Leadership Assignment: What Makes Shakespeare’s King Henry V a Perfect Leader?
William Shakespeare is a man that needs no introduction. He had an inherent art for playwright and wit of a poet. Shakespeare may not have realized this but centuries later, his literary work will not only be recognized for its aesthetics but also for the makings of a leader. He was a man who weaved magic through his words and taught the world today how to manage people, communicate effectively and lead by example. He belongs to the time of Elizabethan era where its people believed in dictatorship and assumed that rulers are born to rule and the followers have no choice but to follow them. However, Shakespeare contested this belief system through his work, that was the only source of entertainment back in the day, and used his protagonists to send out the right message. He not only presented valiantly successful leaders, but also the ones who failed. His work was a classic example of how leaders were made, not born.
Having said that, this theory can be best explained by Shakespeare’s play King Henry V who was the most venerable leader and a hero of that time. The tragic play is believed to have been penned around 1599 that told the story of events preceding and succeeding the Battle of Aginfort in 1415. The play is about King Henry V of England who was tasked with recouping the throne that was usurped by the French army. Even though England’s army believed that they are marching towards a lost war in France, King Henry V’s leadership qualities turned the tide in their favor. Henry not only led the battle from the front, but also gave the best motivational speech, in Shakespeare’s words, to his exhausted army that was no match to the well-prepared French knights in …
