That’s what Henry V says to his intended, a French princess who he courts and marries at the end of the play bearing his name. He has united England in the shared national purpose of invading France, and he marries the princess to seal the peace.
But it’s what Shakespeare has him say that is the most interesting:
Henry: “O Kate, nice customs curtsy to great kings. Dear Kate, you and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country’s fashion. We are the makers of manners, Kate, and the liberty that follows our places stops the mouth of all find-faults,…”
It’s not a democratic sentiment, but that wasn’t a democratic time. Henry is arguing in favor of a privileged elite – of which he is of course the most privileged – who are allowed to ignore the manners and standards of their time, and who in fact may go further and set those standards for others.
And what does Henry ultimately want to use his untrammeled power as a cultural influencer for? Why, for a kiss, and specifically a public one. Having said that the liberty that he and the princess enjoy based on their “places” stops the mouths of all “find-faults,” he proposes to “stop” her mouth.
Henry: “…as I will do yours for upholding the nice fashion of your country in denying me a kiss. Therefore, patiently and yielding. (kissing her)”
He is literally directing her to be patient and yield. Well, not that she realizes this – she doesn’t speak English and she is provided no translator. We are far distant even from the kiss Petruchio asks of his Kate at the end of The Taming of the Shrew:
Katherine: “Husband, let’s follow, to see the end of this ado.”
Petruchio: “First kiss me, Kate, and we will.”
Katherine: “What, in the midst of the street?”
Petruchio: “What, art thou ashamed of me?”
Katherine: “No, sir, God forbid; but ashamed to kiss.”
Petruchio: “Why, then let’s home again. Come, sirrah, let’s away.”
Katherine: “Nay, I will give thee a kiss: now pray thee, love, stay.”
Even the shrew-tamer Petruchio defers to his lady’s modest desire to avoid kissing in the street. She changes her mind of her own free will. By contrast, Henry V is, to quote King Lear, every inch a king. He goes on courting his French princess in a language she does not understand:
Henry V: “You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate. There is more eloquence in a sugar touch of them than in the tongues of the French council, and they should sooner persuade Harry of England than a general petition of monarchs.”
And so in all ages do the privileged assert their prerogatives. At least Henry V was sealing a peace deal with his kiss. When we look at the excesses of the privileged of our day, from Jeffrey Epstein to Hunter Biden, we seem to be sealing something closer to our doom.
I write this blog because the classics, and Shakespeare chief among them, can keep us connected to the highest and best in Western culture, and because modern life can reveal richer meanings when it’s refracted through a Shakespearean prism. Hope you enjoyed!
