National Identity and the "Ideal Englishman" in Henry V
This essay examines how William Shakespeare constructs and interrogates national identity in Henry V, focusing on what qualities define the "ideal Englishman." Drawing on key scenes involving King Henry, the Welsh soldier Fluellen, and the arrogant French nobles, the paper argues that Shakespeare deliberately employs broad national stereotypes to suggest that no fixed ideal of Englishness exists. Instead, the play proposes that a willingness to fight and die for England — rather than birth, language, or manner — is what ultimately unites and defines its men as true Englishmen.
- Introduction: Defining the Ideal Englishman: Poses the question of what makes an ideal Englishman
- Henry as the Model of English Kingship: Henry as brave but imperfect English ideal
- Fluellen and the Welsh 'Other': Fluellen's Welsh identity and outsider status
- The French as Foil: Arrogance and Stereotype: French portrayed as arrogant comic foils
- Conclusion: Shakespeare's Inclusive Vision of Englishness: Willingness to fight defines true Englishness
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What makes this paper effective
- Uses direct textual quotation to ground each analytical claim, grounding observations in Shakespeare's own language rather than unsupported assertion.
- Moves logically from the positive model (Henry as ideal king) to the comic counter-example (Fluellen as the Welsh outsider) to the enemy foil (the French), building a layered argument about national identity.
- Arrives at a nuanced thesis — that Shakespeare subverts the very notion of a fixed "ideal Englishman" — rather than simply restating the obvious.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates close reading through selective quotation: each passage cited is followed by interpretive commentary that connects the textual evidence to the broader argument about national stereotyping and identity. This pattern of claim → evidence → analysis is a foundational technique in literary essays at any level.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens by posing the central question — what constitutes the ideal Englishman? — then works through three character-based cases (Henry, Fluellen, the French) before arriving at a concluding thesis that reframes the earlier discussion. The argument is compact but complete, with each paragraph advancing a single idea supported by at least one quoted passage from the play.
Introduction: Defining the Ideal Englishman
In Henry V, William Shakespeare raises a question that runs throughout the play: what qualities or characteristics constitute the ideal Englishman? Henry himself was Welsh, and the drama is populated by a cast of "others" — soldiers, courtiers, and enemies of varied nationalities — who each test and complicate any simple answer. Is there such a thing as an ideal Englishman at all? And if so, where do these figures of other nations fit within that vision?
Henry as the Model of English Kingship
Many believe the "ideal Englishman" depicted in Henry V is brave, bold, and convinced of his own righteousness — qualities that certainly describe King Henry as he leads his men into battle. The perfect Englishman may not enjoy the fight, but he will not turn away from it when necessary: "The sum of all our answer is but this: / We would not seek a battle, as we are; / Nor, as we are, we say we will not shun it" (Shakespeare III.vi). Ideally, this figure is the king himself, who embodies all that is English and all that monarchy stands for. A monarch is supreme, and so the man who rules England should likewise be supreme — someone other Englishmen can look up to and emulate.
Yet Henry is not presented as the ideal Englishman from the outset. At the beginning of the play, when he is manipulated into war by the Archbishop of Canterbury, he is far from ideal. Perhaps this is Shakespeare's way of acknowledging that Henry is Welsh, and therefore has some ground to cover before he can fully embody the ideal of his people.
Fluellen and the Welsh 'Other'
The treatment of Fluellen, the Welsh soldier, makes this dynamic explicit. At the end of the play, the other soldiers mock Fluellen for his inability to speak the "King's English": "I have seen you gleeking and galling at this gentleman twice or thrice. You thought, / because he could not speak English in the native garb, he could / not therefore handle an English cudgel. You find it otherwise; / and henceforth let a Welsh correction teach you a good English / condition. Fare ye well" (Shakespeare V.i). Shakespeare portrays Fluellen as something of a country bumpkin, walking around with a leek in his hat to celebrate a holiday, and he is ostracized by the others — except by those who recognize that he can fight as well as any of them.
The ideal Englishman, it seems, is expected to give up his native tongue and speak like a "real" Englishman. Henry himself must have done exactly this to earn the respect and adoration of his people that he receives upon returning home from France. In his speeches, it would be difficult to identify him as Welsh at all; he sounds every inch the ideal Englishman. The question of national identity and language is thus central to the play's examination of what Englishness truly means.
Conclusion: Shakespeare's Inclusive Vision of Englishness
The ultimate message here seems to be that Shakespeare, with his own style and wit, is saying that there is no such thing as an "ideal" Englishman. This is precisely why his portrayals of other nationalities in the play are so broad and stereotypical — the arrogant French, the rustic Welsh — and why these figures exist in the drama at all. Throughout the play, Shakespeare alludes to the fact that even though all the men fighting the French are different, they share a common goal: to fight for England. And that shared commitment is really all that matters when it comes to being an ideal Englishman. The external trappings and rough exteriors do not matter; it is what is inside that makes a man an Englishman, and if he is willing to die for England, then he is an ideal citizen.
References
Shakespeare, William. "Henry V." [University]. 29 Nov. 2000. 1 March 2003.
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