Henry's Fourth Act Soliloquy: His State of Mind Anonymous 12th Grade

At the start of the fourth act of Shakespeare’s Henry V, there is a famous soliloquy in which King Henry ponders and laments his role as king. In the soliloquy, he complains of his big responsibility of having the weight of all his people on his shoulders. He asks himself questions about the role of a king in comparison to being a regular man and concludes that besides the riches and ceremony, a king has no more good things than a common man. He worries about the fact that while an entire country is in his hands, he cannot fully stop all hardships of his people. He discusses how this great responsibility stresses him out and keeps him up at night. Lastly, he states that slaves are better off than he because they do not have to worry about keeping the peace of an entire country. Through this soliloquy, Henry is able to convey his lamentable state of mind through Shakespeare’s use of abstract diction, taste imagery, and parallel syntax.

Shakespeare’s use of abstract diction in the soliloquy conveys Henry’s inner feelings of lament. This abstract diction creates an emotional tone through using words that describe something deeper than what Henry can perceive through his five senses. They are words that convey a deeper emotion than...