What Is The Turning Point In Henry V The Hollow England
God’s Reign On Henry For my project I watched the 2012 British television film “Henry V: The Hollow Crown”, which was based of a historical play of the same name written around 1589 by William Shakespeare. The film centers around a young King Henry V, who belongs to the English royal house of Lancaster and is determined to invade France and rise to the French Throne (Sharrock). It portrays the events leading up to, during, and after Henry’s extraordinary victory at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, which was a major turning point in the Hundred Years’ War. This war was a conflict between the kingdoms of France and England continuing from 1337 to 1453 over the rights to the French crown among other things, and the film begins during a period
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I do think however, the films portrayal of King Henry’s faith and values is an important aspect in characterizing the relationship between Kings and God of the time. From the the film it truly seemed that Henry felt completely justified in all his actions, no matter how violent, because he had God and honor on his side. This is a pattern throughout history that allows for great achievements as well as great atrocities. When King Henry V said, “Praised be God, and not our strength, for it!” and “God, thy arm was here; / And not to us, but to thy arm alone,” after winning the battle, it makes his battles out to be greater than just him, and holds God as being responsible …show more content…
If King Henry felt justified in initiating a brutal battle in the first place, and killing prisoners of war because God was in his favor, it does not seem as outrageous that the Christians felt justified in the crusades, or the radical Islamists in their violent actions. The movie gave me more room to empathize with actions that I always deem as radical to the point of insanity. I feel that the film also did a great job in making the audience appreciate the leadership of the King and his modesty, while still showing the flip side of his detachment from his actions through deity. It made me question whether King Henry was the grand hero he was portrayed to be by his subjects with a fervent belief in God, or if he was simply a superb but cold leader who felt justified in bloodshed because of his honor and
I do think however, the films portrayal of King Henry’s faith and values is an important aspect in characterizing the relationship between Kings and God of the time. From the the film it truly seemed that Henry felt completely justified in all his actions, no matter how violent, because he had God and honor on his side. This is a pattern throughout history that allows for great achievements as well as great atrocities. When King Henry V said, “Praised be God, and not our strength, for it!” and “God, thy arm was here; / And not to us, but to thy arm alone,” after winning the battle, it makes his battles out to be greater than just him, and holds God as being responsible …show more content…
If King Henry felt justified in initiating a brutal battle in the first place, and killing prisoners of war because God was in his favor, it does not seem as outrageous that the Christians felt justified in the crusades, or the radical Islamists in their violent actions. The movie gave me more room to empathize with actions that I always deem as radical to the point of insanity. I feel that the film also did a great job in making the audience appreciate the leadership of the King and his modesty, while still showing the flip side of his detachment from his actions through deity. It made me question whether King Henry was the grand hero he was portrayed to be by his subjects with a fervent belief in God, or if he was simply a superb but cold leader who felt justified in bloodshed because of his honor and