Week 10: Henry V (Kenneth Branagh 1989)



Henry V poster & movie trailer link



The film at first glorifies war, then shows the viciousness and inhumanities of it.

Courage:

Canby (1989) says that the film is ‘splendid propaganda’, and King Henry V, although crowned at a young age, seemed to be the perfect English king, and one the country could be proud of. Seizing a battle with France to assert his hereditary claim, he ambitiously takes the opportunity to create for himself an image of a decisive, courageous and inspiring leader, triumphantly leading his army to victory in the battle at Agincourt even while foiling internal plots against him, and with time to woo the fair princess Katherine. All the while however, remaining human to the men around him and the audience: after victory on the battlefield he turns, bemused, to the French herald and asks which side has carried the day. He is dismayed at the numbers of the French dead, and shows mercy to the French even after they had murdered all the young squires.

The beauty of recreating Shakespeare on film is that there is no need for apologies to the audience for not being able to successfully portray a battlefield on stage. In the movie, the French battlefield’s skies are gray, the atmosphere is chill and rainy, and the ground is messy and muddy. This portrayal promotes a touching impact to the power of courage and Henry V’s inspiring speeches to his men in times of need.

·         Before the battle: ‘In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility: but when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage.’ Act 3, Scene 1.

·         After the battle: ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.’ Act 4, Scene 3

Leadership leads to isolation:

Shakespeare’s portrayal of King Henry V’s character and actions suggests that having the power that the position of King comes with blurs the established lines between good and evil, right and wrong.

The story supports that to be a good ruler a King has a duty to make hard decisions. To be a great ruler, a King has a duty to act in ways that, to an ordinary person, may seem puzzling (such as betraying friends and putting other friends to death), all in the name of political necessity and strengthening the stability of the throne. His duty is to the security and strength of his whole realm. This duty causes the King to be a separate entity from all other people, and this leads to the King’s isolation, highlighted in the movie by the tight relationships between the people around him.

Discussion Question: 'Henry V is a play that celebrates war and masculinity.' Discuss. I think Henry V is a play that celebrates war. It is through declaring war that Henry creates a new image for himself, one of a courageous leader, and asserts himself as the true King of France through a hereditary claim. It is through war that England’s pride is regained after being mocked by France, through their victorious battle which leads to control of France. Also it is war that inspires the men to come together and die together for a common cause, evident in Henry’s Agincourt speech. ‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.’ Act 4, Scene 3. This speech brings to the fore Henry’s aspirations as king, as Rayment (2005) discusses, to be a leader of men and not just a tyrant troubled only with his own personal afflictions.

As there are few women within the script (with one female character’s lines being mostly in French), there is a masculine feel to the play, concentrating on the then manly honour of going to war, and the relationships between the men that surround the King. War and the waging of it were looked upon as masculine by the Elizabethan culture, with compromise and diplomacy considered a feminine trait. Also with Henry’s conquering of France, he also woos and conquers her Princess Katherine. Katherine, asking how she could ever love the enemy of France, is persuaded by Henry’s response, ‘No; it is not possible you should love the enemy of France, Kate: but, in loving me, you should love the friend of France; for I love France so well that I will not part with a village of it; I will have it all mine: and, Kate, when France is mine and I am yours, then yours is France and you are mine.’ Act 5, Scene 2.