The Miraculous Victory War and Ideology in The Life of Henry The Fifth

Abstract

In William Shakespeare’s play The Life of Henry The Fifth, King Henry V is described as an excellent speaker whose speech becomes the key element of the Britain’s miraculous victory in the Battle of Agincourt, and he attributes the victory to God. It is then worth to explore the reasons why Shakespeare highlights the power of the king’s speech and why the king hands the victory to God. This essay argues that Shakespeare’s emphasis on the power of Henry V’s speech in the Battle of Agincourt exaggerates Britain’s power and stirs the British’s sense of glory, and Henry V’s handing over the victory to God makes his colonial war seemingly rationalized, which strengthens the colonial dream and unites the Britons in the age of Elizabeth I.