Henry And Aristol's Qualities

Courage is defined as a “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and

withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”, according to the Merriam-Webster

dictionary. Being an essential virtue, it is necessary for all leaders and

distinguished men to possess. In Shakespeare’s Henry V, Henry is portrayed as a

flaunting but determined leader who will do anything to secure his win. However,

Pistol is shown to be lethargic and generally uninspired when the time for war

arrives. After reading the definition of courage in the eyes of Aristotle, a greatly

revered philosopher who lived during the mid to late 300s BC, both Henry and

Pistol’s qualities are reaffirmed from a wiser standpoint.

According to Aristotle, courage is “the virtue which

Moreover, in Act 2, Scene 2, King Henry

is once again showing his tenacious nature by deceiving the three traitors in a

council-chamber in Southampton. By creating a ruse, in this case being a

fabricated crime committed by a fabricated person, the King is able to get the

criminals to essentially sentence themselves to death, in a grand display of trickery. Once again, Henry is seen doing everything in his power to ensure that at the end of the day, justice prevails. On the opposing side sits Ancient Pistol, who is indeed not

King Henry has proven himself to be an extremely courageous man, whether he is intimidating the French, sentencing his subjects, or hyping his men up for war. Examined in Aristotle's definition of the virtue, the King is very well suited for his title. Ancient Pistol is the foil of King Henry, who is not courageous in the least, and who merely brags about being better than he is, without the actions to back it up. Aristotle's view on courage does not hold true to Pistol, as he is a pitiful excuse for an English