Henry V: Style 1 key example

New! Understand every line of Henry V.
Read our modern English translation.
Act 4, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis:

The style of the play is primarily elevated and formal, befitting its status as a history play that depicts significant events and figures in English history, though Shakespeare also uses a more vulgar style in the play’s comedic scenes. Henry V is written primarily in blank verse, a form of poetry that is characterized by unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare’s use of blank verse gives the dialogue a rhythmic quality that emphasizes the gravity and importance of characters' speeches. However, the play also includes passages of prose, a more natural mode of speech that is used for more casual or comedic dialogue between “low” or common characters, such as Pistol, Bardolph, and Nym.