SHAKSPER 1993: Re: *Henry V* and French

From: Hardy M. Cook (hmcook@boe00.minc.umd.edu)
Date: 07/24/93 

Shakespeare Electronic Conference, Vol. 4, No. 451.  Saturday, 24 July 1993.
 
From:           Peter Ayers <payers@kean.ucs.mun.ca>
Date:           Friday, 23 Jul 1993 08:24:59 -0400
Subject:        Henry V and French
 
With respect to Bill Kemp's recent comment, surely whatever else Henry is,
he is not monolingual; as Katherine points out in V.ii.188-9, his French
is better than her English, and certainly up to the task of defining his
own priorities in 180-4.  He claims linguistic incompetence here as
elsewhere, but here as elsewhere, it is a singularly disingenuous self-
definition.  The real issue seems to be power; Henry is now in a position
to make others bow to his language, literally and metaphorically.
 
Peter Ayers
Dept. of English
Memorial University


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