Similarities Between Henry V And Saint Joan

Henry V and Saint Joan are well known plays both written by Shakespeare. Henry and Joan are both very influential people during their time period and in their respective plays about the Hundred Years War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453. In the play King Henry V, the plot targets the idea of being a leader in a powerful position, and shows how Henry inspires his soldiers to be fearless in the act of war. Contrastingly, in the play Saint Joan d’Arc a peasant girl from the countryside is convinced God has sent her messages and is attempting to steer her to help the French Dauphin to attain the elusive crown. Throughout the play, Joan is forced to prove her worthiness time and time again because of the fact she is a young peasant woman living during

In Joan’s case, she is fighting against her stereotypical gender role, whereas Henry is able to embrace his to the fullest. She is forced to fight to even be considered to be allowed to lead men into battle. Women during this time period were expected to fill their gender role by cleaning, cooking, and staying at home tending to their husbands. Joan blows this perception away by requesting access to an army. Because she is a young peasant girl, Joan is forced to excessively prove her worthiness to Captain Robert de Baudricourt, a military squire, something King Henry V does not have to consider doing. Joan’s evident struggle to be respected represents how much less appreciation is shown to women of this time period. In Scene 1 of the play Saint Joan, Saint Joan attempts to convince Robert to loan her an army by logically explaining, “Please do, squire. The horse will cost sixteen francs. It is a good deal of money: but I can save it on the armor...I am very hardy; and I do not need beautiful armor made to my measure like you wear. I shall not want many soldiers: the Dauphin will give me all I need to raise the siege of Orleans”, to which he replies “To raise the siege of Orleans!”, clearly demonstrating a lack of trust and respect. Although he does not treat her well Joan continues on by saying “Yes, squire:

Seeing that Joan is unable to prove if the messages she receives are truly from God, she resorts to the tactic of getting people to trust her good intentions as a moral woman. In Scene 2 of Saint Joan, Joan speaks to the Dauphin and attempts to communicate her position, “Gentle little Dauphin, I am sent to you to drive the English away from Orleans and from France, and to crown you king in the cathedral at Rheims, where all true kings of France are crowned”. By telling him this, Joan is slowly gaining his trust because he starts to realize she is willing to fight for exactly what he wants, and claims to have God on her side, which was of utmost importance throughout this time in history. Joan’s intended purpose is to prove to the Dauphin her voices do indeed descend from God himself, and not from The Devil, and the God wants what is best for him and France. Because Joan lacks any logic based in proven fact for her argument, she relies on gaining the trust of her superiors by appealing to their sense of entitlement when she mentions glory and status. In summary, Joan appeals to the Dauphin’s desire for greatness and in turn gains his trust through assuring him of her favorable