Is Henry V the "star of england" or a flawed human being. Analysis of a modern day and Shakespearean audience's reaction to the way Henry V is portrayed.

Date Submitted: 06/17/2004 13:13:21
Category: / Literature / European Literature
Length: 5 pages (1509 words)
Henry is first referred to as "warlike" in the first chorus and this image of him continues throughout the play. Later, Henry advises the Archbishop to be careful, "Awakening our sleeping sword of war", which shows that he can be "warlike " when roused but is also peaceful. When Henry sends a message to the Dauphin, he tells him "we will in France, by God's grace play a set, shall strike his father's crown into the …
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…idea is that the Elizabethans would have believed in the divine rights of King ship, and so it was difficult for Shakespeare to explore the idea that monarchs are only human beings. Yet he has done so quite successfully, by giving a 21st century audience clues to and subtleties within Henry's character which we see as evidence for Henry being the idealised King that the Elizabethans expected, but also the imperfect human that he was.
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