Hero in Shakespeare’s Henry V and The Hero by Siegfried Sassoon

‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more’, one of the most celebrated openings to, arguably, the most famous passage within the entire Henry V Shakespeare play. Through this opening we can tell that Henry is a character of perseverance and fortitude as he drives his troops into war. Shakespeare’s presentation of Henry is without doubt one of a hero and protagonist as he is presented as a man with a degree of intelligence and allure with motives that are not focused on a lust for power, like most kings, but to his obligations and responsibilities as an exalted rank. It is also apparent from Henry’s unquestionably rousing speeches that Shakespeare intends for us to view Henry as a hero, or, at the very least, as an estimable king.

Siegfried Sassoon on the other hand in his poem ‘hero’ seeks to reveal the facade and sad irony of the traditional image of the ‘war-hero’. Sassoon joined the army himself motivated by patriotism, but after his first-hand experiences he expressed his views on the ‘gritty realism’ of war through his writing. One of his most applauded pieces of work is his poem ‘the hero’ in which he touches upon a matter close to his heart; the wide gap between the public perception of the soldier fighting for his country and the stark reality of life in the trenches.

Shakespeare’s Henry’s most remarkable and heroic quality is his resolve; once Henry has his mind set on accomplishing something he uses every tool at his disposal to see that it is achieved. ‘If we may pass, we will; if we be hinder’d we shall your tawny ground with your red blood discolour’ Henry meticulously presents himself as an unstoppable force to which his enemies must choose to react; although his methods are morally questionable they a...

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...fficer portrays Jack to his mother in Sassoon’s poem. Both are working hard to satisfy their audience rather than present reality. Shakespeare’s deception we can deduce from the surrounding political climate and its historical context, we only need to examine briefly what actually occurred at Harfluer as opposed to Shakespeare’s version of events to confirm this, Sassoon on the other hand reveals the mask of the hero in the poem itself ‘He’d told the poor old dear some gallant lies’. So in effect Shakespeare’s audience is the historical version of Jack’s mother ‘We mothers are so proud of our dead soldiers’, no doubt Shakespeare’s audiences would have left the theatre’s in a state of euphoric hero-worship after listening to Henry’s heartfelt speeches, just as would have been the emotional state of Jack’s mother when learning about the death of her son in battle.