Henry V 2

A detailed Summary of Henry V 2

In Henry V, Shakespeare uses Henry to show that a leader must

put duty and fairness above friendship. King Henry has been known as a wild

misfit, and someone who has no regard for the world around him, as it is shown

in Henry IV, Part I, and Henry IV, Part II. He is an irresponsible drunk and the people of England question his ability to control and reign the throne when hisfather dies.

He has a poor selection of friends, they all a drunks, thieves,dishonest

and cowardly. Henry's father, Henry IV, suggests that Hotspur, the son of his

enemy and rival to the throne, would be a better candidate for the throne than

Henry. Henry is appalled at this thought and now is out to kill Hotspur. He does so at the battle at Shewsbury, while saving his fathers life. Shakespeare doesthis as to set the tone for Henry's character and his ability to reign and be a good leader in Henry V.

Shakespeare continues this questing of Henrys ability in Henry IV,Part II. During this play, as well, Henry is still a rebellion and still is close with isdistasteful companions. Although Henry killed Hotspur and momentarily showedhis ability to lead and become a king, his father still doubts him. As his father nears death, Henry assures hi

Henry is now faced with a tough situation. He has decided to go to war , as his father told him to do, but he still has not completely finished the second element of his fathers advise. Shakespeare sets the mood that Henry is still questioning himself as king and his choice to abandon Falsaff, and he cannot help but feel responsible for Falstaff taking ill recently. His other old drinking pals obviously feel the same way. Hostess: " The King hath killed his heart" (49, act 1, scene 2, ll 86). The hostess, along with his former friends, Pistol, Corporal Nym, Lieutenant Bardolph all feel that when the king spoke bad of Falsaff, it killed him as Henry was his closet companion at the time. Nym replies with: ''The king hath run bad rumors on the knight. That's the even of it" ( 51, act 1, scene 2, ll 118-119). When Henry told Falsaff off, he might not of considered what would happen to Falsaff himself when he is dealing with the rejection. Shakespeare uses this attitude that Henry was forced to choose between his kingdom or his long time friends. He obviously choose the kingdom and it consequently killed a man. Even though his friends feel for the loss of Falstaff, their true side and personality comes out when pistol remarks: '' Let us condole the knight, for lambkins, we will live'' ( 51, act 1, scene 2, ll 123-124). Even at a time when a dear friend is at loss, Pistol is still thinking of none other than himself. Pistol and his other chums are portrayed by Shakespeare as misfits and are meant to be away from the king, so he can rule effectively.

incident proved to his court and advisors that he was ready to be a king and

forced to put duty and fairness above friendship.

respecting the young king as they had just witnessed his virtue and rightful

Later in the play, Henry is faced with the situation of dealing with traitors, who were suspiciously trying to kill the king. When Henry learns of this he is outraged, because one of the traitors is Scroop, Henry's cousin and a very close person to him. Henry deals with the situation responsibly by saying: '' Touching our person seek we no revenge, But we our kingdoms safety must so tender. Whose

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1466
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English