The Main Points Of Virtue In King Henry's Speech

On Saint Crispin’s day King Henry’s troops are faced before a battle in which his army is heavily outnumbered by the French; despite these odds he keeps the morale of his men up with a great speech before the battle. The battle was surely lost before it had started, but through the sheer force of will that his speech gave his men they came out victorious in the end. Henry expresses three main points of virtue in his speech that inspire his men. Henry holds a great value for the lives of all his men. He does not discriminate against men based things like class or upbringing, and believes that all of his men should have certain privileges. And he does an excellent job at making his subjects feel as though they are special, and share a great honor for serving together. When you are king of thousands and thousands of people it is easy to forget what a singular human life is worth; numerous kings throughout history have been known to
In the army when fighting for your life social statuses do not matter, all men get a clean slate, and earn their status and respect. “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”. The king goes so far as to say that all men who fight with me are his brothers and hold no lesser value than himself, no matter how vile their previous upbringings may be. “He which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart. His passport shall be made, and crowns for convoy put into his purse. We would not die in that man’s company that fears his fellowship to die with us.” Henry even gives the opportunity for any man who does not want to fight to leave. This is a privilege that you would never expect a peasant to have, but henry respects and value his men enough to offer