Analysis

  • Analysing Henry V

    In this video, actor Alex Hassle describes Henry as 'exceptionally intelligent' but with 'doubts and self-loathing' that make it hard for him to know if he’s doing the right thing. At the start of the play, people are still amazed about how much he has changed from the wild character he used to be, but one of the central debates around the play has always been whether or not Henry is truly a good leader. Henry makes huge efforts to convince his troops to fight but we also see him struggle with the responsibility of being a King and having power over people’s lives, making brutal choices such as executing a friend and killing all the French prisoners.

    One of the key questions for this character is:

    Is Henry V a good king and a strong leader?

    We’ve started to think below about some of the things that affect him and that suggest what kind of leader Henry V has become. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 1 Scene 1: Look at how Canterbury and Ely describe Henry in this first scene. What kind of man was he before he became King and what kind of man is he now? What reasons do they give for this change? What are their attitudes and can you trust their perspective? What kind of leader do they perceive him to be?
    • Act 2 Scene 2: Henry’s treatment of the three traitors, Scroop, Cambridge and Grey is particularly interesting. How has their treason affected him? What does this tell you about what Henry considers to be important? Do you think this action is a deliberate statement?
    • Act 4 Scene 1: Look at the journey Henry goes on in this scene. Why does he visit the camp and talk to the men in disguise? What does this reveal about Henry’s real thoughts and feelings? Pay particular attention to his soliloquy in this scene and how he describes the role of a King. How does he feel about this role?

    As you explore Henry’s language, you’ll find even more evidence to back up your case and find more arguments for why he does what he does.

    Point

    Henry has learned from the life he has led so far, making him a good ruler of the people.

    Evidence

    ‘For that I have laid by my majesty / And plodded like a man for working days, / But I will rise there with so full a glory / That I will dazzle all the eyes of France’ (Henry, 1:2)

    Explanation

    Henry acknowledges that he has lived a wild youth and ‘plodded like a man for working days’ among the common people but he claims that he is now ready to impress his enemies. Taken alongside the comments that his old friends make about him, Henry can be seen to have changed in the eyes of others and have taken on more responsibility now he has become King. His experiences suggest that he has an awareness of how his people live, including their struggles and attitudes, although he still seems surprised later in the play when he learns from Williams what the soldiers think of him as a King.

    Point

    Henry is under a lot of pressure to be a strong King and to live up to the successes of his ancestors.

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    Point

    Henry is able to motivate and encourage his troops effectively, making him an inspiring leader.

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  • Analysing Katherine

    In the prologue to Act 3, the Chorus tells us that the French King has offered Henry ‘Katherine his daughter, and with her, to dowry, / Some petty and unprofitable dukedoms’ as a peace deal. In Act 5, Henry tells us that she is top of his list of requests from France. Katherine is a valuable political prize in the play and, both as a woman and a royal princess, she must do what her father wishes. We get little opportunity to discover how Katherine feels about this. Therefore, it is important for any actor playing Katherine, and anyone writing about the character, to ask:

    Is Katherine more than just a political prize?

    We’ve started to think below about what we know about Katherine apart from her role as a princess. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 3 Scene 4: Look at how Katherine talks to Alice. How does she feel about the prospect of marrying an English King and what is her reaction to the idea? What does this tell you about her and why do you think Shakespeare includes this scene, creating an opportunity to see the princess in her own environment?
    • Act 5 Scene 2: Look at Katherine’s responses to Henry when he attempts to woo her. What kind of woman does she seem to be? What clues are there in Henry’s language that he might want more than just an arranged marriage with Katherine?
    • Act 5 Scene 2: Explore the exchange between Henry and Burgundy after the wooing section. What do we learn about how Katherine might be treated? How do you think Katherine will react to this?

    Point

    Katherine adds lightness and comedy to the play when she tries to learn English.

    Evidence

    ‘Excusez-moi, Alice, e ́coutez: de hand, de fingres, de nails, de arma, de bilbow.’ (Katherine, 1:5)

    Explanation

    In these lines Katherine is playing around with language and English words, providing a playful juxtapostition against Henry’s powerful and threatening speech to the Governor of Harfleur. Equally, Katherine is learning the English words for body parts, in a similar way to the way Williams lists the body parts of the dead soldiers in the same Act of the play. The subject matter could be used by Shakespeare to remind the audience of the wider context or even Katherine’s relationship to the conflict, but also reveals a playful and humorous character. Seeing her interact with another woman with whom she has a close relationship also reveals a more unguarded side to her, that is less obvious in later scenes where her role and duty take precedence.

    Point

    Katherine is observant and intelligent and knows much more than she says.

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    Point

    There is hope the marriage between her and Henry will be based on more than just politics.

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    In historical terms, Katherine went on to give birth to Henry V’s son Henry VI but through her second marriage to Owen Tudor, her descendants were also the beginnings of the Tudor dynasty, a dynasty of which Queen Elizabeth I was a part. When thinking about how Shakespeare presents these historical figures, it is worth looking at how and why they may have been important in his lifetime as well.

  • Analysing the Eastcheap Three

    The first scene between the Eastcheap three comes in Act 2, after a very political first Act set in Henry’s court. Pistol, Bardolph and Nym explode onto the stage, quarrelling and drawing swords, with Bardolph saying ‘By this sword, he that makes the first thrust, I’ll kill him. By this sword, I will.’ (Bardolph, 2:1). The three men are part of Henry’s wild youth and they represent a rougher, uneducated lower class who later serve as common soldiers. As the play progresses, they are revealed to be using the war to their own advantage, after being forced to fight through circumstance. Their motivations and how they are used throughout the play to help the audience understand the common people is crucial to these characters, so it’s important to ask:

    Are the Eastcheap three just entertaining rogues?

    We’ve started to think below about the most important things the Eastcheap three bring to the play, including entertainment and more serious messages. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 2 Scene 1: Take a look at the quarrel between Pistol and Nym and how Bardolph gets involved. Are there particular lines or moments that stand out as comical or threatening? What are your first impressions of these characters and are they painted as ‘rogues’?
    • Act 3 Scene 6: Pistol tries hard to save Bardolph’s life here by appealing to Fluellen. Look at how Fluellen and Henry respond in this scene. How do you feel about Bardolph’s crime? Do you have any pity for Bardolph or for Pistol? If so, how do you react to Henry and Fluellen in these moments and does it change your opinion of them?
    • Act 5 Scene 1: Examine the relationship between Fluellen and Pistol during the play and how it develops before this scene. Whose side are you on? Are you pleased for Fluellen? Did Pistol’s final lines of soliloquy change how you feel towards him? If the Eastcheap three represent the common people and ordinary soldiers, along with the Boy, what do their fates tell you?

    Point

    They are entertaining but they also remind the audience of the wild life Henry used to lead and the people he used to spend his time with, which makes his treatment of them later seem harsher.

    Evidence

    ‘The king’s a bawcock, and a heart of gold, A lad of life, an imp of fame, / Of parents good, of fist most valiant. / I kiss his dirty shoe and from heartstring / I love the lovely bully.’ (Pistol, 4:1)

    Explanation

    Pistol talks directly to Henry in these lines, while he is in disguise. He says fond and affectionate things about the young King but also calls him a ‘bully’ and an ‘imp of fame’ so he is not afraid to judge the young King when speaking to a stranger. The past relationship that Pistol has with Henry, along with Bardolph and Nym, allows him to make these observations on how the King has changed. While his explosive character and outrageous words can be entertaining, Pistol offers a different perspective on the King’s transformation to that of Ely and Canterbury in Act 1 Scene 1. In this particular scene Shakespeare also includes a discussion between Henry and Williams, a low-ranking soldier who does not have the same history as Pistol.

    Point

    They are funny and add colour to a serious play through their use of banter and language.

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    Point

    Their coarse behaviour and crimes affect other people, meaning that they cannot be seen purely as entertainment.

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    After looking at the Eastcheap three together it might be useful to separate them each out and explore their different journeys and how they change.

  • Analysing Fluellen

    We first meet Captain Fluellen when he’s forcing Pistol, Bardolph and Nym to fight in Act 3 Scene 2, shouting ‘Up to the breach, you dogs! Avaunt, you cullions!’ Throughout the play, he is a symbol of fierce and loyal bravery. Fluellen is also Welsh and, together with Captain Jamy who is Scottish and the Irish Captain Macmorris, he represents the variety of men who are fighting with Henry against the French. Fluellen loves sharing his knowledge about the history of warfare throughout the play, but one subject dominates most of his scenes – his own nationality. Understanding this is crucial to understanding him as a character and it’s vital to ask:

    Why is Fluellen’s nationality so important?

    We’ve started to think below about the effect of Fluellen’s nationality to the play. See if you can complete the grid to make four points that could answer this question. It doesn’t matter if you agree or not, as long as you can back it up! Looking at the following scenes might also help to collect evidence:

    • Act 3 Scene 2: Take a look at the conversation between Fluellen, Jamy and Macmorris. What are the main differences between the three Captains and how they speak? What particular qualities do their characters have?
    • Act 4 Scene 7: Examine the exchange between Fluellen and Henry in this scene. Why is it important for Fluellen to tell Henry that he knows he is Welsh? What might Henry’s response mean to Fluellen?
    • Act 5 Scene 1: Look at Fluellen’s treatment of Pistol in this scene. The eating of the leek could be very comical or violent and mean but what makes Fluellen behave like this? Why does Shakespeare put this scene in the play and at this point of the play in particular, when the fighting is meant to be over?

    Point

    Fluellen, together with Jamy and Macmorris, are an example different nationalities that usually quarrel amongst each other but have to work together in the war to fight a common enemy.

    Evidence

    ‘Being as good a man as yourself, both in the disciplines of war, and in the derivation of my birth, and in other particularities.’ (Fluellen, 3:2)

    Explanation

    The tension between Macmorris and Fluellen is clear in these lines, where Fluellen defends himself as a ‘good man’. This is in response to a defensive comment from Macmorris, who expected Fluellen to insult the Irish. Interactions like this would have reminded Shakespeare’s audiences of contemporary tensions in Ireland, such as Essex’s campaign, and also emphasise the divisions within Henry’s ranks and between the different nations fighting on his behalf. As a result of this the nationality of both Fluellen and the other characters are crucial.

    Point

    Fluellen creates a link between King Henry and the Welsh people.

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    Point

    Fluellen brings a sense of patriotism and a love of one’s country to the play.

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Teacher Notes

For each of the characters on this page we’ve asked some central questions. These are great questions to explore with students in mind maps, or as class debates.

The following activity will also help you explore the character of Henry even further with students.

King Henry and the Dauphin (2015)

This activity can be found on page 5 and takes approximately 30 minutes.