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Henry V and the Promise of ‘Hungry War’
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2022
This chapter focuses upon the ways in which Shakespeare’s play not only engages with historical accounts of Henry V, but the way in which it probes the status and function of violence in the consolidation of a dynasty and the political redemption of a kingdom. As this discussion unfolds, it also become apparent how the investment in violence may not only constitute a deliberate attempt to forge group affiliation, but may also provide markers for gendered identity, political engagement and spiritual allegiance. Shakespeare’s play clearly interrogates the stunted concept of Bolingbroke’s government which Henry V has inherited, questions whether we should in fact demonise those (like Falstaff) who have refused in the past to participate in the Lancastrian political project, and continues to query in a most urgent manner how violence may be legitimised in the public exercise of nation-building.
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