What Makes a Great Hero According to the Classic Philosophy?

Last week we learned about the idea of a philosopher king constructed by the Greek philosophers, and the unethical machinations of a Machiavellian Prince constructed by an Italian philosopher. Socrates pointed out that democracies don’t necessarily promote the best leaders, and Machiavelli pointed out that virtues don’t always lead to success. Ultimately we can see how this played out in history through Shakespeare’s historical dramas. Today we will take a look at Shakespeare’s young Christian leaders. One of his most tragic, Hamlet, and one of his most successful young leaders, King Henry V. 

Hamlet

Hamlet, another of Shakespeare’s famous conflicted protagonists, also finds himself caught between Classic virtue of heroic valor versus the Christian virtue of thoughtfulness. On one hand he feels immense pressure to fulfill his duty as a son and avenge the injustice of his father’s murder. But he must also consider the eternal consequences of his momentary actions. He cannot escape through suicide because Christianity would damn his own immortal soul. At the midpoint crisis of the play he finally gets a chance to kill his father’s betrayer, but finds his guilty uncle at a moment of prayer and repentance. What will the uncle’s eternal fate be if is murdered at a moment of earnestness? There’s so much more to consider in this Christian world. Should Hamlet be a man in the classical sense and fulfil his duties as a son, or should he respect the sanctity of life at risk of eternal damnation? Justice, murder, revenge, and suicide all take on conflicting shapes as we perceive them through these various conflicting philosophies. Ultimately Hamlet is a tragic figure, because he is damned if he takes action, and damns everyone nonetheless when he fails to take action. To be or not to be. In other words, is it better to live or to die? That is the question. Or more crudely put, damned if you do. Damned if you don’t.  

Shakespeare explored these contradictory ideas, and our greatest stories today are still contending with these conflicting values. Whether it be the conflict between traditional Judeo-Christianty values versus Humanism. Or whether it be the conflict between science versus religion, or the fight between the competing values of equality versus meritocracy. A good story might provide a solid case for one side against the other. But a great story makes a great case for the deeply necessary qualities of both sides, as well as their inherent contradictions. It forces us to contend with the paradox of the human situation. 

King Henry V

Of all the political leaders dramatized by Shakespeare, his greatest example of what can be described as a good leader is King Henry V. Shakespeare created several English history plays and his first 4 four plays culminate in the rule of King Henry 5 who was able to unite England, Wales, and Scotland and marry into the French kingdom. 

“The King” on Netflix

There is a really great film on Netflix that I highly recommend loosely based on the historical King Henry V and Shakespeare’s version of King Henry V. I love this story because it shows just how difficult it is to be a great leader. King Henry, or Hal as he is known in his younger days, despises the court and tries to avoid the flatterers and politics near the throne. He sees how suspicious and distrustful his father, King Henry IV, is of both enemies and allies. Hal spends time intermingling with soldiers, peasants, and friends as a juvenile delinquent. 

His father suddenly finds himself ill and worried that he will have to leave his throne to an irresponsible heir. But as soon as he dies, Hal does an about face. He declares that though he is young, and despite how irresponsible he seemed, he will now do his best to be a great king. 

But even if he desires to be a wise king and consider the counsel of those with more experience than himself, he finds it nearly impossible to tell the difference between good advice and flattery. 

He receives a ridiculous gift from the French prince, and doesn’t know whether or not he should take this as an insult. His advisors explain that he has some right to the throne through his ancestry and they also suggest he should invade France. If he does decide to invade France, what should his purpose be? Will his soldiers follow him into battle and risk their lives for a foreign land? The outcome of the fight is not guaranteed. Is it worth the risk? He also has to contend with the Catholic church. He wants to earn respect as a new prince, so what should he do?

Is it Better to Be Loved or Feared?

This is why Machiaveli wrote his book, “The Prince.” Remember he asked, “Is it better for a king to be loved or feared?” Shakespeare’s other kings became tragic because they were either too strong and unable to find peace, or too peaceful and unable to defend themselves against the stronger noble lords under their reign. 

Ultimately King Henry V is able to do both when called for. He can be cruel and decisive when necessary, but also merciful and deliberate when decisions require discernment. He decides to unite the different factions within his kingdom by invading the French. But he himself does not publicly initiate the idea. Instead he secretly negotiates with the church leaders to have them propose the idea publicly if he promises not to cease the lands belonging to the church. This way he can keep up the appearance of his Christian humility without appearing too ambitious. 

The time he spent as a youth in bars interacting with lowly peasants proves useful as he is able to lead his armies himself into battle. He knows their dialect, their slang, and knows how to raise their spirits. He is surprisingly Christian when he needs to be, but he can also play the classic pagan hero when necessary. He’s cunning and logical behind the scenes, speaks ambitiously about valor before his army, is swift to punish disobedience when necessary, and is able to put all of his violence aside once he achieves peace. 

The dialogue in the play reveals just how crazy it is to have these crazy thumotic virtues of classical heroes mixed with Christian virtues. One of his soldiers cries out, 

“I would have blowed up the town, so Christ save me.” 

Here he is both speaking in the Lord’s name, and exclaiming he would have killed them all, completely unaware of just how bizarre the juxtaposition of these two statements are. 

King Henry V himself, when giving a speech to raise the spirits of his soldiers before marching into battle exclaims, 

”Such outward things dwell not in my desires. But if it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive.” 

King Henry V

There is nothing rational about risking your life in battle. Erotic love is the furthest thing from a battlefield and it certainly won’t satisfy ones appetites for life. If the king wants to motivate his men he must appeal to thumos, man’s desire for honor and glory. King Henry V knows better than to make an appeal to Christian virtues like love, patience, and mercy. Unlike Christ he does not want his soldiers to love their enemies. And he is not even pretending to be humble. Yet even here he uses Christian religious language boasting about sin, coveting, and having an offending soul. It’s contradictory at best, but just like his soldier who said he’d, “blow up the town, Christ save me,” the irony seems lost on him. 

The Christian Warrior – A Walking Contradiction

But that’s the funny thing about people. We are all walking contradictions. We believe in one thing but often fail to act it out. Shakespeare’s play about King Henry V is not a tragedy. It’s a comedy. Not exactly because it’s funny, but because it has a happy ending. It is filled with political power plays, war, but ultimately it ends with a marriage, not death. 

Ultimately what helps King Hal to navigate this minefield of potentially tragic disasters is his ability to act like a heroic warrior when going to war, and successfully make the drastic switch to a benevolent Christian king once he achieves peace. MacBeth’s strength was perfect for war, but he brought that warlike aggression into his own ranks after achieving peace which ended in tragedy. Hamlet wasn’t decisive when he needed to be, and far too overly introspective when he needed to take action. 

King Henry V was not an absolutist like Shakespeare’s tragic leaders, but able to change from one extreme to another according to the needs of the situation. Practical like his father, King Henry IV, but without the suspicions of a usurper. Well spoken and regal like King Richard 2, but willing to lead his men into war instead of relying on his nobles. And because King Henry V had avoided the court in his early years, he knew better than to be influenced by flatterers and corruption. He had the education of a prince, but he also knew how to drink and speak the slang of the common people.

So if you yourself want to be a great leader, which model would you follow? Would you rather be a philosopher king, a Machiavellian prince, or Shakespeare’s comedian? Let us know in the comments or suggest your own model.

But even if you don’t want to be a leader, I’m sure we all love great movies about great kings, so I highly suggest you watch the film titled, “The King,” on Netflix this week, and let us know what you think. The film features Timothy Chalamet as King Henry V, and I’ll post a link to the trailer in the notes.

The other reason I like King Henry the V, is the plot comes down to one really critical decision in which the King must put everything on the line. Now looking back and knowing all of the facts, it is easy to judge leaders as having made a wise decision, or having made a tragic choice if it resulted in failure. But to actually be there and have to make that choice, what would you have done? History seems predetermined because we know what happened, and what the results ultimately were. But in real life you have to make tough choices, often under duress, without knowing all of the facts. 

But since most of us don’t really know the story of King Henry V, let me explain the scenario and then you tell me what you would have done.

To unite the divisions within his kingdom, to earn the people’s respect as a young leader, and to make a claim to the French throne, King Henry V successfully led an invasion into France as his first major campaign. After he landed a fleet of warships in Harfleur, and successfully laid a siege to the town, King Charles of France offered a compromise. The French king would not give Henry the crown of France, but he would give him some small dukedoms—that is, small sub-regions within France—as well as the hand of his daughter, Catherine, in marriage if King Henry V agreed to leave France peacefully.

King Henry V, having risked a lot to get this far, turned down the offer and quickly began sweeping across France when he found himself at the battle of Agincourt. 

At Agincourt, the dauphin arrived with an army five times the size of King Henry’s army! If he were to fight them in battle he would be outnumbered 5 to 1, which I don’t need to tell you is not great odds. 

The dauphin, which we mentioned earlier had already insulted the King with his previous gift, was now openly taunting the King.

You must meet with the dauphin to negotiate. What would you do if you were the leader?

Here are your options. The first option we’ll call

1. The Safe Option

Context: When King Henry V arrived in Harfleur with a large fleet of warships King Charles was surprised. So King Charles of France offered a compromise. He would not give Henry the crown of France, but he would give him some small dukedoms—that is, small sub-regions within France—as well as the hand of his daughter, Catherine, in marriage if King Henry V agreed to leave France peacefully.

2. Extreme Personal Risk Option

Context: After sweeping through France with multiple victories, and a successful siege of Harfleur, King Henry V found his army outnumbered five to one at Agincourt. He offered to settle the war in a one-on-one duel with the King’s son known as the Dauphin in French. He argued that it would save many Christian soldiers from having to spill their blood. King Henry V had successfully put down Hotspur’s rebellion using this same strategy, so it made sense for him to try it once again here. It put him at great personal risk, but it was not nearly as risky as going into all out battle when his men were outnumbered. This would remove the Dauphin’s advantage. 

3. High Risk High Reward Option

Battle the French army in the morning. 

Context: As we already mentioned, King Henry V is both outnumbered five to one and he is an invading force. The invading force is always at a disadvantage militarily because

• The invading force doesn’t know the terrain as well
• Operating far from home is expensive and dangerous because resupply lines must be kept secure
• The enemy will fiercely defend their homes because they have much to lose
• The enemy can retreat to familiar territory and easily prolong the war until they have even more advantage

King Henry’s advisors suggested he negotiate even if he lost the upperhand. They all agreed except Sir John Falstaff. 

Falstaff offers an extremely risky military strategy. He believes it will rain, and if it does then the men could gain the advantage by wearing light armor. But they will have to lead with a small heavily armored division as a decoy to hide their intentions. Then, assuming the Dauphin would commit the bulk of his forces, the light infantry would then have to fight in the mud. The hope here is that their advantage in maneuverability would outweigh the French advantage in numbers. 

So again the options are 

1. Safely Retreat and negotiate a surrender to try and recover some losses from this expensive failure.
2. Take some Extreme Personal Risk by offering to fight the war in a duel with the dauphin.
3. And lastly the High Risk High Reward option where you either fight at 5 to 1 odds of losing, or employ an extremely risky strategy suggested by Sir John Falstaff.

Leave us a comment below to let us know which option you would choose. 

Be sure to listen in next week or visit the website if you would like to know the results of your choice and see how they compare to King Henry V’s choice. 
If you would like a transcript or links to more materials on today’s lesson feel free to visit www.BestClassEver.org.