Henry V coursework ~ War criminal or Hero? Essay

enthalpy V is know as an ideal tycoon and Shakespeargon presents him as a great contendrior. The writer manoeuvres this by reservation him sustain inspirational lead qualities as well as world able to relate to ordinary pot. atomic number 1 support offs his responsibilities real(prenominal) naughtily and is rattling charming and just. The faggot is deeply religious, however, he nates be ruthless. Over solely enthalpy is regarded as a national hero.Firstly, enthalpy has a range of reasons why he decl argons contend on France. I take the chief(prenominal) reason is to follow his preceptors advice and unite the solid ground. An guinea pig of this is on his deathbed and he says busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels, this gives the arena needs union and to do this he should start a state of struggle with a foreign coun puree.The next reason is to receive up to his ancestors and be glorified like them. This is shown by Canterbury when he states, Invoke his warriorlike spirit, your great uncles, Edward the black prince and Look mas powerfulness to your mighty ancestors. This shows he has to live up to his ancestors and be as beneficial as them.Thirdly, henry feels he has a absolute deed for the passel. For instance, he feels he has a claim because of his great grandmother and goes to Canterbury to denudation turn up. He strikes Canterbury if he deserves it, when he says coverly and retigiously unfold, why the salic law . or should or should non bar us in our claim/ atomic number 1 feels he has the castigate hardly must(prenominal) be utterly accepted(a) non to advance a false claim. He doesnt pauperization manpowers lives on his conscience. past a nonher reason is community attend him to. An illustration of this is when Exeter says, your brothers queers and monarchs of the earth do every death(predicate) expect that you should rouse yourself. As a king he is expected to accede charge of his country and claim what could be a great venture. overly, the perform offers to pay. For deterrent example, when Canterbury states, In aid where of we of the spirituality, pull up stakes raise your stateliness such a mighty sum, as neer did the clergy at one clip. The church feel they should admirer pay and offer, so hydrogen doesnt pretend to pay and so going to war wouldnt cost him anything.Fin eachy, the Dauphin insults him by send him a chest of tennis b on the wholes. The king has already decided to go to war except this just makes him more determined. total heats voice is calm and saturnine when he says, we are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us. As he says this, it take a craps louder and louder, working into a crescendo. He similarly makes a speech, where he is talking or so war like a tennis match, using metaphors. He also uses a fix of repetition at this bear down to emphasise what he is saying. This just makes heat content even angrier persuading him to go to w ar.So overall henry has very strong reasons to go to war with France.However, sooner going to war, henry seeked advice for the Salic law. This indicates he takes his responsibilities very seriously. atomic number 1 seeks advice, as he doesnt want to go to war with come forward good reason. The king shows this when he is talking to Canterbury as he says, for never two such kingdoms did contend with out much fall of blood, whose guiltless drops. He tells Canterbury to be careful because he doesnt want an illegal war. henry takes this so seriously as he doesnt want his soldiers to lose their lives unnecessarily and doesnt want their lives on his conscience.Prior to that, heat content also leaves part of his forces in England to guard against an invasion from Scotland. This is illustrated when the king goes we must non sole(prenominal) arm tinvade the french against the Scots who get out make road upon us with all advantages. This shows that heat content is taking all prec autions to cling to his country from all aspects.Another example of heat content taking his responsibilities seriously is when he executes his three geniuss Cambridge, Scroop, Gray and an old friend Bardolf. hydrogen executes Bardolf as an example to his hands and to the french. It shows what type of king they heap expect. heat content executes Cambridge, Scroop and Gray as they were not besides plotting to kill total heat entirely tried to ruin everyone in England. This shows Henry isnt afraid to take difficult decisions as they were his friends nevertheless penalise them for his country. Henry takes his responsibilities seriously for his country.Thirdly, in the scripts of Henry V it shows Henry as a religious man, which leads me to be deceitfulnessve he isnt a war savage.To show that Henry is religious, Shakespeare uses constant references to matinee idol in his speeches throughout the play. Also Henry says to the French ambassador, who was sent to England with a n insulting induct of tennis balls, that we are no despot notwithstanding Christian king. This shows he is religious in his own eyes.In addition to this, Henry asks two priests, Canterbury and Ely to apologize the salic law, which allows people to inherit the throne provided through hands and not wowork force but Henry wants to inherit the French throne through his great grandmother which the French claim cannot be fage. Henry asks Canterbury and Ely for advice and asks them the right way and religiously, whether he can claim the French throne or not. more importantly he has to make sure he does not want his soldiers lives on his conscience.Further more, the night before Agincourt, Henry prays to graven image. He feels he has to apologise for his brings execration of murdering Richard II and thinks divinity may take blame on his soldiers and prays he doesnt. He asks paragon to reflection later him and his mens lives and not turn against them at engagement.Later on, after the involvement of Agincourt, Henry thanks beau ideal by saying praised it be God and not our talent for it. This shows he feels that without God they wouldnt have won the battle. That their strength couldnt have assumee it without help. Henry dedicates the victory to God.Next reason is that Henry is a inspirational leader. This is revealed by the countrys re playaction to war. For instance when describing the scene, let out states now all the youth of England are on fire. This illustrates the country is uniting which was the advice Henry was given by his father on his deathbed.It is also shown in Henrys speeches. In the speech, Harfleur, Henry gives the men something to fight for as he talks to them as though they are all tint and do them remember there fathers to fight as good as them. The king tells them they get out all become role models for people who havent got courage. Henry is expressing his say-so in them. Henry uses similes like greyhounds are hunting the enemies, which is what the soldiers are doing to the French. Henry right at the end shouts a battle cry, which inspires the men even more. Overall Henry was trying to make them feel good about themselves and not like crowing war warriors.In the speech, Agincourt, Henry uses the identical techniques in the Harfleur speech. Henry uses a parking lot display of confidence to boost their courage. Henry tells his soldiers that they will get a lot of glory and that they will be remembered. He tells them they are all equal and that they will all bond together. Henry in his speech is not forcing them to do anything they dont want. Henry tells them they are very special. Henry works the speech into a crescendo, getting louder and louder, do the men get more positive as it goes on. This does the same effect as the Harfleur speeches making the men want to fight.Also, Henry leads by example. This shown in the Agincourt speech and the night before, as when the king was in disguise he said, I myself heard the king say he would not be ransomed. Also the king tells the Herald just before the battle to leave them alone as he would not be ransomed.As well as that, Henry shares hardships of his men as he makes them feel all equal. Henry feels and acts just like them, common humanity. This is shown in the speeches and the night before Agincourt, where he says I think the king is but a man as I am. Henry fights with his men and doesnt sit back and watch. He feels he should go to battle aswel, making him and his men more equal.Also Henry is very fair and just, this is shown as the king is amenable for the order and peace of his kingdom and Henry deals with this correctly, as he gives the country a stable and fair government. There are two examples of Henry upholding the law.The world-class is shown in the execution of Bardolph as Henry is operating(a) martial law, no trial. He executes Bardolph as he robbed a French church and he wants to set an example to his soldiers and to the French. This is to show what anatomy of king he can be to the French citizens.The second example is the execution of Cambridge, Scroop and Gray. This is where three friends of Henry try to endanger him and the whole country, They get executed because they could ruin the whole country, so the act is not of vengeance and he is not using the law as his private means of revenge. The three traitors beg for mercy but the king ignores this, as he cannot forgive someone for doing a criminal offense as everyone may start doing it. both(prenominal) of these decisions are very difficult for Henry to make as they are his friends but he takes his responsibilities and the law very seriously. This shows he is fair in giving equal treatment to everyone.All that I have mentioned above are showing Henry in a positive gentle and are good characteristics for an ideal king who takes his responsibilities seriously. However, the other side to Henry, the ruthlessness, doesnt show him as an inspi rational king. Henry does certain things in the play, which would be thought of as arguable instantly.Henry is very ruthless. For example, when Henry sets the trap for the three traitors Cambridge, Scroop and Gray. He plays with them making them think they are getting their commissions for the army but instead they are being given death warrants. This shows dramatic badinage as the only three people it mainly concerns doesnt know whats going on. Henry uses ironic oral communication throughout the scene like kind and gentle knight. The scene is very ambiguous as he is making them believe that he doesnt queer them as they are close friends but rattling Henry is saying he is going to sort out the traitors, fundamentally they think they are safe but they are not.There are a lot of veiled threats given by the king but are mazed by Cambridge, Scroop and Gray. The three traitors use a lot of hypocrisy as they ship their loyalty which is cognise by us, doesnt exist. Cambridge, Scr oop and Gray make it worse for themselves as they say that Henry should punish a man for a little crime, as everyone will do it otherwise. So this shows for a big crime like cheating he cannot be merciful. They are reprobate themselves. In the end of the scene they ask for mercy, which the king ignores. Henry describes them as position monsters. Although this isnt an act of private vengeance, as they put the whole country at danger and Henry is looking out for the country.Also Henry threatens the people of Harfleur. This is psychological warfare, as he doesnt carry out the threats. Henry is very workmanship in this scene as he puts the destruction of Harfleur on its people. This is done by Henry describing what he will do if they dont surrender, first of all he threatens to set the town on fire, this is shown when he says Till in her ashes she lie buried. Henry also says hell rape all the girls, illustrating this is Defile the locks of your incisive shrieking daughters and he says he will smash in the old mens heads, shown when he says Your fathers heads dashed to the walls.The last thing Henry said he will do is kill the children with spikes, Your unclothed infants spitted upon pikes. If the threats that Henry has described really did take place he would be known as a war criminal but Harfleur surrendered before anything could happen so Henry is known as a hero to France and his men not as a war criminal. Henry does this to make France see what kind of king he is as he was told by the Duke of Exeter enforce mercy to them all, so the French dont think he is a bad king. All Henry is basically doing is working on their imagination. This is not controversial to Henrys contemporaries as his first responsibilities are to his own soldiers.Another controversial thing Henry has done is the kill of all the French prisoners, which would have been classed as a war crime today but not in Henrys time. Henry loses his temper and does this out of revenge but I feel this is justified because the French went against the law and killed all the young boys who would of only been armed with a pen knife.This was ill-use and the French deserved what they got. It was also a very responsible thing to do as there are not enough soldiers to guard the prisoners and to go into battle as the English are subdued out numbered five to one, so really it is an important decision to make. There is no criticism from Henrys own soldiers as this is shown when Gower says This king most worthily hath . Oh, tis a sheik king They think Henry has not really pull a crime as the French started it and he was only retaliating. Although I considered the facts about Henry, I dont feel he committed a crime.Hence I think Henry is not a war criminal but hero as he only does controversial things to help his country and he takes his responsibilities seriously.