Shortly before the English and the French engaged in the last season of Henry V, King Henry came to the company of his elders, among them the duke of Gloucester, the duke of Bedford, and the duke of Exeter. Thomas Erpingham, and the Earl of Westmoreland, like his uncle, the Earl of Westmoreland, comments, “Oh, that we had here now, / but one ten thousand men in England / to-day do nothing” (4.3 .18-20). The king quickly makes a speech, in which he not only tries to convince his people that they need no more soldiers, but at the same time that they will fight bravely in the imminent battle. While Henry V gives many speeches through shakespeare-plays”>shakespeare-plays, this speech on the Feast of St. Crispin in Act Four, Scene Three, is an excellent example of the king’s elements of rhetoric and persuasion. deliberative, discussion and ability to connect with their audience.
The first rhetorical technique Henry V uses in Saint Crispin’s speech is Elizabethan deliberative rhetoric. According to Elizabethan rhetoric, deliberative rhetoric is said to be “persuading or dissuading, imploring, rebuking, exhorting, exhorting, commanding, or comforting someone” (Lanham 1). King Henry‘s speech involves several purposes of deliberative rhetoric. King Henry’s words to his cousin the Earl of Westmoreland, to reproach him for wanting to have more soldiers with him. Henry, “What does he want? Then he continues to address his cousin through the whole speech, showing him why it is wrong, and trying to persuade others to agree. In this way, the king’s speech also wants to persuade people, and from dissuading, denying, and believing that they need more protections; two purposes of deliberative rhetoric. Henry’s speech can be further categorized as one of the two subcategories of deliberative rhetoric: political rhetoric, which pertains to war, specifically the forces of the enemy (Russo 1). The strength of the English army is exalted by the Gauls, and the power of the Gauls weakens.
In King Henry’s speech, the opinion of English non-combatants is to be missed, that is The Writings to describe the point of time to present to the audience, for the English are not only numbered by the French; but they had to fight in a worse condition. At the beginning of the third act, the Earl of Westmoreland and the Duke of Exeter argue about the prospect of the outcome of the battle. As Westmorland points out, “the fighting men are sixty thousand full” (Hen. 4.3.3). Exeter continues, calculating that “They are five to one. Besides these all are fresh” (Henry 4.3.4). These are not very favorable to the English, whose soldiers are already tired and weakened from in France and the city of Harfleur in France is prevailing. Henry, who was just passing through his camp, a gregarious man, just walking through the camp to discover the spirits of the soldiers, comes to the end of his speech and hastens to strengthen his men, saying:
No way, Edepol, my coz, you don’t want a man from England.
I do not want to lose the honor of God’s peace
One man, I think, will share with me;
For I have hope. Oh, you don’t want one!
Nay, preach, Westmorland, my guest;
He has no stomach for fighting;
Let him depart. (4.3.33-39)
Henry was anxious to find his commanders pessimistic about the urgent escapes, that he did not need more Englishmen to fight for England. Moreover, the king emphasizes his confidence in his soldiers by saying that the English commanders, counts, and knights are so superior to the French that they do not even need all those they are now, but only those who really want to fight. of England The monarch adds the preceding sentence to the Gallic message, in which he says, “When they were strong, I tell you, caduceus,/ I thought of one pair of English legs, “Three Frenchmen marched,” he said. “We do not want to die death in that association/Fearing company with us”. few in number, he asserts that his men are so numerous, that they do not even need those whose hearts are not really in the battle.
In his speech on Saint Crispin’s Day Henry also illustrates his confidence with the rhetorical ability to connect with one’s audience. Henry’s speech shows that he is aware of his audience. In this speech the king addresses his uncle, Thomas duke of Exxon, his brothers, Humphrey duke of Gloucester and John duke of Bedford, his cousin, the earl of Westmoreland, and Thomas Erpingham, one of his officers. Henry’s Army (Shakespeare III). The monk, with nearly his whole family, and the noble chiefs and nobles, addresses this group as if it were merely a party of soldiers, for he is more comfortable with those nearest to him. For example, rather than using “We the King”, as the Monarch addressing the French ambassador before his plenary court, saying, “When the spear has leveled our balls, We will in Gaul, by the grace of God. With the established game / Will strike at the risk of the father’s crown, “Henry for He uses the “middle” class of speech (1.2.272-274). Henry can be more forgiving to friends and princes, “By Jove,” he says, “I am not fond of gold, / Nor do I care who devours my expenses;” using the pronoun “I” rather than the classic “We Kings” (Henry 4.3.27-28).
Henry also uses the rhetorical strategy of appealing to the goals and values he shares with his subjects in an attempt to bring them personally into his argument. As he says in lines 23-25, “If we are marked to die, we are enough / To do harm to the country: but if not to live, / Fewer men, a greater part of honor” (Hen. 4.3.23-25. ). The King here contends that the English have enough men that, if they all perish, the loss of the country will be vast. He also plays with the desire of his fellow soldiers for the desired and precious attribute of honor, that he says that a few men are enough for him, so that, if they do live, he will be of great honor to each party. This is a great reason, because everyone who was present wants to make a decent return home. In no other way does Henry boast of the manner of winning the battle against those who were dissidents, describing to the people how the days of St. Crispin looked upon the survivors showing the wounds of the battle, and recounting mighty tales for years to come;
He who survives today and comes safely
He will stand o’ bears suspended, when this day is named
He called him Crispian.
He who will see this day will live to old age;
yearly in his vigils
And you will say, “Tomorrow is Saint Crispianus.”
Then he will take off his sleeve and show his scars.
(Hen. 4.3.44-50)
The authority of such a narration is evident at the end of Henry’s speech, when he asserts that;
nobles in England now abed
There were no cursing here;
And to hold politeness cheaply, while one speaks
He fought with us on St. Crispin’s day.
(Henry 4.3.66-69)
Also, Henry expresses a special reputation that he and his allies will share if they indeed triumph over the Gauls. Because Henry and these men the first commanders in the army, will be remembered. for the certain outcome of the battle. As the Monarch says:
Then our names
King Harry, of Bedford and Exeter.
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester.
Be in the newly mentioned flowing cups.
(Hen. 4.3.53; 55-57)
Thus Henry attracts the idea, for fame and glory do not attract his people to strengthen their spirits and confidence.
Henry joins the middle discourse, and in this attempt to appeal to the common good, he offers himself as a reasonable and more probable argument, that in this way men are more apt to embrace their reason than to reject it, and, in turn, to fight for it mightily. . The King presents himself to the Counts as an intrepid man, who is eager to ride into battle, and to claim the honor which he expects to gather therefrom. In his speech he comments:
I don’t care if clothes are put on;
Such exteriors do not reside in my desires.
But if it be sin, desire honor;
I am the most offended soul alive.
(Henry 4.3.29-32)
Here Henry tries to portray himself as a member of the group with which he stands, seeking honor and glory as much as the next man. This use of rhetoric causes his audience to be invested in the speech, and causes them to identify more intensely with the King and what he is talking about with them.
The monarch’s confidence with rhetoric is a great work in the time of King Henry V, especially at the beginning of the struggle. When the king’s men begin to distrust before the battle of Agincourt, as one soldier hesitates explaining, “We see there the beginning of the day, but we shall never see its end” – the King can. to recall his men to be ready to fight bravely for England. A combination of rhetorical devices that Henry, a conspicuously great orator, uses in his speech to St. Crispin on Day. an effective persuasive argument that compels the king’s men to declare, like Westmorland, “God’s will, my faithfulness, would that you and I alone,/ Without greater royal support, should fight this struggle!” (Henry 4.3.76-77). It is not easy to resist a royal theme, so he skillfully uses traditional Elizabethan rhetoric with the awareness of the audience to capture allies and inspire them to fight. As Henry responds to his success, it is clear from Westmoreland above, “Why do you now want five thousand men, / That it pleases me more than to wish us one. / You know your places. God be with you all.” Henry 4.3.78-80).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lanham, Richard A., et al. “An Outline of Elizabethan Rhetoric.” A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. World
Russo, M. “Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion.” Department of Philosophy. 29 Jan 2002. Molloy College Online. 24 Oct 2004
Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Ed. Barbara A. Mowatt, et al. New York: Washington Square Press Publishing, 1995.
