The play ends alluding to a wedding of great ceremony, "Prepare we for our marriage; on which day, My Lord of Burgundy, we’ll take your oath...", quickly followed by the Chorus' apologies for the play, "Thus far with rough and all-unable pen our bending author hath pursued the story", his praise for Henry, "Small time, but in that small most greatly lived this star of England." Then, after touching on Henry VI and making one last apology, the Chorus exits, the curtains are drawn, and the play ends. What does this say about Shakespeare's view of Henry V? The answer seems clear to me; through the Chorus, he emphasizes the achievements of Henry, "Fortune made his sword, By which the world’s best garden be achieved and of it left his son imperial lord." If he was still alive today, I believe Shakespeare would probably put to rest any ideas about a double meaning to "The Mirror of all Christian Kings". In my humble opinion, Shakespeare simply meant it in the first sense, seeing Henry as a reformed low-life who became a great man of God.
P.S. Sorry, but I won't be able to make it to co-op this coming Friday.
Nice job developing your ideas with exerpts from the play. You say the answer seems clear to me and then talk about the emphasiing of Henry's achievements, that is good. I assume you believe Shakespeare thought highly of Henry, but don't leave my assumption to chance. I could draw a couple of different conclusions, so be specific. You state that Henry reformed and became a great man of God. What action(s) where performed by Henry that led you to this conclusion? I like hearing your ideas, I haven't thought any of your posts were too long!!! We will miss you at coop! We will look forward to seeing you in 2 weeks!!!
ReplyDeleteReally really good! but ya you could have added a quote to back up what you thought about Henry.
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I think Henry was sometimes a great many of God. Sometimes he was more driven by winning the war against France.
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