Holy Cow, Henry V

Ok, Henry V is incredible! I LOVED it! Wow, Shakespeare is so good at using language. It gives you such great imagery and just the sound of it is so beautiful. It really makes you feel.

Some of my favorite lines were right at the beginning of the play when King Henry V is describing war.

"...His soul
Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance
That shall fly with them: for many a thousand widows
Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands;
Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down;
And some are yet ungotten and unborn
That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn."

It's so powerful! He totally plays on your emotions to feel the loss that war brings.

I also loved how Shakespeare integrated faith in God in this play. The religious aspect wasn't overbearing but it rang so true to me! I think its probably because I just returned from my mission, but that thread of the play stuck out to me. And I loved it. Throughout the whole play Henry makes comments like,

"But this lies all within the will of God,
To whom I do appeal."

"We are in God's hands now, not theirs."

Especially the St. Crispian's day speech.

"If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more."

I loved this part because this small, weary band of soldiers are facing 5 to 1 odds and King Henry V is so full of faith and humility. You can tell he really trusts God. And Shakespeare subtly (ok, not super subtly but very tastefully) conveys that that is why Henry V beat the French.

MONTJOY: "The day is yours."

KING HENRY V: "Praised be God, and not our strength, for it!"

It's just so great. I loved the whole play but I think my favorite part was when Henry disguises himself and goes around his camp and talks with his soldiers and then his soliloquy after that. He's so human. You can feel the pressure and anguish of his soul. And his subjects love him. Shoot, I love him too! He just has some great qualities: faith, trust, mercy (while at the same time being exactly just), optismism, love, humility, courage, diligence. He's awesome.

And the courting scene at the end! Soooo cute! As I was watching this scene in the movie, I was thinking about how he had just sacrificed part of his life fighting in war, experiencing the misery and depression of it. And many other people died for this cause. How joyful he must have felt right then to know that there would be peace between France and England. And...he gets the girl :)