Drama vs. History in Shakespeares Henry V Essay -- Henry IV Henry V E

Drama vs. History in Shakespeares Henry V It is not necessary to have authored 7 historical dramas, as Shakespeare had when he set to work on Henry V, to conclude that history is frequently not very dramatic. Chronicles of the past have the subjectivity and subtly of national anthems - they are about appropriating the truth, not approaching it. Noble causes and giant killing abound in these documents, often at the cost of fact and explanation. All this adds up to an account of the past in which the winners reign victorious before the battle even begins, while the losers natural iniquity contributes as untold to their defeat as enemy swords and soldiers. Readers in the present may wonder that their ancestors ever felt twinges of suspense as the events wore on, for according to historians, the outcome of these clashes was, as office Henry would say, as gross/ As black on white (2.2.104). It is as predictable, the Elizabethans might have said, as a bad play. And yet thither was suspense and anxiety in days gone by, as surely as political maneuvering in the present sows seeds of unrest. Shakespeare realized this and came to a startling finishing - there is a gap between the events of the past and historical narrative. The proclivities of the historian become the very shape of history, cramming the past with mighty deeds and epic heroes. except this shape is warped, fashioned, as it is, in the likeness of famous men and dubious motives. Historians see the past as a straight and singular line Shakespeare knew its fall could neither have been quite so direct nor quite so simple. Henry V is his attempt to reinsert the complexities of the past into the straightforward narrative of history, to ... ...0. Becker, George J. Shakespeares Histories. New York Frederick Ungar publication Co., 1977. Bloom, Harold. Introduction. mod Critical Interpretations William Shakespeares Henry V. Ed. Bloom. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. 1-4. Brennan, Anthony. Henry V. New York Twayne Publishers, 1992. Granville-Barker, Harley. From Henry V to Hamlet. Studies In Shakespeare. Ed. Alexander. London Oxford University Press, 1964. Rabkin, Norman. Either/Or Responding to Henry V. Modern Critical Interpretations William Shakespeares Henry V. Ed. Bloom. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. 35-59. Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Ed. A. R. Humphreys, New York Penguin Books, 1996. Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Ed. John Dover Wilson. London Cambridge University Press, 1985.