How Is War Presented in Henry V

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How war is represented In 1599 Shakespeare wrote a play called “Henry V”. I am going to be using two speeches from Henry V to show how war is presented. These speeches will be, “once more unto the breach” and “Saint Crispin’s day”. Also I will be using three war poems to compare the speeches and poems together, these war poems are: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori; anthem for doomed youth; Futility. These poems are all written by the poet Wilfred Owen. I’m comparing the speeches and poems to give the different views on what people thought about war. In Henry V speech Saint Crispin’s day Henry V speaks a lot of glory, honour and brotherhood. All these ideas can inspire even the most despairing and oppressed men. This speech is very powerful and when someone is feeling unmotivated and depressed it has the ability to stir you to focus. Henry knew that he was sending his troops out into a battle they would lose but instead of dwelling on this Henry convinces his men that the battle is more than a mathematical formula that they have all come there to fight for honour, for justice and for glory. He makes fighting with him at Agincourt sound like a privilege. Henry also brings up, once more the motif of the bond between kind and commoner. In the scene before the battle of Harfleur, he unites himself with his men, he says “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition”. Another speech Henry V made is “once more unto the breach”, the meaning of this is ‘let us try again, one more time’. The breach is the gap in the wall of the city of Harfleur, which the English army held under siege. Henry was encouraging his troops to attack the city again, even if they have to ‘close the wall with English dead’. The chorus describes the magnificence which Henry
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