Henry V in the Movies
In the past few decades William Shakespeare’s writings have been increasingly studied and interpreted (Kermode 30). This means that there are many views and interpretations of Shakespeare’s written works today. One of the many works that has been popularly criticized, due to historical appeal, is Henry V. Several films, articles, books, and critical journals have been printed in attempt to capture the “true Henry’s character” behind Shakespeare’s scant guidance from the text. According to Shakespeare what exactly characterized Henry? Was Henry V a patriotic pageant to England after he received the crown from his late father (Levin 520)? Or was Henry simply a warmonger that concealed himself behind the crown (520)? From reading the play and watching the films, along with studying some other written opinions of the text, one possible conclusion could be that Henry V, in Shakespeare’s eyes, was neither of the two previous characters. It is plausible that instead Shakespeare was trying to display Henry’s youthfulness and how it affected his decisions and motivated him, and in consequence glorified him even more by humanizing his victory.Henry’s youthfulness and its affects on his decisions can be seen in a par
nights with sleep, had the forehand and vantage of a king… (Shakespeare IV.i) How yet resolves the governor of the town? This is the latest parle we will Thus, in Branagh’s film (whether intentional or not) Henry’s youthfulness can be proven as a motivation for Henry’s decisions. This point of view is backed up with substantial evidence from Shakespeare’s text. When examining this perspective of Henry it is easy to conclude that it humanizes him while at the same time leaving his glory unscathed. In viewing Henry as a youthful king hiding behind a disguise, rather than a bully and discrete warmonger, justifies his esteemed character in England. It seems more reasonable and realistic that Henry was full of boastful ambitions rather than a secret desire for war and pain for England. There is also irony in his victory. In viewing Henry in the light of a youth his victory was chanced mostly to serendipity rather than good judgment. His luck served him well in backing up his arrogant youthfulness. ticular film of Henry V, which was directed and starred by Kenneth Branagh in 1989. The film can be viewed as focusing on Henry as a superior and insurmountable being by any opposing force. However, was Branagh really trying to portray Henry as insurmountable to his enemies (France) or was he showing his audience that Henry had been raised to that level by the glorification of his fortunate decisions? The latter of the two possible interpretations can be proven by watching the film carefully in conjoint with reading the text. Even when Henry is hiding his youth under his cloak of power he shows signs that he imprudently makes decisions ba
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Approximate Word count = 1123
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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