Abstract
'What is my nation?' wondered the Irishman, Captain Macmorris, before the walls of Harfleur; and Henry V is among other things the story of national identity, the fusing of English, Irish, Scots, and Welsh into British. To this theme is assimilated the personal identity of the English (or Anglo-Welsh) leader, Henry. Henry V is dated with certainty to 1599, a year or so before Hamlet. The later play takes much further the sketch of nationhood and identity presented in Henry V. What had been a set of literals, the overt presence of four peoples, takes on in Hamlet a largely metaphorical status. Everything in Hamlet, whatever its physical reality, is in the end subsumed into Hamlet. Events have meaning as they bear upon the consciousness at the centre of the play. And for Hamlet, the drama of his consciousness unfolds through areas of national definition. The geography of Europe becomes, in the end, countries of the mind.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
