ipl-logo

Henry V Play Analysis

1140 Words5 Pages

Written from 1595 to 1599 Shakespeare not only puts an end to his second Lancaster-Tetralogy but also to his histories around English monarchs1 with his play 'Henry V '. While the first Lancaster-Tetralogy focuses on 'Henry VI Part 1-3 ' and 'Richard III ', displaying the conflict between the houses of York and Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses, the second one takes place before those events, reaching from 'Richard II ' and 'Henry IV Part 1 and 2 ' to 'Henry V ', which ends hinting to the first Lancaster-Tetralogy. In 'Richard II ', which is taking place around the year 1389, we follow the “fall from power of the last king of the house Plantagenet, Richard II, and his replacement by the first Lancaster king, Henry IV”2. While Richard …show more content…

Other than Richard II, Henry IV Part 1 shows two main plots that come together at the end of the play. On the one hand the play focuses on Henry 's son, Prince Harry, and “their strained relationship”8, on the other hand it deals with the rebellion against King Henry by another part of the family, the Percys, because he owes a debt to them. At the beginning of the play, King Henry 's plans for a crusade are interrupted by the news that his army has been defeated in the South by the Welsh rebel Glyndwr9. Besides that Harry Percy, named Hotspur, refuses to send the captured soldiers back to the king. He is ordered to the royal court, needing to explain his actions to Henry IV. At the same time, Prince Harry amuses himself in a tavern, joined by several criminals, and shows “a manner unbefitting royalty”10, making him a disappointment to his own father. One of Harry 's best friends is Falstaff, someone who makes a living out of stealing and lying, yet the young prince likes his presence though he often fools around with him, for example in a fake robbery which is only thought to be a joke on …show more content…

At the same time, old Falstaff and his friends have managed to become wealthy and powerful, lying about their deeds in the battle where they had actually been acting cowardly instead of fighting bravely. Falstaff, who is now an army captain, however decides to “recruit young men to serve in the upcoming battles”15. Still, Harry has decided to spend less time with his old friends in the taverns of

Show More
Related
880 Words | 4 Pages

In the beginning of the story Henrys doubt and struggle to find courage seriously affects his faith in himself. He joined the army because he was drawn to the glory of military conflict; considering war a sort of accessory. In the book it states, “He had read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

In Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, the author communicates the larger idea that violence is the result of injustice in a given system by including scenes in which Henry is about to kill Rafas at the Saturday night dance, strikes a guard and gets sent to solitary, and is reported to have gone back to prison, killed an inmate, and gotten into drugs. From the beginning of the play, Henry succumbs to using violence due to being excluded from society. When Lieutenant Smith tries to interrogate Henry and insults his zoot suit, calling it a “monkey suit”, Henry reacts with verbal violence- “Screw you flatfoot”; he reacted in this manor because his cultural identity was attacked by an authority figure, which shows corruption with authority and those who hold power. This prompts violence from Henry

Read More
1218 Words | 5 Pages

Richard III was the final installation of Shakespeare’s history plays. During this time Shakespeare found success and was highly popular. As such, the values that are affirmed by the play’s ending align with the ruling of the Tudors at the time. Shakespeare was creating characters who were not only more psychologically complex but with greater dimensions, even though during this time in Elizabethan England had very little understanding of human psychology. War of the Roses

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

The thought of desertion has been a dilemma for young Henry, and been plaguing the entire march. After an adrenaline rush of a first battle he came to senses and ran away, doing the action that had been plaguing his mind. Giving into his fear, and deserting his comrades whether they might live or die without him. In the end Henry ran.

Read More
1035 Words | 5 Pages

Through others and himself, Huck shows signs of maturity. He is empathic, comforting, and caring throughout his adventures. Huck accomplished lots of deeds: helped return the money to the girls, comforted Mary Jane and Aunt Sally. Huck felt sorry for the king and duke for being tarred and feathered and protected Jim. Huck has made some mistakes and lied to the watchman, king and duke, but it was all done with the right intentions and attitude.

Read More
917 Words | 4 Pages

Henry’s choices and consequences When Henry starts out in war, he is just an immature boy. As the reader reads, they come to find that Henry mainly seemed to have enlisted just for the fact of gaining glory. As the rumors of battle begin to spread though, he begins to question himself and whether or not he will flee from a battle or stand and fight bravely. This comes

Read More
680 Words | 3 Pages

When they first discover the fake background of the duke, Huck and Jim “...bow, when [they speak] to him, and say ‘Your Grace’…one of [them] ought to wait on him at dinner… [they] done it.” Similarly, with the king, Jim and Huck “... [get] down on one knee to speak to him, and always [call] him ‘Your Majesty,’ and [wait] on him first at meals… Jim and [him]... doing this and that and t’other for him…” Upon first meeting the duke and king, and hearing their backstories, Huck believes and acts respectfully toward both men.

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

After witnessing the effects that warfare has to the unfortunate and seeing other soldiers flee, Henry loses all memory of the commitment he´s made to his regiment as he is consumed with fear. Due to the horrors and truth that he had just experienced, Henry abandons his fellow soldiers in order to save himself, only to be worried about how he will be viewed and labelled by others, reinforcing his primary concern of vanity and self glory. As Henry fled, this shows that he was not mentally fit to be enrolled into the army as he could not commit to his position due to personal insecurities and fears that are ultimately common in all

Read More
1003 Words | 5 Pages

Hal and his friend, Poins, laugh and play practical jokes, especially on Falstaff and one of the waiters, “‘Francis.’” (2.4.32) He teases Falstaff for being “fat-witted” (21.2.2) and lazy. It is the place where the youthfulness is alive in Hal and where he acts like a young adult. He is a young prince that just wants to enjoy his life and learn the “language” (2.4.19) of the locals.

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

This quote also shows the external conflict fought between Harry and

Read More
475 Words | 2 Pages

This runs contrary to ideals about the military, thinking of it as a place of honor and duty, rather than the reality of fear. In addition, Walcott highlights another irony when Henry finally gains glory for himself by retrieving and wielding the fallen standard. It is ironic that one could gain glory from such a practice as this, as wielding the flag completely incapacitates the bearer as a soldier - removing from him all ability to effectively contribute to the battle. Henry compounds this by encouraging the soldiers, even bordering on ordering them around despite the fact that he has not even come close to earning this privilege. Taking this into account, the last chapter certainly has a significance, and Henry’s lack of development is simply one of the novel’s points.

Read More
1171 Words | 5 Pages

O for a muse of fire that would light up such a dark and passionate adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry V that could defy every single expectation of its audience! Kenneth Branagh has done it again. It’s hard to believe that this 1989 film was Branagh first experience in directing. The film has a smooth tone that flows well and embodies Branagh’s directorial concept of showing all the implications that war can have. In many ways, Branagh seems to take inspiration from Laurence Olivier’s 1949 version, but he makes his own twits to the text and, instead of having a play within a play, the audience hears this epic story from an omnipresent presence, the chorus, which guides us through the events as if we were experience a dream.

Read More
211 Words | 1 Pages

The closing of their interaction also represents how competing political mindsets will eventually cause a divide if these remain. Harry and Falstaff differ upon their viewpoint of Henry’s questioning and as Harry upholds the realistic caricature of his father it becomes clear that the subject of the conversation will soon turn to banishing Falstaff due to his underhanded and criminal manner. Falstaff himself recognizes this and begs Harry, under the persona of his father, not to banish him, which in itself marks a realization of the way the conversation is heading. This is significant for as said it marks a slight development from Falstaff’s selfish nature; while he remains self-focused he does indicate recognition of another’s mindset, albeit

Read More
538 Words | 3 Pages

Henry’s temper is hard for him to control because he is sometimes faced with situations when he cannot distinguish between King Henry and friend Henry. This duality, paired with the duality that is being a king is an obvious cause for confusion and rage. Henry had such a strong bond with his old friends, that when his new friends were so quick to betray him he was deeply hurt. Another time Henry exhibits incomplete control of his temper is during the battle of Agincourt. Throughout the battle, Henry’s soldiers have taken many French soldiers prisoner and seem to have the advantage.

Read More
1245 Words | 5 Pages

Honor in Shakespeare’s Play Henry IV, Act One (The View of Honor in the Eyes of Falstaff and Hotspur in Shakespeare’s Play Henry IV, Act One) In Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV, Part One, two characters define what honor is to them. Hotspur and Falstaff are two different characters completely, one is a son of a nobleman and the other is a thief. Hotspur is son to Earl of Northumberland, making him the heir as well, the nephew of Earl of Worcester, and a good warrior too. The real name of Hotspur is Harry Percy, a member of the Percy family, which helped King Henry IV gain his power.

Read More

More about Henry V Play Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document