From War Crimes to 'Truce Thinking' in Shakespeare's Henry V

• Published in: Early modern literary studies p. 1
• Main Author: Iyengar, Sujata
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sheffield Matthew Steggle, Editor, EMLS 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Audiences; Compromises; Coups d'etat; Diplomacy; Diplomatic & consular services; Drama; English literature; Film adaptations; Ideology; Minority & ethnic violence; Peace; Philosophers; Reconciliation; Truces & cease fires; War; France
• ISSN: 1201-2459; 1201-2459

Shakespeare's Henry V (1600) concludes with a treaty between England and France, enabled through the marriage of King Henry and Princess Katherine, the compromises of France and Burgundy, Queen Isabella's advocacy and even Henry's own willingness to let his delegates speak on his behalf. British and US governments have wielded this play as a weapon of war through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from the Second World War to the Falklands conflict to the so-called War on Terror, as Imelda Wheelan and Deborah Cartmell, Sara Munson Beats, and, most recently, Diana Henderson have explored.8 I suggest that the theatrical construction of Henry V - where we are unsure who has broken the rule of honor first and whether Henry's response is justified - encourages the audience to question the value of war for 'abstract... principles' and of a perfect peace process. [...]the play's final scenes critique the so-called just war and praise the value of even the temporary peace enabled by the treaty and truce in both the "high" and "low" style, through political drama, romance, and farce. [...]5.2 teaches audiences the value of the 'truce thinking' brought by Burgundy and France: peace that 'nurse[s the] arts, plenties, and joyful births' (5.2.36), (Burgundy, conditions 2 and 4); an imagined peaceful future where 'all griefs and quarrels' shall change 'into love' (5.2.20; Isabella, condition 1); a distance from stubborn ideology, where Henry's mere 'request shall make [the King] let it pass' (5.2.356; both the King of France and Henry, condition 3); and an eye to better positioning in future negotiations as Henry fantasizes 'compounding] a boy...that shall...[fight] the Turk' (5.2.216-217; Henry, condition 5). Avoidance diverts insoluble ideological conflicts by minimizing contact and raising the stakes of going to war (the Cold War and mutually assured destruction) or by creating coalitions and dividing territory.