Henry V constantly refuses to accept responsibility for his actions Essay Example

kings have over normal men is "general ceremony". He is not accepting the fact that it was he who led his army into war, and is now trying to lower the responsibilities that he has of being a king by declaring that the most important thing about kingship is ceremony.

Yet this may be a turning point for Henry because he is realising that he should be taking responsibility. The evidence for this is that in the next scene, his speech to the army is very different to the one he makes at Harfleur. Instead of trying to increase their morale as individuals, he is making the speech much more personal and instead of trying to talk to them with "And you, good yeomen"; he is saying "we happy few" instead. By including himself, he is making it easier for his army to not feel too distant from him. By doing this, he is maturing because he has realised that a king has the majority influence on people rather than doing less.

Conversely, his speech could also be taken from a different angle. It is almost as if he is resigned to the fact that they are going to lose the battle so he is making a last ditch effort to do whatever he can which will enhance his chances of winning the war. By making a speech that is personal, for example saying "we band of brothers" and by increasing the honour and rewards of winning, he is already ensuring that his army are geared up for a war. This shows that he is not trying hard enough to act like a king and to maximise

his chances of winning.

In Act 4, Scene 6, when the innocent English are found dead, Henry is rightly angry. In fact, he says "I was not angry since I came to France until this instant". At this time he is controlling his anger, unlike in the first act when he declares war just because he is angered by the Dauphin's present. This is evident because he does not instantly decide to kill all the French prisoners. If he wasn't in control, he would have instantly ordered the death of the prisoner's. Instead, he prioritises a final fight with the French and orders the death of prisoner's almost as an afterthought (he says "Besides").

However, his decision to be harsh on the French prisoner's may not seem too right but there is evidence to show that he does the right thing. Henry is very hurt by the fact that his innocent men have been killed. All of his actions so far have pointed to the fact that he wants the least amount of bloodshed. This is why Henry becomes angry. The French have not extended the courtesy of Henry by showing justice to their prisoner's. So Henry has no choice but to do the same thing that the French have done.

Moreover, this proves that he is a good king because he is not giving the impression of being cautious anymore. He is proving to the French that he is not scared of them and is bold enough to order the death of their prisoner's.

Once he is told that he has won the war, Henry instantly says "Prais�d be God, and not our strength for it" which may

suggest that he is not confident enough that his leadership won it for them in the end, instead it was because of God that they won. However, this could also show maturity because he is not getting carried away and he is showing that he has controlled himself as a king. Also, he has been given the happy news just minutes after he becomes so angry that he orders the death of the French prisoners.

When he is reading out how many are killed in the battle, he does not rejoice at the lack of English casualties. Even after Exeter tells him "'Tis wonderful", Henry stays modest and instead tells Exeter that the praise is "His (God's) only". This shows great kingship and maturity because he is restricting celebrations. This means that he has taken into consideration that the French are saddened by their big losses and does not want to taunt the French.

Ultimately, I think that by the end of the play, Henry has cleared most of his negative attributes and has replaced them with many more positive ones. From the beginning of the play Henry shows his potential a few times, for example when he is questioning the traitors, he uses a good mix of personal emotions and a tough punishment. He is able to win a war because he realises that a king must do much more than just do what the people underneath him want to happen, instead it is much more about using your own skills and showing good leadership.