The Historical Accuracy of Henry V by William Shakespeare Essay

As per experts, Shakespeare's historical plays consists of ten works: King John, Richard II, Henry IV – Part I and Part II, Henry V, Henry VI – Part I, II and III, Richard III and Henry VIII. Though he did not write them in the above order, the sequence is chronological in that it covers the rein of seven English Kings spread over four centuries (twelfth to the sixteenth century).

Shakespeare’s plays were grouped into three categories: comedies, tragedies and histories. The histories were those plays based on the lives of English kings. Shakespeare was one of the first writers to write about English history. According to Garber, “before Shakespeare’s time there were few history plays such written in England--- England history was told in verse and prose chronicles (239)”. It’s considered that Richard II is one of the early “historical plays”. The play became so iconic that even Queen Elizabeth said that she was “Richard the second, know ye not that”. Richard II tells the story about a king’s downfall.

““ And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, From this day to the ending of the world ,But we in it shall be remember'd; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his

King Henry V, is one of the only successful monarchs in Shakespeare’s plays. He displays great strength and intelligence. King Henry V is capable of uniting all of his people in his St. Crispin’s Day speech as they prepare to go to battle. The troops were greatly outnumbered and believed they had no chance at winning. But King Henry makes them feel like they are part of something important, and by doing this he motivates them to fight their hardest.

Although labeled as a history, the strength of Shakespeare's Henry V lies not in the events that occur in the play, but in the delicate portrayal of the characters involved. Shakespeare's audience would have already known the story of Henry V's campaign on France and thus would have had no reason to watch a play that simply re-enacted past events. Therefore, the appeal of such a play, as well as the themes and the content, would have been dependent largely on the characters themselves.

Research shows that Shakespeare’s historical plays do not offer good sources for accurate rendering of historical events. The details of place of issues such as place, time, and personality are all subject to a great deal of artistic license just as most of modern Hollywood movies about the past. However, to some extent, Shakespeare did research his materials. Close analysis of his famous works and plays indicate that Henry IV draws upon a surprising range of disparate sources[CITATION Jam991 p 4 l 1033 ].

Another example of a historical issue portrayed in Shakespeare’s play is when Henry the fourth talks about how he came to power. He and his supporters usurped the throne from the

King Henry V, son of Henry IV, forged his legend in a little over nine years. He made England one of the strongest kingdoms in Europe and academic KB McFarlane even described him as “the greatest man who ever ruled England”. Even though Henry V was said to be brave, fair, likeable and a great warrior, he was also arrogant, ruthless, cruel on campaign and organised massacres. So, how did such a man come to be a national hero?

Henry V was recreated to perfection. Branagh used as much accuracy to the original as he could and he transformed it into an artistic cinematic presentation. While watching film, my eyes attracted to the sight of brown, purple, and a variety of other dark tones used during the battle sequence at Agincourt. When Henry V is introduced in the film, Branagh did a fantastic job addressing the importance of the king by the visuals used. For example, backlit and framed by huge palace doors was enough to catch the viewer’s attention and make them think, “That must be him!” It is clear that Henry V is a brave and stubborn King that never lets him or others down. Branagh wisely chose that type of King instead of a tall and handsome king because his main

William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a wonderful play about the history of Julius Caesar in forty-four BC. This play kindles emotions and thoughts. This is more of an modification of the reign of Caesar in Rome. The play is not historically accurate, but it does allow the viewers to delve into Roman history and to be able to grasp the Roman culture.

Throughout the play of Henry V, Henry displayed all the traits of an exemplary leader through his character, actions, confidence, and humbleness. During the play, Henry V continuously talks to the men as if they were his brothers. He did this because he wanted the men to feel like he was one of them. Henry V wanted to gain their trust.

There is no doubt that ‘’King Henry V’’ is a great play that has many life lessons one can use outside the classroom. I applaud it for its way of portraying leadership skills in a deep, thought provoking, fun way. ‘’King Henry V’’ shows how great leaders inspire their people to a great extent. King Henry V so happens to be a protagonist in the play and he is one of the characters used to portray great leadership skills and commitment.

Richard II, Henry VI, and Henry V histories written in the early 1590s. Shakespeare purposely

In Henry V, Shakespeare exemplifies the qualities of a good leader. Throughout the play, Henry has several moments of leading his people and making not-so-simple decisions. However, at times, Henry makes decisions that can only result in questions of his morality. It is through these moments, that Shakespeare illuminates the idea that being a good king does not inherently mean being a good person, that sometimes, a king must sacrifice parts of himself to adequately lead his people.

The earliest of Shakespeare’s plays was Henry V written in 1599. As a whole the play is mostly just a retelling of the battle of Agincourt in the year 1415, featuring the now very famous, “St. Crispin’s Day” speech. However Shakespeare manages to capture the intensity and pure chaos of war while also having a solid undertone about the morality of men and sending a