Isolation and Victimization in Henry1V Essay -- Henry IV Henry V Essay

Isolation and Victimization in Henry1V      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most prominent feature of Prince Harry in the two Henry1V plays is his absolute isolation. When we first see Harry, he is a pariah and outlaw among his own people, the nobility, and a source of fear and misery for his family. He has no friends in any real sense, just pawns; unlike Hotspur, Mortimer, and even Falstaff, he has no lovers and shows no interest in sexual love. He stands alone in the world, and he stands against all the world. He is motivated only by suspicion, cruelty, pride, and greed for power. People are real to Harry only in so far as he can use them; and, ultimately, the future King can use people only when they are destroyed. His every step is toward death and destruction: the two plays begin with Harry's plot against his tavern friends, which culminates in the sacrificial expulsion of Falstaff, and end with rumours of war, the campaign against France, carried out for reasons of internal political advantage. Harry is what today is c ommonly described as a psychopath, and the plays demonstrate how such a man can become a successful king and defeat the world, a perfect blend of Machiavel (the immoral villain) and Machiavellian (the amoral strategist).    In 1Henry1V , Harry's primary business - in fact his only concern, apart from tormenting his social inferiors, like Falstaff and the innocent drawer Francis - is the destruction of Hotspur. Hotspur is of supreme interest to Harry, which is the same as saying, as Harry in effect does say in his reply to the King in 3.2, "Percy's head" (132) is of supreme interest:    Percy is but my factor, good my lord, To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf; And I will call him to s... ...Works Cited Barber, C.L. "Rule and Misrule in Henry1V." William Shakespeare: Histories and Poems. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 143-167. Girard, Rene. To Double Business Bound. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988. Machiavelli, Niccolo. "From The Prince." The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. Russ McDonald. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. 2001. 334-336. Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed Stephen Greenblatt, et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Shakespeare, William. Henry the Fourth, Part 1. Ed James L. Sanderson. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1969. Stewart, J. I. M. "The Birth and Death of Falstaff." Sanderson, Henry the Fourth, Part 1. 404-407. Toliver, Harold E. "Falstaff, The Prince, and the History Play." Sanderson, Henry the Fourth, Part 1. 169-193. Isolation and Victimization in Henry1V Essay -- Henry IV Henry V Essay Isolation and Victimization in Henry1V      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most prominent feature of Prince Harry in the two Henry1V plays is his absolute isolation. When we first see Harry, he is a pariah and outlaw among his own people, the nobility, and a source of fear and misery for his family. He has no friends in any real sense, just pawns; unlike Hotspur, Mortimer, and even Falstaff, he has no lovers and shows no interest in sexual love. He stands alone in the world, and he stands against all the world. He is motivated only by suspicion, cruelty, pride, and greed for power. People are real to Harry only in so far as he can use them; and, ultimately, the future King can use people only when they are destroyed. His every step is toward death and destruction: the two plays begin with Harry's plot against his tavern friends, which culminates in the sacrificial expulsion of Falstaff, and end with rumours of war, the campaign against France, carried out for reasons of internal political advantage. Harry is what today is c ommonly described as a psychopath, and the plays demonstrate how such a man can become a successful king and defeat the world, a perfect blend of Machiavel (the immoral villain) and Machiavellian (the amoral strategist).    In 1Henry1V , Harry's primary business - in fact his only concern, apart from tormenting his social inferiors, like Falstaff and the innocent drawer Francis - is the destruction of Hotspur. Hotspur is of supreme interest to Harry, which is the same as saying, as Harry in effect does say in his reply to the King in 3.2, "Percy's head" (132) is of supreme interest:    Percy is but my factor, good my lord, To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf; And I will call him to s... ...Works Cited Barber, C.L. "Rule and Misrule in Henry1V." William Shakespeare: Histories and Poems. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 143-167. Girard, Rene. To Double Business Bound. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988. Machiavelli, Niccolo. "From The Prince." The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. Russ McDonald. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. 2001. 334-336. Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed Stephen Greenblatt, et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Shakespeare, William. Henry the Fourth, Part 1. Ed James L. Sanderson. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1969. Stewart, J. I. M. "The Birth and Death of Falstaff." Sanderson, Henry the Fourth, Part 1. 404-407. Toliver, Harold E. "Falstaff, The Prince, and the History Play." Sanderson, Henry the Fourth, Part 1. 169-193.