Warfare Theme Analysis

Warfare constitutes the entire dramatic arc of Henry V, which begins in preparations for battle, continues onto the battlefield itself, and ends with a post-war peace treaty. Yet while the whole play focuses on warfare, it doesn’t limit itself to one perspective. Instead, the play illuminates different elements of battle in different scenes, assembling a complex vision of war. This vision includes views from every strata of England’s class hierarchy. The play opens on the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely discussing a Church investment in the war. Later, scenes of Henry V and his noble advisors crafting strategy are interspersed with scenes of high-ranked army officers like Captains Fluellen, Jamy, Gower and MacMorris managing the battlefield and scenes of common soldiers like Pistol, Bardolph, and Nym charging into battle (or, in their case, trying to avoid charging). Voice is also given to Boy, one of the young pages who guards the army’s luggage, and to Montjoy, a French messenger whom Henry kindly asks the name of and tips. In addition to encompassing every class, the play includes the enemy perspective on the war, portraying King Charles, the Dauphin, and the French nobility engaged in their own preparation, strategy, and fight.

By offering such a wide range of perspectives on the battle, the play also showcases a wide range of attitudes towards warfare. Though Henry initially expresses wariness of war, he is soon convinced of the justness of an attack on France and quickly turns to warmongering. Henry also continually conflates war and religion, deciding to wage war only after Canterbury has convinced him that a war on France is God’s will. On the battlefield, Henry repeatedly reminds his troops that God is on England’s side (“God for Harry, England, and Saint George!” he shouts) and, once the battle is won, Henry refuses all personal credit, chalking the victory up to God. Where Henry prioritizes the religious aspect of war, Captain Fluellen prioritizes history. Though a good officer, Fluellen is tediously long-winded on the subject of Roman war discipline and talks the ear off anyone who will listen to him (and some who won’t). He is at pains to craft his battle strategies in accord with Roman tradition and rails against officers like Captain MacMorris, who act in the present without regard for history. Michael Williams, by contrast, embodies the perspective of the common man and ordinary soldier. Unconvinced by appeals to war’s godliness and tradition, Williams considers war nothing but senseless and gratuitous violence suffered by powerless people at the King’s command.

Apart from its range of individual perspectives, the play also presents an overarching vision of history written by war. Discussion of the past - including Canterbury’s speech convincing Henry to attack France, King Charles’ memory of the long-ago military campaigns of the English King Edward III, and Fluellen’s congratulations to Henry after Agincourt – describe history as a series of battles won and lost, shaping the present by their outcomes. Yet belief in war’s importance does not equal belief in war’s efficacy. Henry’s victory at Agincourt is joyously celebrated in the play, but the Chorus reminds the audience that the effects of that victory were swiftly undone in the next generation.