King Henry: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

In my Shakespeare class, we have moved onto Henry V, one of the numerous history plays. The history plays explore the themes of nationhood, political morality and kingship extensively and Henry V focuses on the dichotomy of King Henry's public and private self.

Public Henry is patriotic, noble, honorable, uses mercy for political manipulation, and does not show weakness or mistakes. However, this is more of the stereotypical persona a king of the time period was expected to put on. In his famous St. Crispin's Day speech, he give a Braveheart-esque rallying speech to his men about the honor of fighting for England. I guess we should say that Mel Gibson was imitating Henry's speech instead. Henry's public persona is definite and allows no room for human error.
Yet, it is undeniable that Henry is just a man- full of weaknesses and faults just like any other. In fact, his private self is becoming absorbed by his public persona to the point that he is trapped as the kind. He can rarely express anything less than strength and power to those around him. But as the readers looking in, we can see the struggles he goes through as a man and as a king, with old friends, accepting responsibility, and finding love.

We see this today in our leaders- their public persona and campaigns versus their personal lives and values. Better yet, we find this within ourselves- hopefully not to the extent of Jekyll and Hyde, but definitely many ideas of good and evil, decorum and barbarity, and expectations against capabilities war within us. Personally, I struggle with a public perception of who I am and what I do by those I know which often limits my ability to show weakness and flaws publicly. I've discovered that a boundary between public and private portrayals is sometimes necessary while I retain an honesty of character. I cannot be careless with whom I reveal parts or the whole of myself to, but I also refuse to allow myself to become trapped in a public persona.