Throughout English history, kings have been judged by both their political strength and their personal conduct. Each of these criteria is equally important in assessing the success or failure of a king's reign. In William Shakespeare's historical plays, Shakespeare often uses imagery as a tool to compare the success with which a king runs his government, describing the kingdom as a managed or poorly tended garden. A king's personality and political skills determine whether the garden is in an unruly or untouched state, and these images play a distinct role in defining a king's true character. In The Life of Henry V and The Tragedy of King Richard II, Shakespeare uses garden imagery to reveal whether or not each king maintains order in the state. Throughout each piece, the images reveal how Henry and Richard's different political and personal approaches to government affect their leadership abilities, defining how the state should be run to achieve maximum success, and marking progression or the decline of the reign of each king. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Henry V's turbulent adolescence casts a shadow of doubt on his ability to effectively rule his kingdom and subjugates his character and his personality under scrutiny. However, when Ely recalls Henry's youthful days in Canterbury, he states: "The strawberry grows under the nettle,/And healthy berries thrive and ripen better/Nigh the lesser fruits" (1.1 ll. 62 -64). Although Henry surrounded himself with frivolous parties, women, and anything else that gave him pleasure during his adolescent years, his true character was simply dormant and waiting for time to pass to make him mature enough to lead his country. The image of Henry as a strawberry surrounded by nettles not only excuses his behavior as a young man but also foreshadows the difficult war he will endure with France. Henry is surrounded by the intimidating force of the French, but he must overcome these harsh realities to become the king his country can rely on. Henry's true character as a fully-grown adult is evident after he fulfills his destiny and takes on the French. crown. In the epilogue, the chorus says: "Fortune made her sword, / By which the fairest garden in the world was made / And from it came the imperial lord of her son" (Epilogue ll. 6- 8). Henry used his luck and combined it with his own strength to give him the advantage he needed to achieve his goal. The "most beautiful garden in the world" is a symbol of the great kingdom that Henry has now created: the imagery of the orderly, flowery garden that reveals Henry's true character shows that Shakespeare believed that Henry's personality was fundamental to his success as a leader. For Richard II, the images of the garden that depict his character and personality contrast sharply with the images used towards Henry V. When the gardener is in the royal garden and describes Richard's downfall, he compares the king to the bark of fruit trees, “being too proud”. in sap and blood, / With too much wealth he is confused” (3.4 ll. 60-61). Richard is overconfident and this trait has ruined his ability to defend himself and his kingdom. His inability to see his weaknesses leads to his own failure as a leader; his lacking personality is portrayed as a tree too ripe to tend. Compared to the well-kept and immaculate garden of Henry V, Richard's garden is both overgrownand withered due to his own lack of strong and reliable character. Richard even foreshadows his own demise when he visits John of Gaunt on his deathbed and ignores his last words. After John's death, Richard says, "The ripest fruit falls first, and so does he" (2.1 l.154). Richard's lack of respect for the dying man's last words, which warn him that he does not have the personality to rule with an iron fist, reveals that he cares more about himself than the success of his kingdom. He does not realize that he himself is the “ripest fruit” and that he will soon fall. Nevertheless, his overconfident and weak personality is reflected in the overripe and withered garden imagery that depicts him. Politically, Henry V did not always respect the moral standards he expected of his own subjects whom they strived to respect. It becomes apparent that Shakespeare applies different moral standards to kings than to mere mortals when Burgundy addresses the king after the final battle, saying: "And like our vines, fallows, meadows and hedges, / Defective in their nature , become wild, / Even so our houses and ourselves and our children / Have lost or do not learn for lack of time / The sciences which should become our homeland” (5.2 ll. 54-58). Henry fought a brutal war and defeated the French on their own soil. The “savagery” of the garden of France reveals that they are truly defeated, for their “garden” no longer maintains the order it once had. For Shakespeare, kings like Henry must separate their emotions from their actions in war. A great warrior king must destroy his enemy's orderly government (the garden) in order to create the perfect kingdom for his own nation. France was undoubtedly surprised by Henry's ability to fight a great battle and win it, for when the constable realizes Henry's incredible power, he asks: "Their climate is not- it not misty, damp, dull, / On whom the sun seems pale, / Killing their fruits with their frowns? » (3.5 ll.16-18) Henry's political acumen surprised the French because they had the impression that Henry was simply a spoiled teenager. The constable describes Henry's reign as "foggy, crude and (and) dull" because that was all he believed the English throne was capable of responding to: inhospitable and stifling conditions. Shakespeare, however, excuses Henry's wild behavior as a young man, using it to make his current political skills even more impressive. The emphasis on the pale, withered imagery of the garden of his youth, compared to the strong imagery of his triumph, reveals Henry to be the heroic king that Shakespeare surely believed him to be. The imagery of the garden that reflects Richard's political skills pales in comparison to the imagery surrounding it. Henry V. When Henry Bolingbroke returns to England to take Richard's crown, the gardener refers to how Richard should have tended his "garden", saying: "Go ahead, and, like an executioner, / Cut the head of the too fast. crop spraying/This seems too high in our Commonwealth. / Everything must be equal in our government” (3.4 ll. 34-37). Ironically, according to this statement, Henry Bolingbroke behaves more like a king than Richard himself. Richard left the country without leaving any defenses behind to save his crown. He did not “cut off” Henry’s head as he should have done when he decided to banish him from the country. This made the “government” unequal, providing Henry with the perfect opportunity to seize the throne. Richard has made one mistake after another, proving that his skills as a politician are far from adequate. Alluding to the fall of Richard, the.