King Henry V: Noble Hero or Devious Brute?
King Henry V: Noble Hero or Devious Brute? Arguably, William Shakespeare created the historical play, King Henry V for propaganda purposes. Requested by King Henry's distant relative Queen Elizabeth, the play portrays the main character, King Henry, in different aspects and facets. As a playwright of the time, Shakespeare felt he had to turn what was seen as a simple war hero into a complex character to make the play more interesting and to his liking. In this play Henry, upon his father's death, rapidly changed from a wild, boisterous youth, to a responsible, powerful king, faced with the decision of invading France. He won the battle with a small army against a large opposition and from his victory claimed a wife, Princess Katherine, from the French side. This essays intention is to explore Henry's character, whether he has the qualities of a noble hero or a devious brute. We must keep in mind how Shakespeare wanted the audience, perhaps the ruling monarchy at that time, to digest this play and their interpretations of Henry's character. The audience's first impression of Henry is influenced by their first taste of the play, the chorus. Read by the narrator, the chorus sets the scene for each act and summarizes part of the plot, introducing dramatic irony and different themes into the play. The chorus at the beginning Henry V gives you an idea that Henry is a very powerful
Joan of Arc, first known as Jeanne d'Arc, was born in the village of Domremy, in the Champagne district of northeastern France.
Joan of Arc, first known as Jeanne d'Arc, was born in the village of Domremy, in the Champagne district of northeastern France. She was born on January 6, 1412 and died May 30,1431 at the age of 19. Joan is a French national heroin and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. She rescued France from defeat during the "Hundred Years War" against England. In honor of her victory she is often called the Maid of Orleans. This is her life. Joan was born the third of five children to a farmer, Jacques d'Arc and his wife Isabelle de Vouthon in the town of Domremy. Her childhood was spent attending her father's herds in the fields and learning religion and housekeeping skills from her mother. Both parents were intensely pious. At the age of 13 in the summer of 1425, Joan began having religious 'visions' and hearing what she believed were 'voices' of saints. They started occurring once a week and as she got older they happened daily. She said the voices told her to always behave, obey her parents, pray, etc. Joan claimed these were the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret, believing that they had been sent by God. These voices told her that it was her divine mission to free her country from the English and help the dauphin gain the French throne. The "voices" never left her, and the townspeople said she was a psychic. The "voices" told her to cut her hair, dress in
1960's UK Holiday increase
Explain why the number of foreign holidays increased during the 1960s The 1960s saw leisure travel turn in mass tourism due to the number of holiday's increasing, particularly foreign holidays. There are numerous reasons why the number of holidays abroad increased from 4 million to 7 million between 1961 and 1971. I will explore how money, technology, leisure time and the growth of the tourist industry increased this number even more. One of the mean reasons is the 47% increase in real earnings between 1955-70, this contributed to the increase of foreign holidays because when the real earnings increased it provided people with more spare cash to spend on their leisure and not on necessities like in previous years. Another factor that contributed greatly was that many people could now get two weeks paid leave per annum. 99 out of 100 industrial companies provided this for their workers; this led to an increase of foreign holidays because many people could now go abroad for two weeks and still get paid for doing so. On top of this General Franco, the Spanish leader, encouraged tourism and travel so he developed many parts of Spain such a Benidorm and the Balearic islands. This led to the increase of holidays abroad because new locations offered a wide choice of holidays also a two holiday was cheap. Two weeks in Spain could cost you as little as £20, its not surprising that
Explain why the duke of Wellingtons government fell from power in 1830?
Explain why the duke of Wellington's government fell from power in 1830? The fall of duke Wellington's government in November 1830 is regarded as one of the most important turning point and a very pivotal moment in British history. So decisive and seemingly unexpected, was the downward turn in the duke's political fortune and his government, meant is was caused by an array of reasons. From the standpoint of the 2 major parties, the political stature of Britain was quite weak. As a result of arguments and internal splits within the government, the tory party for the first time in many years had become apart of the minority. The small liberal wing of the tory party, the canningities had left in 1828 after a series of disagreements with the Wellington, whereas the Ultra's, who were loyal to Wellington and Peel, left the Tory party mainly because the of the passing of catholic emancipation in 1829. Another issue that caused the disintegration of Wellington's Tory party was not only just catholic emancipation, but also the fact that the duke and peel had to announce it. The Act of C.E was passed in April 1829, with a total of 173 Tory MPs against it. The ultra Tories believed that Catholic emancipation was an assault on the British Constitution, Although many Tories sympathised with Peel, they hated Wellington for falling to catholic pressure and judged him as misguided, or
Did the WSPU help or hinder the struggle for women's rights?
Did the WSPU help or hinder the struggle for women's rights? In 1867 most of the male population in Britain received the vote most historians agree that the beginning of the suffrage campaign was in 1832 when a woman asked a campaigner, while campaigning for the wider male, vote to include women. It was not until 1903 when Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Woman's Social and Political Union (WSPU). She founded this group having been a member of the Suffragists. She became frustrated with the Suffragists' tactics, especially their middle class and gradualist ideas. The motto of the Suffragettes was "Deeds, not Words" and this was reflected in everything they did. The Suffragettes were much more radical and militant with their tactics including vandalism and violence. In contrast the Suffragist tactics at this time were the same as they always had been, using their middle/upper class connections to try and persuade men of influence and standing to back their cause. The Suffragists became a national movement in 1887 when various Suffrage groups joined together to form the National Union of Woman's Suffrage Society (NUWSS). The Suffragist leadership was purely middle class however it was known within the organisation, in order to gain the vote they would need the support of working class women. Middle class woman from the Suffragists went to work in some of the mills to try and
When looking at the play, A Man for All Seasons, Richard Rich lied, cheated, deceived, hurt close friends and committed perjury to obtain his goal.
Steven Brooks Medaglia OA English Ms. A.M. Lebrun 29, October, 2002 Creative Title When looking at the play, A Man for All Seasons, Richard Rich lied, cheated, deceived, hurt close friends and committed perjury to obtain his goal. He went from Attorney General of Wales to the Solicitor General, to the Secretary for Norfolk and finally to the Chancellor of England. Sir Thomas More, was very selfish towards achieving his own personal goals. He believed that if he went about everything the way God would have done it that he would reach heaven. In this process he managed to hurt his wife Alice, his daughter Margaret, and put his friends in awful positions. When every aspect is considered Sir Thomas More, evidently wanted eternal salvation and only really truly cared about him self. King Henry VIII was a man of power and intimidation. He did not let anything stand in his way. Cardinal Wolsey, was executed because he put up resistance toward the King, along with Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More. Any individual that caused a ripple in his path was executed. "Henry VIII, started with everything and squandered it all..." (Bolt, vii). Henry VIII wants an heir for his thrown and no matter how many women he has to marry then divorce to get it that is his primary intention. Richard Rich, Sir Thomas More and King Henry VIII all use reprehensible means, which harm others in order to
'Overrated and oversexed' How accurate a portrayal is this of Henry VIII?
'Overrated and oversexed' How accurate a portrayal is this of Henry VIII? Henry VIII probably had an 'overrated and oversexed' image following him. By 1547, the year of Henry's death and consequently the end of his reign, he had had six wives. He also went to great lengths to allow him to get rid of some of these women. For example, when it came to the point in his reign when he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon he had to go to great lengths to allow this to happen. As a divorcement is not allowed in the Catholic Church, Henry needed to find evidence to support his statement that his marriage was illegal so he could annul Catherine. An annulment states the marriage was not valid in the first place, and only the pope has the right to grant such a process, this was just one of the causes of the break with Rome in 1533. To carry out the annulment Henry needed to be in charge of the English Church. However Henry's desire for a divorce did not necessarily mean he wanted to break with Rome, the English church had been part of the Catholic Church under the power of the pope for centuries. This was a radical move made by Henry to achieve what he wanted. England's break with Rome relocated the Pope's power in England to Henry himself; however it did not lead to the end of Catholicism in the country. Many Catholic practises remained and many people's beliefs were not changed from
How consistent was British policy towards Ireland from 1798-1921?
How consistent was British policy towards Ireland from 1798-1921? Throughout the period, British policy towards Ireland did have considerable variations. There was a range from incredibly coercive measures to a more conciliatory approach, and this variation spread across several key areas; Law and Order in Ireland, the Religious question, Economic policy and finally maintenance of the Union itself. Although there can be no doubt that throughout the period, British policy was consistent in its principles - that it aimed to keep Ireland within the Union - the policies themselves were not; the ways that successive governments went about upholding this basic principle differed substantially, and therefore over the whole period, British policy towards Ireland was not very consistent. In terms of Law and Order in Ireland, throughout the period there was a limited amount of consistency in British policy; over the whole period the problem of Ireland's Law and Order was addressed through a mixture of coercion and reform, with the intention of keeping Ireland close to Britain. Coercion as a method was evident throughout - from the suppression of Wolfe Tone's rising in 1798 through to the violent response to the 1916 Easter uprising - in both cases the British Government reacted with violence and the leaders of the rebellions were arrested and executed. During the period of Sir
John Calvin wrote the first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1535, his intention was to serve the Protestant interests at large, but its influence must have far exceeded his anticipation. Discuss.
When John Calvin wrote the first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1535 (at the ripe old age of 27), his intention was to serve the Protestant interests at large, but its influence must have far exceeded his anticipation. It proved to be the most influential work of the Protestant Reformation. Protestants in different countries saw Calvin as a pillar of strength to their cause, a theologian of the highest rank, while Romanists feared his pen as one of their most formidable foes. A Catholic writer had this to say of the Institutes: "It is the Koran, the Talmud of heresy, the foremost cause of our downfall,... the common arsenal from which the opponents of the old Church borrowed their keenest weapons. No writing of the Reformation era is more feared by Roman Catholics, more zealously fought against, and more hostilely pursued, than Calvin's Institutes". The Swiss city of Geneva, under Calvin's influence as pastor and reformer, became a refuge to which fugitives might flee from persecution, and a training-school in which missionaries and reformers might be equipped and sent forth for heroic service. It was truly the nerve-center of the Reformation. Emperor Philip II, son of Charles V, expressed the thoughts of many foes of the Reformation when he wrote the following to the King of France regarding Geneva: "This city is the source of all mischief for
How far does the evidence of the sources below suggest that Oliver Cromwell was responsible for the execution of King Charles I in 1649?:
Part A - Objective A02 - How far does the evidence of the sources below suggest that Oliver Cromwell was responsible for the execution of King Charles I in 1649?: There is only one source which actually suggests that Cromwell had strong wishes to execute the King and that is one that is very probably in favour of the King and the monarchy. Edward Hyde, and Earl himself, says of Cromwell when the monarch was restored, 'As soon as Cromwell's eyes were upon him...drew him by force to the table; and said, he should now sign the paper'. It portrays Cromwell as an evil character also saying that, 'Cromwell...held him by violence...with a loud laughter'. However all the other sources suggest a different character entirely. The most reliable, a contemporary report of Cromwell's speech in the commons, unbiased towards any faction, says that when 'it was first moved in the Commons to proceed capitally against the King, Cromwell...told them...he should think them the greatest traitor in the world...but necessity had cast them upon it'. This shows that Cromwell really did not want to execute the King and only really saw regicide as a last resort. Another source which backs up this notion is a letter sent to Hyde reporting the debates in the Commons which says, when discussing whether to negotiate further or simple proceed to take over the country, both Cromwell and Ireton said 'it
