Henry V Vs Saint Joan Essay

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The plays Henry V by William Shakespeare and Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw take place in Europe during the Hundred Years War. They illustrate the opposing sides of the war. Henry V paints a picture of the English’s journey through the war, while Saint Joan displays the strong desire of the French to beat the English. Both plays are told from the hero’s point of view. Henry V is told from King Henry V’s point of view and Saint Joan is told from Joan of Arc’s point of view. King Henry and Joan won pivotal battles for their countries in the war, earning them much respect. Although King Henry V and Joan of Arc are both heros, their success and influence differed due to their class.
King Henry V motivated his army throughout the play with passion and power. He used his knowledge of being a leader to instill a desire to achieve greatness in each of his men. In many of Henry’s speeches he expresses extreme amounts of passion. An example of this comes from the speech Henry gave before the battle of Agincourt, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother,” (Shakespeare 4.3. 60-62). At this point in Henry’s speech he is appealing to the emotion of his …show more content…

Henry has a large advantage over Joan because he comes from a royal, wealthy background, while Joan comes from a poor, uneducated background. Due to his authority, Henry garners a lot of respect from his country and army. With this respect he is able to get his point across easily and earn support. Unfortunately for Joan, being a peasant decreases her chances of receiving respect and support. Joan must work harder to achieve as much success as Henry. If Joan were a noble or royalty she would be able to share her thoughts as easily as Henry. And, if Henry were a peasant he would have to work much harder to get his point across as well as he can as a

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