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Shakespeare and the historians: the writing of Henry V

Shakespeare and the historians: the writing of Henry V
Shakespeare and the historians: the writing of Henry V
The chapter argues that Shakespeare's play dovetails two very different approaches to history-writing, borrowing from Plutarch as well as Holinshed. The result is much more than a story about a single medieval military expedition. Indeed it is not much interested in the tactics and technology of Henry’s campaign: there are no archers or sharpened anti-cavalry stakes. Instead it recognises that wars are fought with rhetoric as much as with weapons, and its multiple shades of opinion and conflicts of interest raise important questions about the uses of history, the conduct of war – even the very concept of a ‘just war’ – which are still acutely relevant to us today
978-0-300-21430-7
235-249
Yale University Press
King, Ros
7b27456c-0da8-432b-a82f-ee19af23d4fb
Curry, Anne
Mercer, Malcolm
King, Ros
7b27456c-0da8-432b-a82f-ee19af23d4fb
Curry, Anne
Mercer, Malcolm

King, Ros (2015) Shakespeare and the historians: the writing of Henry V. In, Curry, Anne and Mercer, Malcolm (eds.) The Battle of Agincourt. New Haven, US. Yale University Press, pp. 235-249.

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

The chapter argues that Shakespeare's play dovetails two very different approaches to history-writing, borrowing from Plutarch as well as Holinshed. The result is much more than a story about a single medieval military expedition. Indeed it is not much interested in the tactics and technology of Henry’s campaign: there are no archers or sharpened anti-cavalry stakes. Instead it recognises that wars are fought with rhetoric as much as with weapons, and its multiple shades of opinion and conflicts of interest raise important questions about the uses of history, the conduct of war – even the very concept of a ‘just war’ – which are still acutely relevant to us today

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Published date: 17 November 2015
Organisations: English

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 385087
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/385087
ISBN: 978-0-300-21430-7
PURE UUID: 2ea4691e-60a9-494d-9c44-cf982423c422

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Date deposited: 15 Jan 2016 14:43
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 22:10

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Contributors

Author: Ros King
Editor: Anne Curry
Editor: Malcolm Mercer

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