4 - A Curious Mirror of Christian Kings: The Brief Glorious Reign of King Henry V

Summary

A Commander of an Army in chiefe, if he be not Popular, shall not be beloved, nor feared as he ought to be by his Army; and consequently cannot performe that office with good successe. He must therefore be Industrious, Valiant, Affable, Liberall and Fortunate, that he may gain an opinion both of sufficiency, and of loving his Souldiers. This is Popularity, and breeds in the Souldiers both desire, and courage, to recommend themselves to his favour; and protects the severity of the Generall, in punishing (when need is) the Mutinous, or negligent Souldiers.

—Hobbes, Leviathan, chap. 30, para. 28

The following commentary treats Shakespeare's Henry V in terms of five general topics. First, its beginning with a pair of perplexed ecclesiarchs in a private conspiratorial conversation about the new King—a scene which contrasts so dramatically with the one they anticipate: a formal conclave of the King and his Court. Second, the conspiracy to kill the King, puzzling both as to the conspirators’ motivation and to the King's timely learning of it. Third, Henry's strategy whereby to make good his claim to be the rightful King of France. Fourth, assessing Henry as a man and as a king. Fifth, the Battle of Agincourt, with particular attention to the King's notorious order to kill the French prisoners.

I conclude the story of Henry, however, with an ‘Alternative Epilogue’ that is inspired by, but ranges beyond, the text of Shakespeare's play. It is the result of my accepting his tacit invitation to imagine what might have been.

The seemingly miraculous transformation of roguish Prince Hal into virtuous King Henry dominates the opening scene of a play that thereafter is dedicated primarily to depicting the splendid character of this warrior monarch and the glorious achievements of his reign. Since the idea of Henry's having contrived such a sensational metamorphosis is entirely Shakespeare's invention, we must assume that it has some special importance in the philosopher-poet's account, even though his Chorus silently passes over it to focus attention instead on another apparent miracle: the English victory at Agincourt, the first and most celebrated of the series of military successes Henry achieved in his attempt to impose his will upon France.