Shakespeare’s Machiavellian Moment: Discovering Ethics and Forming a Leadership Narrative in Henry V

Abstract

Shakespeare’s Henry V, like the historical Henry V, was an enlightened and effective executive leader. Shakespeare attributes part of Henry’s success to adroit image manipulation and unhesitating decisiveness, presenting him as a proto-Machiavellian prince. But in Henry V, Shakespeare also paints a portrait of a prince who acts with restraint, adheres to a well-defined moral framework, and refrains from extremes in pursuit of policy objectives. The changing social and political context of Henry’s England called for a new model of leadership, and Henry adapted himself to tackle these realities through a deliberately constructed leadership narrative.