The notion of war is contrarily shaped by Shakespeare and Branagh’s adaptations of the play Henry V. As implied through Shakespeare’s original play in 1599, the idea of war was comprehensively accepted by those in his era, as England had been exceptionally successful in the Hundred Years’ War. Thus, Shakespeare’s depiction of war reflected such context, allowing war to embody patriotism and courage. However, the context of Branagh’s reworked text utterly opposed such conception. During his creation of 1989, England had been devastatingly impacted by the Vietnam and Falkland’s Wars, and thus Branagh treated Henry V as an opportunity to present the mortality of war and its futility. These conceptions of war are collectively accentuated in Henry’s…show more content… In Shakespeare’s work, the concept of war and battle was familiar amongst the Elizabethan audience, as they had just experienced the Hundred Years’ War, and thus were overwhelmed with a sense of patriotism and pride of England. Thus, Shakespeare’s audience thrived from such blood and violence, and so Shakespeare ensured to reveal his work as supporting of such notion. Shakespeare allows this conception of war to be particularly emphasised in Henry’s St Crispin’s Day speech, which would ultimately be his last chance to rouse his troops in order to gain the same sense of patriotism in which England was so familiar with. This speech enables the audience to connect their emotions of the Hundred Years’ War, and perceive this in the leadership of Henry, adhering to the Machivellian structure of leadership whilst complex in character. To do so, Shakespeare ensured that Henry was a rouseful character, implementing inspiring rhetoric in his speech. The patriotic sense of war was highlighted through this speech, as proclaimed by Henry, “But he’ll remember with advantages, what feats he did that day.” Such language used by Shakespeare enabled Henry to project the fulfilment
