Scenes of Linguistic Warfare in Shakespeare’s King Henry V
This paper analyses two battle scenes in the Other’s language in Shakespeare’s King Henry V. In this play, the encounter of different national, regional, and social languages leads to linguistic conflicts and ultimately questions the idea of a unified England and homogeneous English. By having a clo...
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| Publicat a: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/asf, |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
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Arrêt sur scène / Scene Focus
2022
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| Matèries: | |
| Accés en línia: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Sumari: | This paper analyses two battle scenes in the Other’s language in Shakespeare’s King Henry V. In this play, the encounter of different national, regional, and social languages leads to linguistic conflicts and ultimately questions the idea of a unified England and homogeneous English. By having a closer look at the concepts of nationalism and language of the time, this article explores how language was viewed and how Shakespeare expressed his opinion about the “minority” languages. The regional captains’ scene on the battlefield and the encounter between Pistol and the captured French soldier display different versions of linguistic otherness. This article will show how the linguistic confusion and transgression caused by different foreign accents and distinct idiolects contribute to the humour of the two scenes, but also demonstrate their subversive force to the King’s project of nationalistic and linguistic unity. By staging multilingualism, Shakespeare presents conflicting languages that narrate their regional and ideological background and create a world where disparate points of view enter into a dialogue with each other. |
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