- Select one of Henry’s speeches that you think is particularly effective, and analyze one or more of the elements that make it so successful. Analyze the text itself, not a performance. In your analysis, you could consider his audience as you explore one or more of his methods of accomplishing his purpose.
One of the most effective speeches that Henry delivers is the response given to the French messenger sent by the Dauphin, with a crate of tennis balls. Henry’s goal is to prove to his audience, all the major representatives of the British kingdom and the French ambassador, that he had become a strong, wise, scholarly, humble and religious king and not remained frivolous and petty like he once was. He wants to look impressive and portray to everyone that he has transformed into a great king. The members present at the court are most of his English nobility, his uncle Exeter, the Earl of Westmoreland, the Bishop of Canterbury and the Dauphin, with the eyes and ears of his messengers. Henry has recently come on the throne. His followers in court and military may still doubt his skills as a young and unexperienced king. Henry’s actual intention from a previous play was to seem wild, just so he could look more impressive once transformed.
A gift to a foreign ruler is considered to be a sign of respect. But the tennis balls are worthless and are considered to be a major insult to Henry. They suggest that he should return to playing tennis, instead of pretending to be a real king. This gest is even more insulting, because it does not only refer to his inexperience, but also to his wilder days of gambling, drinking and fornication as a youth before he came to the throne. The Dauphin believes that tennis would be better suited for the English king, rather than matters of the State.
Figure 1 – Uncle Exeter examining the tennis balls gifted by the Dauphin.
Henry responds by expressing with rhetoric, from the very beginning of his speech, his divine right to rule and sovereignty. As he speaks, he radiates confidence and immense command. Henry takes the Dauphin’s joke seriously, but does not completely use it as the main cause for war. He tries to build a case and raise credibility for justifying his way to the French throne through God’s will, the Church’s complicated reasoning through the French misinterpretation of the Salic law and blaming the Dauphin for all the horrible things that will happen to France in the war.
The reader already knows that Henry has decided to go to war against France before the messengers walked in the room. He established that there is already a legitimate cause to invade because of the Salic law not being interpreted properly by the French. The Bishop of Canterbury mentioned that the law was only valid in the Germanic lands and that not even the French respected it in their own lands. It was only being used as an excuse to not let Henry make the claim. Henry states:
“ Now we are well resolved, and by God’s Help
And yours, the noble sinews of our power,
France being ours, we’ll bend it to our awe
Or break it all to pieces.. “(I.ii.223-226 ).
One can understand that there is full intention by Henry to invade. Furthermore, he had also established and agreed with his nobles about the invasion. They all agreed on having three quarters of the army stay home and protect England against the Scots, and lead the remaining quarter into France. But he still gives the Dauphin a chance to answer his claim in a peaceful manner, so he may seem merciful and wise.
His main strategy to this speech is to turn the Dauphin’s joke against him and use it as a metaphor. First, respectfully and cordially with great sarcasm, Henry gives his thanks to the messenger for the gift and his travel pains. Then he goes on to treat France like a tennis court, the war as the game and the Dauphin’s father’s crown as the winner’s prize.
“When we have matched our rackets to these balls,
We will in France, by God’s grace, play a set
Shall strike his father’s crown into the hazard” (I.ii.261–263)
Henry makes mention that he totally understands the Dauphins reference to his wilder days. But the French heir to the throne did not consider how useful those days were for Henry. He said that he never considered the throne of England before becoming king. But he will surely be a great king and shine in front of all the subjects once he will be seating on the throne of France. This implies that he will win the war and gain the throne of France. It is showing a bit of arrogance on Henry’s part.
“We never valued this poor seat of England;
And therefore, living hence, did give ourself
To barbarous license; as ‘tis ever common
That men are merriest when they are from home.
But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state,
Be like a king and show my sail of greatness
When I do rouse me in my throne of France..” (I.ii. 270-276)
He is very skillful at using the metaphor by insinuating that the Dauphin provoked the war. Henry does well by assigning the responsibility for his actions onto his enemies, rather than himself. Whatever Henry will do in France during the war and all the evils that will occur, is because it is the Dauphin’s fault and blame: “Tell the pleasant prince this mock of his/ hath turned his balls to gunstones” (I.ii.283). And that is will be on the Dauphin’s conscience the responsibility of the deaths that will occur:
“..And [the Dauphin’s] soul
shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance
That shall fly with them; for many a thousand widows
Shall this mock mock out of their dear husbands
Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down;
And some are yet ungotten and unborn
That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin’s scorn.” (i.ii.283-289).
Henry uses the word mock as a pun multiple times to simulate the hitting of a tennis ball with a racket. The first mock, at line 286, is a noun and the second mock is a verb. But it sounds like the striking of a tennis ball. This figure of speech is considered to be onomatopoeia. Furthermore, at line 287, mock mothers from their sons can be considered alliteration. Mock and mothers are two repetitions of initial sounds. Alliteration slows a speaker down, so the listener would have more time to think about what is being said. Another alliteration in the text is on line 289. The words ‘cause to curse the Dauphin’s scorn’ are also alliteration because of the similar sounds to the words that include the letter c. It slows the reader down in this case to fully imagine the destruction and imagery going on. Henry appeals to a lot of imagery. He describes a peaceful country that will be all destroyed. He tries to give vision to what will happen to France through his wasteful vengeance. Henry is portraying the French blood and grief. The gunstones and toppled castles give a vivid image of the destruction.
King Henry regains his regal composure at the end, by stating that it is God’s will. He has no other choice on how to act because he is God’s instrument. He makes himself appear humble by claiming that God gave him the throne. He states that his enemies are evil and that they are the cause for all the negative events that happen during the war. He initially appeared arrogant, but by stating that he is under God’s will, he is constructing a believable claim to the throne of France. The events such as the war and gaining the throne of France are meant to happen; he is the rightful heir fighting for a rightful cause:
“But this lies all within the will of God,
to whom I do appeal, and in who name,
Tell you the Dauphin, I am coming on
to venge me as I may, and to put forth
my rightful hand in a well-hallowed cause. “ (I.ii.290-294)
This speech can be considered a model for all the successive speeches that Henry will give to his men. All of their actions are backed by God himself. Before the battle, he would have his men praying in silence. He is never sure when God blesses him or not, but when a positive event happens, such as the unbelievable victory at Agincourt, he believes that God fought for him, his cause and his men. This could greatly hint that the present monarch is on the throne due to a divine right.
Works Cited:
Mabillard, Amanda. Henry V. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (10/6/2015) http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sources/henryvsources.html
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Henry V.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.
Shakespeare’s Reading. Miola Robert. Oxford University Press. 2000. Page 54
Images:
Figure 1 was taken from: http://teachers.bergencatholic.org/faculty/hornerj/literature3h/screen%20shots%20henry%20v/tennisballs.jpg