Shakespeare's Henry V

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Analyse Shakespeare’s presentation of King Henry throughout the course of the play

King Henry is the eponymous protagonist of the play ‘Henry VI’. Shakespeare uses exposition at the very beginning of the play via the Chorus in the Prologue to give the audience clues of Henry’s character, describing him as “Warlike Harry..., assume the port of Mars,” Mars, being the God of War, therefore gives the audience the immediate impression that Henry is a mighty warrior.

Exposition is also used in Act 1 Scene 1 via the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop

of Ely. They tell the audience how Henry has grown from the wild youth of Prince Hal in ‘Henry IV Parts I and II’ into King Henry. From this section we learn many of Henry’s characteristics. They describe him as a politician, “Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs,” also as a tactful warrior, “List his decourse of War.” Therefore in the opening lines of the play – the audience have a specific idea of what to expect when Henry enters.

The audience is given the impression that Henry is a strong warrior by the Chorus in the Prologue. This goes on to become on the main aspects of Henry’s character throughout the rest of the play. We first really see Henry’s Warrior attitude in Act 3 Scene 1. This is the main speech before the battle of Harfleur; Shakespeare uses many literacy techniques to present Henry’s warrior-like attitude.

In the first line of his speech Henry calls his men “dear friends”. This shows us that although he is their commander he doesn’t see himself above them and that he is not afraid to fight along-side them. Shakespeare uses a lot of metaphors in the speech which clearly illustrate Henry’s intensions; “imitate the action of the tiger” – this tells us that Henry wants his men to take on the savage and blood-thirsty traits of tigers. Shakespeare also repeats a lot of similar words, such as; ‘blast’, ‘terrible’, ‘overwhelm’, ‘fearfully’, ‘wild’ and ‘hard’. The repetition of these words puts emphasis on the war-like situation. Shakespeare also uses the repetition of the same words; “On, on you noble English,” – this shows how Henry urges on his men and demonstrates his anticipation for the battle.

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Shakespeare also employs other characters in the play to present Henry as a great warrior. In Act 1 Scene 3 Captain Llewellyn compares Henry’s Harfleur campaign to that of Roman military tactics. He does this because the Romans are world famous for their cunning battle tactics and outstanding discipline. This suggests to the audience that Henry is a cunning warrior and a good leader. In Act 3 Scene 7 Captain Llewellyn also compares Henry to ‘Agamemnon’ and ‘Mark Antony’. Agamemnon was the leader of the Greeks at Troy and Mark Antony was a famous Roman general. These comparisons emphasise Henry’s ...

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