In the play’s longest soliloquy, King Henry reflects bitterly upon the responsibilities of kings during a rare and brief solitary moment.
Upon the King! Let us our lives, our souls, our
debts, our careful wives, our children, and our sins, lay on the King!
We must bear all. O hard condition,
Twin-born with greatness, subject to the breath
Of every fool whose sense no more can feel
But his own wringing. What infinite heart’s ease
Must kings neglect that private men enjoy?
And what have kings that privates have not too,
Save ceremony, save general ceremony?
And what art thou, thou idol ceremony?
What kind of god art thou that suffer’st more
Of mortal griefs than do thy worshipers?
In his private speech, Henry characterizes Kingship as a heavy burden, arguing that a King “must bear all,” or in other words, must assume responsibility for his own problems as well as those of his subjects. With a sense of pained irony, he inverts the usual relationship of King to subject, insisting that it is he who is “subject to the breath” of all those who come to him complaining of some problem or seeking assistance. He yearns instead for the “infinite heart’s ease” that he believes comes naturally to those who aren’t King, and dismisses the empty “ceremony” of royalty. This soliloquy gives the audience insight into Henry’s thoughts and feelings regarding his role as King. The deep pessimism that he expresses here stands in stark contrast to his confident, boastful public statements.
