The Visionary Traits Of A Leader In Shakespeare's Henry V
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Shakespeare’s notable play Henry V is centred on the overlying concept of war and national conflict, but its intention is to reveal how humans react when placed under the pressures of war. This is visibly evident King Henry’s transformation from a clueless leader to a motivational mastermind and how good leadership qualities don’t really define a good person. This essay will examine three prominent speeches that display this revelation and focus on how it has affected Henry as individual.
The visionary trait of a leader enables him to dictate and self direct his men under any circumstance, even under the pressures of death and conflict. Henry measures his motivational tone so that he appeals to all that fight under him. The significance of both sibilance and imperative natural imagery in the line “stiffen the sinews, conjure up the blood”…show more content… Henry, when dubbed with the ‘underdog’ tag perceives to us how determined and strong minded he becomes as a warrior and overall leader. This is significant in revealing how human nature reacts under the pressures of war as we see how they are subject to embrace doubters by appealing to the passion of his men. In the same inspiring speech, Henry contrasts this savage tone with a more professional, loyal tone that connects to his men on a nationalistic and patriotic level that incorporates with family honour. The link of the epithet and historical allusion in the statement “on on you noble English, whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof, fathers, like so many Alexanders” demonstrate both an enigma of historical inspiration and convincing language that he intends with unite his soldiers on the task at hand. Human nature when put under pressure of