Henry V's Dual Character: Hero and Manipulator in Shakespeare

Introduction: A King of Two Faces

In Henry V by William Shakespeare, two truly dichotomous portraits are created of the king's character. In one sense, he is portrayed as a unanimously honored king — one of the most remarkable leaders in England's history — aptly painted as a revered and conquering hero, beloved and appreciated by all. Yet the other portrayal is drastically distinct, coloring the king as a manipulative, Machiavellian leader who used his cunning rhetoric and the "singing violin" of his speech to push his men into dangerous, irresponsible battle for little other than personal glory. Shakespeare's characterization of King Henry is both complex and morally ambiguous, as several critics have observed. This paper argues that the fundamental tension in the king's character is that he is a chameleon with a number of different personalities, adept at cunningly altering his persona and the manner in which he interacts with people, strictly dependent on the situation and his personal interests at any given moment.

As one scholar remarks, "The young king is a more complex person than he at first appears. There are many instances throughout the play where he shows himself to be a model king. His dignity stands out by comparison with the boastful, vain, and foolish French" (Mulherin, 28). At the opening of the play, that is at least the impression given of the young king; however, the careful reader must keep in mind that it is actually nothing more than an impression — there is no real substance behind it.

As the Archbishop of Canterbury remarks:

The courses of his youth promised it not.
The breath no sooner left his father's body,
But that his wildness, mortified in him,
Seem'd to die too; yea, at that very moment
Consideration, like an angel, came
And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him,
Leaving his body as a paradise,
To envelop and contain celestial spirits. (I.i.62–69)

This excerpt is entirely revelatory, as it creates a strong impression of the young king as a virtuous and practically angelic ruler. However, the careful reader will recognize that people simply do not transform overnight in such stark and deliberate ways. Even though the Archbishop of Canterbury suggests that the wildness in the young king seemed to die when his father did, a more discerning reader will remain suspicious of such an alleged overnight transformation. One should be even more suspicious of the vocabulary chosen to describe the young king; he is painted in terms that are almost completely angelic and celestial. Nevertheless, the duality inherent in the young king's personality — the fracture in his character — becomes readily apparent as the play progresses. The king is well versed in sly and cunning rhetoric and uses it as a powerful tool to manipulate people at will and to achieve his own personal agenda.

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