Nicholas Carpenter

British Literature – Henry V Short Assignment, 14 Feb

Help Received: Shapiro Handout; Henry V

Henry V was apparently a new take on an old play. Several people and circumstances influenced Shakespeare in the writing of this play. As the handout notes, Lancelot Andrewes’s sermon and the war in Ireland affected how Shakespeare shaped the play. Henry V connects to Andrewes’s sermon in the theological righteousness of their respective wars as well as the need to purge sin from their ranks (Shapiro 83). In 1599, there was a rebellion in Ireland, and the Church supported the English invasion. In Henry V, characters representing the Church give their support to King Henry in his invasion of France. There were even similarities in the wording of speeches in from Andrewes and Henry V (Shapiro 82).

Henry V was also a significant change from earlier plays about Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt. An earlier play had been more like a comedy, while Shakespeare’s is much more serious and in depth (Shapiro 87). One factor which I found interesting was the relationship between the different kingdoms and regions. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and France all had stereotypes which Shakespeare was interested in portraying. In the play, several characters have accents written into the dialogue and make culturally-specific comments (Shapiro 96).

Works Cited

Shapiro, James. A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. HarperCollins Publishers. New York, NY, 2005.