![]() After Henry receives the tennis balls, the war on France ceases to be primarily about succession and instead takes on the cast of a personal revenge crusade.Henry’s tendency towards irrationality when angry is evident again later on in the war, near the conclusion of the battle of Agincourt. He instructs the messenger, “Tell the Dauphin I am coming on to venge me as I may” (I.ii.291-2). The Dauphin’s insulting gift of tennis balls provokes Henry into such anger that he appears to forget the reservations he previously held about war in the face of his desire to punish the Dauphin. ![]() This tirade continues to promise violence of the very kind that Henry was cautioning Canterbury against moments before. He swears that, “many a thousand widows shall this mock mock out of their dear husbands mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down” (I.ii.283-6). Incensed by the implied insult, Henry flies into a speech detailing the different ways that he is going to make the Dauphin regret his disrespect. King Henry is gracious until the gift is opened to reveal a taunt: a cache of tennis balls. He and his advisors are still in discussion when a messenger from the Dauphin arrives, bearing a gift from France. The King gives the impression of a man who values human life greatly and appreciates the sacrifices that are inescapable in any war. King Henry tells Canterbury that war must only be waged for just and valid reasons, since it “makes such waste in brief mortality” (I.ii.28). He asks Canterbury if England’s claim to France is strong enough to go to war over with the strict injunction to tell the truth, because “never two such kingdoms did contend without much fall of blood, whose guiltless drops are every one a woe” (I.ii.24-6). In a conference with his advisors at the beginning of the play, Henry debates the validity of his claim to the throne of France. ![]() These faults indicate that while Henry has taken on a more kingly persona, this self is not as different from Prince Hal as he had intended.The first of Henry’s flaws to which readers are introduced is the King’s tendency to make unwise choices when influenced by anger. Henry V seems to be prone to using deceit when it is the easiest way to obtain a goal, liable to play mean-spirited pranks when the fancy strikes him and susceptible to making rash decisions when angered. Despite the seeming perfection of his deportment and courtly manners, traces of the disreputable Prince Hal still emerge in King Henry’s behavior, particularly when he is in stressful or emotional situations. ![]() Henry’s development as he evolves from Prince Hal to King Henry V of England is significant, but not complete. In 1 Henry IV the Prince confides to the audience that his irresponsible behavior is a sham that he means to throw off when he becomes king, so that his miraculous transformation will lend the public persona he unveils as King all the more glory and wonder. Vestiges of Hal in Shakespeare’s Henry Vby, AnonymousOctober 17, 2004Over the course of Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Henry V plays, the character of Henry V evolves from a reckless youth to a great King and revered hero. ![]()
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