Crimes In Shakespeare's Henry V

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Henry V, like most characters created by Shakespeare, is very complex, and cannot by defined in black and white or as good or bad. However, he is the sum of his actions, and his actions and decisions during the campaign during the campaign in France lead him to be classified as a war criminal. A politician who works for his own good and through that, the good of his country, Henry’s decisions are often cold and calculated, designed to manipulate those around him. The list of crimes that can be committed in battle is vast, and the Geneva Convention separates the classification of offences into sections including crimes against peace and crimes during war, of which both were committed by Henry. The morality of his war comes into the questions …show more content…

On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, he disguises himself and walks amongst his men in order to gauge the sentiment amongst them. To Pistol, he insults ‘the King’, but to Williams and Bates, he praises ‘the King’ and justifies the war (4.1). Depending on the men’s pre-existing opinions, Henry changes his attitude to convince his men of the validity of the war as well as the range of his responsibility. When he speaks to Katharine to woo her, he becomes the perfect suitor, full of sweet words and clumsy enough to be charming as he attempts to speak French. He tells Katharine before this attempt that the language “…will surely hang upon [his] tongue like a newly-married wife upon her husband’s neck…”, but it is more likely that as the King of England Henry is fluent in French and is lying. In front of the nobility of his court, Henry is fully and completely a strong leader. This can be seen from the second scene of the play, where he calls the bishops into the throne room and asks him “May I with right and conscience make this claim [to France]?” (H5. 1.2. 96-97) He gets the bishops, who have their own motivations, to proclaim in front of the whole court that he does, in fact, have a solid claim to the French throne. The bishops’ lengthy and rambling explanations contrasted by Henry’s pinpoint questioning and conclusion highlight his assertive and commanding nature. He changes for each situation, sometimes drastically, becoming an

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