Henry V

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Henry V



Throughout the movie Henry V accurate portrayals of the age, speech, and clothing of the time are displayed. The movie depicts Henry V’s rise to the throne and part in the Hundred Years War with vague accuracy, but gets the important points across. However, the movie generalizes some events and creates some scenes for dramatic effect. While on a large scale the movie is historically accurate it strays from the truth several times to entertain its audience.


Henry V stumbles past Henry’s rather interesting childhood and enters into the main plot of his life very quickly, leaving much to be told of the events omitted by Shakespeare. Henry was most likely brought up by his uncle Henry Beaufort. Henry was a very accomplished individual from a young age, and leaving out details from his childhood is counterproductive to the building of his character which the desires. Henry was a soldier beginning in his teenage years. At a mere fourteen years he was a member of the Welsh forces who fought against Owen Glendower, who was leading a rebellion against Henry’s father, Henry IV (Owen) . After only two years of service he commanded his father’s forces in the battle of Shrewsbury, in which he was wounded (Britannia / Columbia) . These significant events show that Henry was quite an able king and also a very soldierly person.


The movie illustrates Henry’s ability as an orator in the first scene, in which a French messenger is shown sending a gift from his master. The gift is in exchange for peace and Henry not seeking his interests in annexing lands in France that England had previously held. The messenger states that his master wishes to trade a “ton of treasure”, which turns out to be a box of tennis balls. Henry is furious and quickly launches into a masterful speech in which he condemns the master’s action, saying that he will have quite a match with France when he enters the country, an...