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Chapter 23 - Henry V and the Invasion of Iraq

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2023

By
Tim Collins
Edited by
Amy Lidster  and
Sonia Massai
Amy Lidster
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Sonia Massai
Affiliation:
King's College London
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Summary

This essay gives a fresh account of a pivotal moment in the events that led to the outbreak of the Iraq War in March 2003, when Lieutenant Colonel Tim Collins addressed his troops – the Royal Irish Regiment – paraphrasing off-the-cuff the speech that Shakespeare’s Henry V gives to his men on the eve of the battle of Agincourt. In this essay, Collins reflects on the power of Shakespeare’s language to move not only his audiences in theatres around the world but also soldiers on the battlefield. He explains how important it is for a military leader to be able to inspire his troops into action, especially when the reasons for going to war and the complexities of a conflict like the Iraq War can prove problematic and divisive.

Keywords

Iraq Wareve-of-battle speechHenry Vpower of rhetoricmilitary leadership
Type
Chapter
Information
Shakespeare at War
A Material History
 , pp. 221 - 230
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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