King Henry V: From a Legendary Figure to a Tragic Hero


Abstract in English

This paper seeks to show the development to Henry V's image from a legendary figure into a tragic hero. It first explores his legendary image in the anonymous chronicle play entitled The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth, where he appears as a folk hero with his patriotic vaunting. Then this study moves to examine the image of Henry V in Shakespeare's Henry IV and Henry V, and proceeds to assert that the playwright presents this hero as an individual who has his personal ambitions for loyalty. But, despite his heroic feats, we note that Shakespeare ironises him because the letter conceals some qualms about his father's usurpation and complicity in Richard II's murder.

References used

Alvarez Faedo, M. J. 1997: "The Epic Tone in Shakespeare's Henry V", SEDERI 7: 249-252
Bueno Alonso, J. L. 1998: "History, Patriotism and Religion in William Shakespeare's Henry V", SEDERI 9: 271 – 84
Cuddon, J. A. 1976: Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (1976), revised by C.E. Preston, Penguin Books Ltd, London, 1999
De Saussure, F. 1950: General Course in English Linguistics, translated by Wade Baskin, introduced by Jonathan Culler, and edited by Charles Bally et al. Philosophical Library, New York, 1950, revised 1947, reprinted 1978
Eagleton, Terry, 1983: Literary Theory: An Introduction, Basil Blackwell Publisher Limited, Oxford

Download