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Understanding Shakespeare quote

I am currently doing an assessment for the question 'With close reference to this soliloquy, how effectively did Shakespeare use different writing techniques to convey Henry’s thoughts and feelings to the audience?'

and I am stuck on what the quote 'Fiery Fever' would suggest about Henry V's thoughts and emotions.

Reply 1

Hyperbolit

Hi there ^^FLORA^^, Henry V's soliloquy is - in a way - a rant (or a lament, perspective depending) against the burdens of kingship. The irony is that the average Joe or the beggar seems to live a better life than a king, because they aren't bombarded by sundry issues pertaining to state and society. This constant expectation of kings to "bear all" ("We must bear all") is what gives rise to the "fiery fever" that Henry alludes to: he's expressing the view that there's so much a king has to worry about, he's ultimately going to fall ill from all the stress and pressure.

I hope this answers your query re the phrase "fiery fever", but of course, your assessment question would cover a much broader scope of concern than just this quote alone.

Reply 2

username5029484

Hello, You must be an English Genius. You're explanation was flawless and exactly what I needed to hear. So thank you all I'm worried about now is if my teacher will think I copied it from somewhere because there is no way I would of answered so well.
Could you also help me to understand what the repetition of 'ceremony' in the same soliloquy is suggesting about his thoughts and emotions.
Just saying I'm only in Year 10 if you wanted to know.

Thanks Flora

Reply 3

Hyperbolit

Original post by ^^FLORA^^

Hi again Flora! So the word "ceremony", meaning 'ritual', is repeated to ironic effect in Henry V's speech. In line with the monarch's general weariness of his station and its burdens, Henry V is essentially saying that despite the abundance of 'ceremony' (this abundance is conveyed by the 7-time repetition of the word 'ceremony' in this speech) - the pomp and circumstance, glitz and glam of royal rituals - a king does not feel any happier for experiencing these outward shows, and he would much rather lead a quiet, unknown life as "the subject of country's peace". He mocks the hollowness of ceremony with the use of apostrophe in "O ceremony, show me but thy worth!/What is thy soul of adoration?", which of course implies 'ceremony's' lack of substance. And when he says "And, but for ceremony, such a wretch,/Winding up days with toil and nights with sleep,/Had the forehand and vantage of a king.", he is again being ironic: a miserable man doesn't have ceremony, but is at least able to conclude a hard day's work with sound sleep. The idea here being that Henry V much prefers mundane but comforting sleep over glamorous but empty 'ceremony', which is useless and not at all a shame to miss out on.

Actually, I've written a blog post on how to analyse the use of repetition in literature, and I quoted Shakespeare as one my illustrative examples ('Macbeth', though). See if it helps as a reference? https://hyperbolit.com/2020/04/04/is-repetition-too-easy-to-write-about-youll-be-surprised/

Reply 4

username5029484

Thankyou all this has helped me lot! and I am finally finished with the essay so... thank you!

Also do you know if we can change our username on this website?