God Be with You All: Shakespeare's Henry V

Shortly before the English engage the French for the final time in Henry V, King Henry comes upon a group of his most senior officers-among them the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Exeter, Sir Thomas Erpingham, and the Earl of Westmoreland-just as his uncle, Earl of Westmoreland, is commenting, "O, that we now had here/ But one ten thousand of those men in England/ That do no work today" (4.3.18-20). Quickly, the King launches into a speech in which he attempts not only to persuade his men that they are in no more need of soldiers, but at the same time to encourage them to fight valiantly in the impending battle. While Henry V gives many speeches throughout Shakespeare's play, this speech given on Saint Crispin's Day in Act Four, Scene Three is the best example of the King's excellent grasp of the elements of rhetoric and persuasion. In just forty eight lines, Henry V expertly employs devices and ideas from both Lannon's The Writing Process as well as traditional Elizabethan Rhetoric, including the use of deliberative rhetoric, the presentation of a debatable point, and an ability to connect with his audience.