Something to Muse About: The Hollow Crown's "Henry V"

The Hollow Crown's "Henry V" - All Hail King Hiddleston!

Following the death of his father, Prince Hal is now Henry V.

Time to be king

In this final instalment of The Hollow Crown, brilliantly narrated by John Hurt, Prince Hal has now risen to power as King Henry V (though thankfully without abandoning the red leather jacket). Following his rebellious shenanigans as a prince, his strategy of seemingly transforming himself has brought mixed results. While some of his advisers note the brilliance of his reformation at the start of the film, there are still those that remain skeptical of his abilities to be an effective King. This comes to a boiling point when Dauphin, the eldest son of King Charles of France, sends him a "gift" of tennis balls to poke fun at his past reputation. The insult of this gesture is enough to ignite Henry's will to invade France in order to claim it as his.

But God said so

Yet again, the role of religious superstition must be noted in understanding the motives of various characters. Though Henry believes that his position as King has been divinely chosen, he is still haunted by the manner in which his father acquired the throne. We see a touching moment of vulnerability when he prays to God to not be punished for the sins of his father. This is, of course, quite contradictory but throughout each of the Hollow Crown plays, it is often difficult to determine whether the actions of certain characters lean more towards being just or self-serving. Not only does Henry see his invasion of France as just, he believes it is ordained by God. However, these complexities are part of the appeal and legacy of Shakespeare's plays.

Let me see you climax

This play shows Hiddleston at his finest. There are countless moments that showcase his talents and he weaves his self-proclaimed love of Shakespeare into the delivery of his lines. Both the "We few, we happy few" and "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more" speech are delivered to inspire his soldiers, and the delivery of these speeches is so outstanding that the inspiration has overflowed into the army of the actor himself. The fact that the "Once more" speech was the first thing that Hiddleston filmed for the series makes the performance even more incredible, given that it is arguably the character's most climactic moment of all the plays in which he appears. As a bonus, viewers are treated to the immense pleasure of seeing Henry lay on the charm to coax Princess Catherine into marrying him. Putting aside the crude innuendos made afterwards between Henry and the Duke of Burgendy, the scene of him professing his "love" is one that will send many hearts a flutter. Bravo, Hiddleston, bravo.