Essay on "Henry V"

Essay 3 pages (1009 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Henry V

Shakespeare's play, Henry V, is regarded as one of the most important portrayals of King Henry V, one of England's most promiment national heroes. Apart from its representation of the king, the play presents not only Shakespeare's take on the historical persona of the king, but also his vision on issues such as patriotism, war, and the traits of the ideal rules. It is particularly interesting to see the ways in which Shakespeare manages to convey his literary message in the final lines of act V, as well as the epilogue of the play. This paper argues the epilogue of the play is very significant as far as the very purpose of Shakespeare's play; in this sense, the final act along with the epilogue remind the audience that Henry and Catherine's son did not achieve what they had hoped by uniting England and France.

Henry V is presented as the ideal monarch, a man of integrity and bravery; however, in a historical sense, he was not what historians would call an influential king. He wants to change the course of history but is largely unsuccessful because history ends up controlling and using him. From this point-of-view, the Chorus which enters in the epilogue emphasizes the idea that although he is presented as a great monarch in the play, Henry V did not exert a great deal of influence on English history. The epilogue is very important from this particular perspective as it illuminates the difference between how the King is illustrated in Shakespeare's play, and historical reality. Furthermore, the audience can understand the discrepancies between the role of a character in a brief period in English history, and his contribution to history as a whole.

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