Henry V Abuse Of Power

The objective of power itself is morally ambiguous. Power should not be given to just anyone; only those who are responsible, mature, and capable of handling such power deserve it. Power has a way of bringing out the best or worst in people. When Henry V acquired power he matured into a knowledgeable king who was responsible enough to handle such power. A prevalent theme in the play Henry V is that a good king must be ruthless. Henry Proves his moral ambiguity when he makes decisions like starting a war with France and punishing his friend Bardolph, and those decisions coincide with the theme that a good king must be ruthless.
Initially, Henry seemed like a good person, who was responsible, intelligent, and a worthy king. He has a less than

impressive past where he is referred to as prince Hal, an irresponsible, immature prince. His transformation from his deviant youth to mature king is not an implication of moral refinement. He does not make decisions based on what is considered morally right or wrong. He makes calculated decisions in order to produce the most beneficial outcome. An example of this is the biggest choice in the whole play, he chooses to attack a nation to take what could be argued as his. Some would say he started this war out of greed, and Henry himself was not sure he could justify this mission. He asked archbishop if he had the right to take the land from the french, and he essentially said Its was yours already in a long rambling response. Henrys morality comes into question right before the Archbishop allows Henry to go to war with France. The play begins with a bill that could cost the church a lot of money in taxes, Henry seemed to removed the bill and the church, mainly Canterbury, wanted to repay him “Which I have opened to his Grace at large, As touching France—to give a greater sum Than ever at one time the clergy yet” (Act I Scene I line 82-84). Much like a bribe, Henry saved the church money, and the church gave him more than money, they gave him France.
Henry being greedy and ruthless correlates with the play's theme of a good king being ruthless.

Dauphin made the perfect statement in a different context when referring to pegasus his majestic horse “When I bestride him, I soar” (Act III scene VII line 10) , bestride has many sometimes contradicting meanings. In Dauphins context he was talking about riding along with pegasus, but bestride can also mean tower over, and dominate. In that sense, this justifies Henry's logic when making decisions, when Henry dominates he ascends as a king. Henry was a young king so little issues may bring his authority into question if he does into handle them correctly. This was shown in Act III when Henry has to punish his friend Bardolph for Stealing from a conquered french town. This seems like a minor offense considering he stole an object from a town the English recently destroyed, but the punishment for this offense is death by hanging. Bardolph was recently received substantial torture before the actual punishment, and Fluellen asked the king if he knew Bardolph before his execution and Henry said “We should have all such offenders so cut off,” (Act III Scene VI line 90) Ironically Henry contradicts his own logic and the theme of the play when making a statement about “For when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner.” (Act III Scene VI line

101)
“There is some soul of goodness in things evil.” (Act IV Scene I line 4) Henry Spoke these words to his associates Bedford, and Gloucester. This statement accurately describes how moral ambiguity comes about in anybody. When someone can do evil for the right reasons, and vice versa the line between good and evil are blurred. Henry made good decisions as a king, but not necessarily as a man. Regardless, Henry was not just any man he was destined to be a great king so he had to be ruthless as a result.