What was William Shakespeare’s perspective on King Henry V of England, and was his representation of King Henry V accurate? Introduction: King Henry V is arguably one of the most widely known English monarchs in the history of the country, however this knowledge often comes from only one source, the works of William Shakespeare, namely, King Henry IV (part 1 and part 2) or the more famous King Henry V. With public knowledge of King Henry V coming often solely from this one source, it is important to look at Shakespeare’s perspective and the social and political climate in which he worked. William Shakespeare represented King Henry V as a hero, however the accuracy of this perspective can be called into question, due to accounts of war crimes committed by the king in his campaigns in France. This investigation will look at the actual historical facts that can be established about King Henry V, the climate in which Shakespeare wrote, the differences his representation has with that of modern historians and also of course the actual details of his representation of King Henry V. However where would any debate of the accuracy of a literary representation be without the historical facts, free from any trappings of flavoured language. The background of any historical figure is very important to understanding any subsequent literary recreation of them, for example facts may be altered to make the reader or view more sympathetic to a character, or on the flip side they may become more hostile through a manipulation of the facts. King Henry V was born on the 9th of August 1387 in Monmouth Castle, located, now in modern Wales, near the English border. His parents King Henry IV (previously Henry of Bolingbroke) and Mary de Bohun were... ... middle of paper ... ...ttle over a year King Henry V returned to France and by early 1419 had taken Rouen, with the town’s 70,000 inhabitants surrendering to King Henry’s forces. In 1420 King Henry V had met with King Charles VI and together they had negotiated that upon the death of Charles, Henry would become King of France. This treaty was further solidified by the marriage of Henry to the daughter of King Charles VI, Catherine of Valois. While solidifying his position by attack the Dauphin held town of Meaux, King Henry V grew ill and after attempting to recover died, possibly from Dysentery, in Bois de Vincennes on the 31st of August 1422, aged 35. King Henry V was succeeded by his son King Henry VI, who on the death of King Charles VI a couple of months later became the King of France, though this in reality only meant northern France, due to the Dauphin holding out in the south.
The book begins with King Henry V’s marriage to Catherine de Valois, a French princess. Henry V was a glorious king and a famous military commander. However, his early death in 1422 left his infant son, Henry VI, as the heir of both
When we look at Henry as a king we have to look in the context of
Henry VI had a lot of weaknesses with foreign policy, his inability to make decisions, patronage, Richard duke of York, finance and evil council. With foreign policy he showed weakness in defending his country, after his father Henry VII had conquered land in France, he lost it. He lost Normandy and Gascony in 1451 due to defeat in France. This affected morale and the incomes of nobles because they had lost, reducing their reputation, especially as they had lost some of their own land, and the incomes went down because money was spent on war, so less money was available to give as income. This could have been a reason for the outbreak of conflict because the people would not have been happy with their situation. Henry's next weakness was his inability to make decisions.
In the play Henry V written by Shakespeare. Henry was presented as the ideal Christian king. His mercy, wisdom, and other characteristics demonstrated the behavior of a Christian king. Yet at the same time he is shown to be man like any other. The way he behaves in his past is just like an ordinary man. But in Henry’s own mind he describes himself as “the mirror of all Christian kings” and also a “true lover of the holly church.
Now, Henry had an heir to the throne, his son Edward. As time would pass, the future king of England was getting more and more weak and sicker. Henry passed on,
In Shakespeare’s “The Life of King Henry V,” set in England in the early fifteenth century, with the famous and heroic English King, Henry V, claiming his “rights” to the French throne. This claim caused complications and the declaration of war on both English and French soil. This political war, then turn into a route of complicated negotiations, after King Henry’s terrifying forces had successfully defeated French forces. As the result of the war, a peace treaty was made, and part of that agreement was the marriage between King Henry V and the daughter of the King of France, Katherine of Valois. An analysis of the both King Henry’s and Katherine’s relationship reveals that both had conflicting perspectives of one another, which resulted as a marriage in political unions of two powerful nations rather than a union of two lovers.
Henry V is not a simple one as it has many aspects. By looking into
Henry V, the eldest son of Henry IV and Mary Bohun, was born in 1387.
King Henry VIII was one of the most powerful rulers of the fifteenth century, who had a very captivating life many people are not aware of. Most people know Henry VIII as a Berserk king with too many wives, but there is more to Henry VIII than that. Few people know about his life and what he truly contributed to our world. Henry VIII was an almighty leader of England who won’t soon be forgotten. Henry VIII was born in Greenwich, England on June 28, 1491.
...in themes similar to those found in the two Henry IV plays, such as usurpation, rebellion, and the issue of lineage of royal right. But Richard II and King Henry V are decidedly more serious in tone, and in comparing them to I Henry IV and II Henry IV, the argument can be made that it is these two latter plays which resound with greater realism with the broader spectrum of life which they present. Shakespeare carefully balances comedy and drama in I Henry IV and II Henry IV, and in doing so the bard gives us what are perhaps the most memorable characters in all of English literature.
... version of Henry's court and Henry's camp, the dramatic effect constituted, in its way, a reasonably accurate depiction of Henry's achievement in England." (Pilkington 1-2) I believe that Shakespeare's Henry V contains more charm and less fanaticism than the true Henry V. Shakespeare has created a fairly accurate depiction of life in this time period, altering only what he saw fit for his own lifetime.
Henry V, like most characters created by Shakespeare, is very complex, and cannot by defined in black and white or as good or bad. However, he is the sum of his actions, and his actions and decisions during the campaign during the campaign in France lead him to be classified as a war criminal. A politician who works for his own good and through that, the good of his country, Henry’s decisions are often cold and calculated, designed to manipulate those around him.
Shakespeare, William. "Henry V." The Norton Shakespeare: Histories. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katherine Eisaman Maus. London: Norton, 1997. 726-795.
Henry II also controlled a lot of France at this time. William the Conqueror had been his great-grandfather and he had inherited his French territories as a result of this. When Henry was in France sorting out problems there, he left Becket in charge of England - such was his trust in him. Becket became Henry’s chancellor - the most important position in England after the king.
Henry IV is a play that concerns itself with political power and kingship in English history. References to kingship are prevalent throughout the play, especially in the depiction of the characters. Although most of the characters in this play could teach us about kingship, I would like to focus my attention to Prince Henry. I think that this character helps us to best understand what kingship meant at this particular time in history.