A Whole New Light

At last I see the light!
CC Lichtmagnet

Previously, I just wanted to show that Henry was a good guy, but I think there is value in understanding that he does have his faults, and looking back at the text helped me see everything again in a whole new light.  

Henry V Quotes

Act I

Chorus – “Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, / Assume the port of Mars” (I.chorus.5-     6)

Scene 1 – Allusion to Biblical “drink the bitter cup” 20.1-20.2

-          Canterbury’s description of Henry’s character (38-59)

-          Ely’s Response

Scene 2 – Henry’s caution to Canterbury (line 21ish)

-          “May I with right and conscience make this claim?” (ln 96)

-          Many fault Henry for going into France with barely a claim to the throne, but in this scene EVERYONE is telling him to fight and claim it.

-          Henry’s worried about leaving his country defenseless against the Scots. He’s the only one that cares about this. (ln 136-139)

 Act II

Scene 2 – Speech to the traitors (ln 79-144, 166-191) Guilts them then shows sympathy.

Act III

Chorus – “Suppose th' ambassador from the French comes back; / Tells Harry that the King doth offer him / Katherine his daughter, and with her, to dowry, / Some petty and unprofitable       dukedoms. / The offer likes not; and the nimble gunner” (ln 28-32)

Scene 1 – “Or close the wall up with our English dead!” (ln. 2)

-          That hath not noble lustre in your eyes. / I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, / slip (n.) 2 leash, lead, tether / Straining upon the start. The game's afoot! / Follow your spirit, and upon this charge / Cry ‘ God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’” (ln 30-34)

Scene 3 – Not exactly the nicest/happiest speech ever given, but I guess it gets the job done . . .

Scene 6 – Allows Bardolph to be hung (ln 104-111), but yet completely abhors the idea of            stealing from the French

-          “Go, therefore, tell thy master here I am; / My ransom is this frail and worthless trunk; / My army but a weak and sickly guard: / Yet, God before, tell him we will come on, /   Though France himself, and such another neighbour, / Stand in our way. There's for thy labour, Montjoy. / Go bid thy master well advise himself: / If we may pass, we will; if we be hindered, / We shall your tawny ground with your red blood / Discolour: and so, Montjoy, fare you well. / The sum of all our answer is but this: / We would not seek a battle as we are, / Nor, as we are, we say we will not shun it. / So tell your master. (ln 151-164) This shows courage and strength, but even he acknowledges that his army is significantly reduced by illness and yet, he still asserts that he will fight. And they would not seek a battle as they are?

-          ln. 167 “We are in God's hand, brother, not in theirs.”

Act IV

Scene 1 – Why does he have to disguise himself? Some would consider this cowardly. This          doesn’t exactly scream a great leader . . .

Scene 3 – St. Crispin’s Day Speech (ln 18.2-68)

Scene 7 – Anger at killing the boys (ln 53-64)

Act V

Scene 2 – Pretty much the whole scene because his conversation with Katharine shows a   significant part of his character.

Alright. This was super long. Hopefully, you scanned most of it, but my intention with writing all of this down was to pick out significant points in the play that revealed a lot about Henry’s character. Good and bad. I am not blind to the fact that Henry makes mistakes. In fact, pretty much the whole war was a mistake in the first place. However, Henry does have some shining moments. I want to augment the good and the bad to show that Henry’s value as a character comes from the fact that he is not purely bad or purely good, but that he is trying to be better and do the right thing. Too didactic? Probably, but I like a good moral.