Literature Analysis #1 Henry IV

1. Exposition: The play is set in England in the early fifteenth century. The political situation in England is tense: King Henry IV has died, and his son, the young King Henry V, has just assumed the throne. The constant fighting among the country has left the country in disarray and unhappy. Furthermore, in order to gain the respect of the English people and the court, Henry must live down his wild adolescent past, when he used to consort with thieves and drunkards at the Boar’s Head Tavern on the seedy side of London. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely, two powerful English churchmen converse on how to get the king attention away from passing a bill that would give the king the ability to seize lands and money from the church. They notice how Henry considers lying claim to certain parts of France, based on his distant roots in the French royal family and they decide to promise to fund this war to get Henry’s mind off of the bill. 

Rising Action: The next day a meeting is held with the French and Henry’s claims to France are explained by Canterbury. When the young prince, or Dauphin, of France hears this he tells Henry an insulting response to these claims, Henry decides to invade France. Supported by the English noblemen and clergy, Henry gathers his troops for war. The preparations are made for war but three individuals are found to be corrupt and hired to kill the Henry before his departure to France for war one of the being a close friend of his from his youth known as Lord Scrope of masham. The 3 conspirators are found out and sentenced to death by Henry after he found irrefutable evidence of their betrayal. The English sail for France, where they fight their way across the country. Against incredible odds, they continue to win after conquering the town of Harfleur, where Henry gives an impassioned speech to motivate his soldiers to victory. As the English advance, Nim and Bardolph two of more of henrys friends are caught looting and are hung at his command even though he cares for them he puts the orders of the crown first.

Climax: The end of the war comes at the famous Battle of Agincourt, at which the English are outnumbered by the French five to one. The night before the battle, King Henry disguises himself as a common soldier and talks to many of the soldiers in his camp, learning who they are and what they think of the great battle in which they have been swept up. When he is by himself, he laments his ever-present responsibilities as king. In the morning, he prays to God and gives a powerful, inspiring speech to his soldiers.

Falling action: Miraculously, the English win the battle, and the proud French must surrender at last. Sometime later, peace negotiations are finally worked out: Henry will marry Catherine, the daughter of the French king. Henry’s son will be the king of France, and the marriage will unite the two kingdoms.

Purpose: The purpose was to expose what must be done in the pursuits of becoming a great king but in becoming a great king, Henry is forced to act in a way that, were he a common man it would be seen as immoral or even unforgivable.

2. The main theme seen has to be the Ruthlessness of the Good King as the figure of its heroic yet ruthless protagonist; Henry V’s main concern is the nature of leadership and its relationship to morality. The play proposes that the qualities that define a good ruler are not necessarily the same qualities that define a good person. Henry is an extremely good leader: he is intelligent, focused, and inspiring to his men. The process of becoming a great king, Henry is forced to act in a way that, were he a common man, might seem immoral and even unforgivable. In order to strengthen the stability of his throne, Henry betrays friends such as Falstaff, and he puts other friends to death in order to uphold the law. Henry’s cruel punishment of Bardolph is less understandable, as is his willingness to threaten the gruesome murder of the children of Harfleur in order to persuade the governor to surrender. Perhaps, then, the very nature of power is morally ambiguous, which would account for the implicit critique of Henry’s actions that many contemporary readers find in the play.

3. The tone of the play is intensely serious besides a few comical scenes through the chorus. The main examples of this are “That shall fly from them—for many a thousand widows, Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands, Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down”, “we are marked to die, we are enough, To do our country loss; and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honor”, and finally “That they lost France and made his England bleed: Which oft our stage hath shown; and, for their sake, In your fair minds let this acceptance take”.

4. (1. Foreshadowing: “That shall fly with them: for many a thousand widows, Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands; Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down” Act 1 scene 2

(2. Symbols: “Tennis-balls, my liege.” Representing the kings youth and meant as an insult by Dauphin. Act 1 Scene 2

(3. Anecdotes: “Bardolph stole a lute-case, bore it twelve leagues, and sold it for three half pence. Nym and Bardolph are sworn brothers in filching, and in Calais they stole a fire-shovel” Act 3 Scene 2

(4. Simile: “Fathers that, like so many Alexanders, Have in these parts from morn till even fought” Act 3 Scene 1

(5. Metaphor: “A fearful battle rendered you in music” Act 1 scene 1

(6. Ethos: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother"(Lines 60-62)

(7. Motifs: “Lend me thy cloak, Sir Thomas. Brothers both, Commend me to the princes in our camp; Do my good morrow to them, and anon, Desire them an to my pavilion.” Act 4 scene 1

(8. Imagery: “Then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage” Act 3 scene 1

(9. Irony: “That's mercy, but too much security: Let him be punish'd, sovereign, lest example, Breed, by his sufferance, more of such a kind” Scene 1 Act 2

(10. Repetition: “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more” Scene 3 Act 1

Characterization

1. Direct Characterization: (1. “O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend, The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself”

(.2 “The state of man in divers functions, Setting endeavour in continual motion; To which is fixed, as an aim or butt, Obedience: for so work the honey-bees, Creatures that by a rule in nature teach.”

Indirect Characterization: (1. “His present and your pains we thank you for: When we have march'd our rackets to these balls, We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set, Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.”

(2. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother"

The author uses the direct approach as most authors do mainly tell of their protagonist then leads further into the actuality of the claim built by the direct in which the Indirect then proves everything known to be in fact true with actions as evidence to support the claim. The character Henry seemed strong but had little evidence to back up his claim until he was insulted with tennis balls to symbolize his youth and made he react with an utterly powerful speech of retaliation.

2. No the authors diction is relatively the same with the characters of the play other than when the diction changes for the chorus’s introduction of the current scene presented at each change but that seems to be the only apparent change of diction throughout the novel.

3. Round, Flat, Static and Dynamic are literary terms, not actual descriptions of people. Many appear to confuse the literary idea that Shakespeare crafted Henry as a round but other than this confusion he can be considered to be a round character in his complexity throughout the story with his decisions and how we the reader is meant to perceive him. The character is also quite dynamic because of his constant form of action provided as retaliation to insult and takes the motivation of his people as a king as an utterly high marked job.

4. The person known as Henry the 5^th seemed to me very real as if he actually existed at a time or a fraction of him anyways. The main reasons for this is his phenomenally strong speeches to motivate his troops such as “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother” that built an emotional connection with henry or “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more” building the motivation of all who stay and listen. Henry isn’t just built up by his speeches it’s also his reactions to outside sources that make you believe he’s an actual person because who wouldn’t respond as he did especially a king.