Shakespeare as an Undercover Political Craftsman Shakespeare’s Henry V is a deeply political play, laced intentionally with implications concerning self-ability and political disillusionment. Through this play, a truly Renaissance-inspired Shakespeare encourages the participation of the Elizabethan audience in contemporary political affairs. The following essay will explore this sentiment through the analysis of Shakespeare’s audience and the Elizabethan concept of theatre, as well as the character of Henry V, who acts with dual-purpose to allow for the exposure of Queen Elizabeth and to arouse support for Robert Dereveux. Theatre was regarded, in the Elizabethan era, not in terms of meaningless entertainment but rather as a tool of …show more content…
This metaphor refers to the play as a reflection of life itself, the stage acting as the canopy between heaven and hell, much like earth1. Coming in direct correlation with Shakespeare’s usage of the Chorus, this idea enables the audience to immediately generate parallels between the play and the real world. The Chorus insists that the audience’s consenting imagination is required due to the play’s inability to properly represent ‘huge and proper life’, mandatory for the success of the play (Act V Prologue: 5). As a result, the Chorus hands the audience a certain degree of power in directing and instructing the play. He allows them to comprehend their potential to engage in political affairs in real life. As he constantly re-focuses the audience’s perception of the play after each Act, he increasingly insinuates that the audience is as much a part of the play as they are present in the action of perceiving the