So did he turn, and over Suffolk's neck
He threw his wounded arm, and kiss'd his lips;
And so, espous'd to death, with blood he seal'd
A testament of noble-ending love.
But we must have done with splendid quotations. The behaviour of the
king, in the difficult and doubtful circumstances in which he is
placed, is as patient and modest as it is spirited and lofty in his
prosperous fortune. The character of the French nobles is also very
admirably depicted; and the Dauphin's praise of his horse shows the
vanity of that class of persons in a very striking point of view.
Shakespeare always accompanies a foolish prince with a satirical
courtier, as we see in this instance. The comic parts of HENRY V are
very inferior to those of HENRY IV. Falstaff is dead, and without
him. Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph are satellites without a sun.
Fluellen the Welshman is the most entertaining character in the
piece. He is good-natured, brave, choleric, and pedantic. His
parallel between Alexander and Harry of Monmouth, and his desire to
have 'some disputations' with Captain Macmorris on the discipline of
the Roman wars, in the heat of the battle, are never to be
forgotten. His treatment of Pistol is as good as Pistol's treatment
of his French prisoner. There are two other remarkable prose
passages in this play: the conversation of Henry in disguise with
the three sentinels on the duties of a soldier, and his courtship of
Katherine in broken French.
Pages:
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237