Whether the audience likes him or not, culturally relevant company included, King Henry, as portrayed by William Shakespeare, is a very smart man. His ease with language and ability to move a crowd with his rhetoric serves him many tactical and strategic purposes. By rallying his troops with language, with motivation and a sense of unity, he plays on several artistic proofs to his audience and constructs such a persuasive speech that his goal is accomplished. Being able to wield language in such a way that it can be used as a weapon is vital in a position such as King Henry’s. His speech upon invading France is a prime example of his incredible way with rhetoric.
He immediately draws his audience—his soldiers—in by addressing them as “dear friends” in the very first line (III.i.1). He furthers this sense of unity by connecting himself to his audience by simply saying “our English dead” (III.i.2). This is so significant because he takes ownership of the losses in war, which speak to his role as a military leader. But unifying himself with his troops in the most inglorious aspect of battle, he is sending a clear message to his soldiers that he is not a fair-weather commander. He continues to affirm his credibility by making a concession for the benefit of peace, and why it is preferable to the alternative. He rids himself, or attempts to, of the reputation of a war-mongering lunatic he may otherwise gain. His speech then deflects the blame of the battle he leads his men into, though they are the side laying siege, his metaphor, “the blast of war blows in our ears” paints this militaristic exigence in a light of that places the blame on France rather than himself and England (III.i.5). By making their attack a metaphorical response to a situation rather than an attack, he frees the men—even if only a little—of the internal guilt they could be feeling over the pointlessness of it all.
King Henry continues his speech, after introducing the situation at hand, by turning it into an ocean metaphor (III.i.10-14). This is likely to resonate with the men because they have just finished a journey on sea, and everything he says they can connect with and understand easily. Because they understand the metaphor, they are able to feel the need to complete the task at hand which his speech is so adamantly aiming for. A comparison to the struggles of sailing the ocean won’t make a difference to someone who has never been on a ship. Henry is catering to his audience, and consequently, still connecting with them because it is a shared experience.
After working up their emotions, he exalts their character. By encouraging them in such a way as, “On, on, you noble English,//whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof,” he gives his audience credibility of character, which contributes to an attitude among them that is more willing to listen to a leader (III.i.17-18). Following this appeal to namesake pride, he warns them bringing dishonor to their families, immediately spinning the situation around to ensure they do not lose the motivation and encouragement they’ve just gained. He spends the remainder of the speech making passionate claims on the men’s characters, ending in a statement that is likely to incite emotion because of its inherently charged nature.
Throughout the entire speech, King Henry tactically bounces from one rhetorical tool to the next, gaining their trust, making them angry, complimenting them, vaguely threatening them with hypotheticals, and so on. He knows how to manipulate his audience and work up the emotions he appeals to, for better or for worse.
