This paper examines how William Shakespeare uses the word "war" and its connotations throughout Henry V to develop the play's central themes. Drawing on key passages from the play, the analysis explores Henry's impulsive decision to invade France, the moral question of which side is "right," the devastating effects of war on soldiers and the people they leave behind, and the personal transformation — and persistent blind spots — of King Henry himself. The paper ultimately argues that Shakespeare, despite presenting Henry as a hero, takes a subtle anti-war stance by showing that the lives lost in the campaign were sacrificed for little lasting gain.
The paper demonstrates close reading of a single keyword — "war" — tracing its evolving meanings and connotations across multiple acts of the play. This lexical-thematic approach allows the writer to build an argument about the entire play's moral framework from a series of focused textual moments rather than attempting a broad plot summary.
The essay opens with a dictionary definition to establish the scope of the word "war," then moves through the play roughly chronologically — from Henry's initial war declaration, through the suffering of non-combatants, to Henry's personal transformation, and finally to the ironic historical aftermath in which France reclaims the conquered land. The conclusion synthesizes these threads into an anti-war reading of the play.
This paper examines Henry V by William Shakespeare, focusing specifically on the various meanings of the word "war" and how Shakespeare uses it throughout the play. War is an important — even vital — word in this play, because so much of the action revolves around conflict and its consequences. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines "war" as: "1. a state of armed conflict between different nations, states, or armed groups. 2. a sustained contest between rivals or campaign against something undesirable: a war on drugs" (Compact Oxford English Dictionary). The conflict between France and England that King Henry V fought clearly falls under this definition — it was both a contest between rivals and a conflict between nations.
There are also many connotations to the word "war," and most of them are negative. Fighting wars always affects those who fight and die, but wars also affect those who are left behind, those who are conquered, and those who are victorious. The war King Henry V fought contains all of those aspects, and Shakespeare tries to show that as he creates the characters and situations in this play.
The word "war" appears often throughout the play, along with many variations. In a passage from the First Act, Henry reveals to the audience his desire to go to war and conquer France. Shakespeare writes:
"For we have now no thought in us but France, / Save those to God, that run before our business. / Therefore, let our proportions for these wars / Be soon collected, and all things thought upon / That may with reasonable swiftness add / More feathers to our wings; for, God before, / We'll chide this Dauphin at his father's door. / Therefore let every man now task his thought, / That this fair action may on foot be brought" (Shakespeare I, ii).
The King uses the plural form "wars" and speaks as though the wars are guided by God — an important aspect of the word, since wars throughout history have often been religiously inspired or claimed to be fought on "God's side."
The belief that one is fighting on the right side is a recurring feature of warfare. The "right" side in any conflict believes it is fighting for the right cause and the right reason. In World War II, for example, the Allies were fighting against Fascism and Hitler's dictatorship — a cause that history has confirmed as just. Yet not every war produces such a clear moral verdict. The French, in Henry's time, felt they were just as justified as the English, and believed they had every right to the land they held. There are always two sides to any war, and Shakespeare acknowledges this by depicting Henry's marriage to Katherine of Valois at the play's end. Henry attempts to unite the two countries through marriage, implicitly acknowledging that he has torn them apart — though it goes largely unsaid that had Henry not felt compelled to attack, none of the suffering would have occurred.
There is a connotation to the word "war" that always involves a sense of rightness on one side and wrongness on the other. Many wars are fought over small or petty reasons, but most major conflicts arise because one side feels it must assert its authority over what it perceives as a wrong. In this play, Henry believes he has a rightful claim to lands in France and is willing to fight for them to demonstrate the might of England. He feels that the French Dauphin, who holds the disputed land, has not only wronged him but insulted him. Ultimately, men will die because of Henry's belief in his own righteousness. This illustrates how wars can be launched on a whim and for the most minor of perceived offenses, yet still change the course of history.
War is also incredibly hard on the people left behind, as Exeter makes clear in the Second Act. He says:
"Deliver up the crown; and to take mercy / On the poor souls for whom this hungry war / Opens his vasty jaws; and on your head / Turning the widows' tears, the orphans' cries, / The dead men's blood, the privy maidens' groans, / For husbands, fathers, and betrothed lovers, / That shall be swallowed in this controversy" (Shakespeare II, iv).
War means death and destruction, and Shakespeare portrays this with striking vividness. It is not only the men on the battlefield who die; the people left behind suffer just as deeply. The deaths of fighting men devastate their loved ones — women cry for their sons, husbands, and fathers, and children mourn their parents.
War is always ugly, and it touches far more people than those who actually fight. This particular war is especially tragic because Henry enters into it impulsively and then cannot bring himself to accept that he is the cause of so much death, destruction, and misery. He has transformed England through this war, and many of its people will never be the same. Probably many will never forgive him. Not only did he create the conditions that led to the deaths of so many of his men, he also brought home a French queen as a consequence of the conflict. England changes because of the war — just as any country changes after war. People have died, communities have been altered, and life cannot simply return to what it was before.
Shakespeare seems ultimately to be taking an anti-war stance in Henry V, though many audiences may not perceive it because it is submerged beneath the powerful and charismatic figure of Henry himself, who overpowers the play just as he overpowered the French. The glory of the victory masks the deeper critique of what drove the war and what it truly cost.
In conclusion, this play represents war with both passion and insight. It demonstrates how a single word can become the theme and message of an entire work. Henry enters into war on a whim. The experience makes him more of a man, but not man enough to understand that his country and his fellow citizens will pay an enormous price for his desire to fight the French. Henry may be celebrated as a hero by the English, but he reads more like a spoiled and impulsive young man who cannot fully face the consequences of his own actions — consequences that Shakespeare, quietly and carefully, makes impossible for his audience to ignore.
You’re 60% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.