VI refused and Henry declared war, opening yet another chapter in the Hundred Years' War. The French war served two purposes - to gain lands lost in previous battles and to focus attention away from any of his cousins' royal ambitions. Henry, possessed a masterful military mind and defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415, and by 1419 had captured Normandy. Had Henry lived a mere two months longer, he would have been king of both England and France.

The first description of Henry shows his strength. Henry is described as an angry person, who thinks the