Gentile, Aly

English

DigitalCommons@C.O.D.

ESSAIVolume 7 Article 204-1-2010Leaders in Today's World and Their Parallelism toShakespearean Characters in Henry VAly GentileCollege of DuPageFollow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/essaiThis Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. It has been accepted for inclusion inESSAI by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. For more information, please contact koteles@cod.edu.Recommended CitationGentile, Aly (2009) "Leaders in Today's World and Their Parallelism to Shakespearean Characters in Henry V," ESSAI: Vol. 7, Article20.Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol7/iss1/2053Leaders in Today’s World and Their Parallelism to Shakespearean Characters in Henry Vby Aly Gentile(Honors Seminar English 2228)he most influential playwright of all time recently celebrated his 445th birthday, or at least hismany fans did. Of course this man is the one and only William Shakespeare. To this day it isan amazing accomplishment to see how we, as a culture, have used his literary works in avariety of ways. His plays are commonly taught in the classroom and used in the arts, and very oftenperformed on stage in theater. It is not just the storylines and themes that make his works somemorable, however. Shakespeare’s many characters provide the reader with the knowledge of howdiverse some of these roles he wrote were. Shakespeare’s characters have been known to representlove, sex, power, and wealth, just to name a few characteristics. It is with these characters that thereader can also draw comparisons to the people of today’s world. This paper will examine theparallelism between Shakespeare’s character Henry V and business executives/ CEOs of todayregarding leadership.The world of business is growing at a rapid pace, even now with the current downturn in theeconomy, because business is one field that will continue to expand. With new jobs being created,many positions also will need to be filled and therefore many applicants for these jobs. But, what doemployers look for when considering a top position in a corporation? The answer among otherfactors is leadership. To lead, by definition, is to influence, induce or to guide in a direction, course,action, opinion. In Shakespeare’s Henry V, this ruler holds a highly regarded position as King. Thereare many types of leadership, however, like many business executives utilizing different strategies intoday’s world. Such strategies show some people excel as leaders, while others do not. Having theknowledge of what makes up a good leader by examining the character Henry V should inspireothers like me, thinking about entering corporate America.Henry V, the play’s protagonist and hero, is one of the most highly regarded ofShakespeare’s characters to be evaluated. Henry possesses intelligence along with charisma, makinghim a good candidate for King. According to William Frank of the Denver Business Journal, thereare ten competencies that comprise good leadership in the business world. These leadership qualitiescan also be applied when we judge Henry V. While Henry V is a well-respected king, he possessesmany of these core criteria of leadership competency that Frank lists. The first competency Henry Vexhibits is vision. Indeed, one of Henry’s great aspects is the fact that he is driven and has a greatability to resolve. Once Henry sets his mind to accomplishing a goal, he utilizes every resourceavailable to see that it’s accomplished. This is present throughout the play as Henry attempts andeventually conquers France. Here, for example Henry is speaking to the governor of France, trying toget them to surrender: “What say you?/ Will you yield and this avoid or, guilty in defense, be thusdestroyed?” (3.3.42-43).1  Along with the competency of vision, Henry also possesses strategy,focus, while he is tactical. Henry exhibits these competencies even when he is outnumbered duringthe Battle of Agincourt: “There’s five to one/ Besides, they are all fresh” (4.3.4). Henrycounterattacks and wins the battle with the superiority of his army’s weapon, the long bows thatwould launch far into the French army in order to keep his men out of physical combat. This tacticproves to be a great success, leading his army to victory. Not only is Henry tactical during times ofwar, but he also makes a bold move to marry Katherine, using her as a “political pawn” to bringtogether the English and French kingdoms as well as to ensure that their son will have the legal rightsto Henry’s throne. Henry’s persistence and intelligence made him an extraordinary leader forT1Gentile: Leaders in Today's WorldProduced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 200954England.Leadership is not just determined by vision, strategy, tactics, and focus, however. Many otherqualities are listed by William Frank of the Denver Business Journal to make leaders successful, andonce again Henry V demonstrates that he can execute these competencies. Henry is a great speakerand has a way with language to influence others around him. Frank describes that a leader should beinspirational:Once a vision is established, great leaders can inspire everyone in the company to getonboard. Employees in great organizations are passionate about what they do. Thisinspiration extends to customers, investors, suppliers, boards of directors and all otherstakeholders. This doesn't mean good leaders have to be charismatic or great publicspeakers, though some are. Leaders may inspire by example or in low-key ways.Every word and action demonstrates their passion for the vision.Like the people of today’s business world, Henry uses his speaking abilities to inspire histroops and raises the morale before going into battle, a great way to show leadership among a group.Another quality related to Henry’s speaking ability falling in place with leadership in the businessworld is the art of persuasion. Along with his speaking abilities we see Henry use his rhetorical skillsas a forceful weapon, inspiring followers, intimidating enemies, and persuading practically anyonethat will listen to him. Persuasion is such an important factor in the business world as Frankdiscusses: “Not necessarily salespeople, good leaders can bring others to their point of view usinglogic, reason, emotion and the force of their personalities. They motivate by persuasion rather thanintimidation. The key here is the leader speaking from his or her heart.”  Frank’s analysis is found tobe very true in Henry’s personality as he speaks truthfully as well as manipulatively.One of the last competencies to be applicable to Henry V may be one of the most importantfactors in the business world. Ask anyone in the corporate world if they truly like their boss. Most,I’m sure, would probably say no. Part of being a good leader is being likeable as Frank notes:“[T]hey recognize interpersonal skills are paramount. They display high degrees of emotionalintelligence, and thrive on finesse and likeability.” Henry, in disguise, makes a great effort to feel outwhat the soldiers think of the King and to learn if he as king has been doing a good job. Likeability ingeneral makes work situations easier for everyone, whether you’re in an office in Chicago or fightingfor England with King Henry, a key to a successful leader is likeability.How is leadership obtained? Some are lucky enough to be natural born leaders, a phrasethrown around quite a bit in the business world. However, that’s not always the way leadership isobtained. It has been thought as a learning experience according to Ben Mulvey:This king believes that to become a great leader he has to learn how to do it. Asalluded to above, Henry learns how to communicate with his troops well, therebyallowing him the possibility of motivating them. Corrigan identifies this as a "vitalpart of management" that "still remains the one issue managers flee from."By using Henry’s observing tactic in which he is disguised to observe his troops in order tocommunicate with them, business leaders can follow the same procedure. Before entering thecorporate world, after years of school, you usually need one more thing to be considered for aposition, and that is usually an internship. Before taking part in an organization, it is beneficial toobserve what it may be like to be a part of it. Even though his French enemies point out that Henryhas had little opportunity for an internship as King by stressing Henry’s wasteful youth, Shakespeareshows that Henry has learned his king’s business quickly and that he uses his wits to learn moreabout what his citizens want in a King and is able to learn and become a better leader through this2ESSAI, Vol. 7 [2009], Art. 20http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol7/iss1/2055experience.Many qualities, like the ones listed by William Frank, indeed make a good leader and, to behonest, I’m not sure many business executives follow these criteria, much less know about them.This could be the possible reason some view business executives/CEOs as heartless and therefore notgreat leaders. Becaue I am thinking about majoring in the business world with a specific focus inadvertising/marketing, I believe there is a lot to be learned about what makes a good leader. Weshould realize that no one is perfect, just like Henry V’s younger, rebellious years as the Frenchjustifiably point out. But we should also take into consideration that many people change over thecourse of their life for the better as Henry proves himself. It is also true that we need more peoplelike Henry in corporate America as we can all learn from the way he leads England to victory duringtheir war, the way he ruthlessly conquers France, as well as the way he is able to gain united supportfrom the subjects of his country. Henry V is a great example of what we all could obtain. With somedetermination, strength, and intelligence, I think we can all learn how to be a great leader thanks toHenry V.Note1 All the line references of the play are drawn from the edition listed in the Works-Cited listing.Works CitedFrank, William S. “These 10 Core Competencies Comprise Good Leadership.” Denver BusinessJournal. Friday, 26 August 2005. 13 May 2007<http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/08/29/smallb3.html>.Mulvey, Ben. “Shakespeare on Management: Leadership Lessons for Today's Managers.” Journal ofLeadership & Organizational Studies 7.1 (Winter 2000): 135. Academic OnFile Gale.College of DuPage (all subscribed dbs). 13 May 2009.  <http://0-find.galegroup.com.lrc.cod.edu/itx/start.do?prodId=AONE>.Shakespeare, William. Henry V. The Folger Library Shakespeare. Eds. Barbara A. Mowat and PaulWerstine. New York: Washington Square P, 1995.3Gentile: Leaders in Today's WorldProduced by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2009

Leaders in Today\u27s World and Their Parallelism to Shakespearean Characters in \u3cem\u3eHenry V\u3c/em\u3e

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

[email protected].