Henry V stumbles past Henry’s rather interesting childhood and enters into the main plot of his life very quickly, leaving much to be told of the events omitted by Shakespeare. Henry was most likely brought up by his uncle Henry Beaufort. Henry was a very accomplished individual from a young age, and leaving out details from his childhood is counterproductive to the building of his character which the desires. Henry was a soldier beginning in his teenage years. At a mere fourteen years he was a member of the Welsh forces who fought against Owen Glendower, who was leading a rebellion against Henry’s father, Henry IV (Owen) . After only two years of service he commanded his father’s forces in the battle of Shrewsbury, in which he was wounded

Henry’s legacy is one of strong leadership, military decisiveness and humility. Henry was a brilliant leader, strong enough to execute even his close friends if they became enemies. He was also cunning and patient in his wars, and was a diplomat when he needed to be. He was a well-doing leader as is shown in his reburial of Richard II, and his kind-spirited approach to minor troubles during the movie.

During the end of the battle scenes at Agincourt the surviving English who return to their encampment are shown finding the murdered bodies of all of their squires. To kill young boys, they say, is expressly forbidden by the rules of combat (Henry V) . This act, which is not recorded anywhere, was added for dramatic effect to establish the French as a vile enemy of the English.

In the night before the battle of Agincourt Henry is shown wearing a cloak over his face and mixing with the common soldiers. This fictitious act is used to show how much most of the people loved Henry. When asked about his leader the first man Henry meets says he loves him, and that he would kiss his dirty boot. When he meets another three they doubt Henry’s ability to pull off a victory with such grim odds, which obviously saddens Henry. The scene is also used to expose another doing of Henry’s, which was very significant: the re-interring of king Richard II. Historically, Henry’s father had usurped his throne from Richard II, and Richard had the opportunity to use Henry as a bargaining chip in the squabble for the throne. Richard refused to ransom Henry, and so Henry reburied the murdered king during a giant ceremony (Shakespearedc) . This act showed Henry’s sense of loyalty and right. In the movie Henry makes mention of the reburial and ceremony during a short monologue before dawn.

Some topics in this essay:
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