For Shakespeare’s audience, and for readers who are familiar with the plays that detail the youth of Prince Hal and his ascension to the throne as Henry V, this rent-seeking behavior is extremely troubling. As the bishops’ talk of the King’s moral reformation reminds us, the moment he takes the throne Henry V rejects the drunken carousing companions of his youth—most notably the famously charming and dangerous hooligan, Sir John Falstaff. Henry V means this rejection to stand as a symbol to his subjects that he has “turned away my former self” in order to become a noble and honorable king.
HT Quot'd
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