Throughout English history, kings have been judged by both their political strength and their personal conduct. Each of these criteria is equally important in evaluating the success or failure of a king's reign. In William Shakespeare's historical works, Shakespeare often uses imagery as a tool to compare how successfully a king runs his government, describing the kingdom as a managed or unkempt garden. A king's personality and statesmanship determine whether the garden is in unruly or pristine condition, 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 images of gardens to reveal whether or not each king keeps the state in order. In each work, the images reveal how Henry and Richard's different political and personal approaches to governing influence their leadership skills, defining how the state should be run for maximum success and marking the progression or decline of each's rule. king. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Henry V's turbulent adolescence casts a shadow of doubt over his ability to rule his kingdom effectively and puts his character and personality under scrutiny. When Ely speaks of Henry's youthful days in Canterbury, however, he states: "The strawberry grows under the nettle, / And wholesome berries thrive and ripen better / Close to fruit of lower quality" (1.1 ll. 62-64 ). Although Henry surrounded himself with frivolous parties, women, and whatever else brought him pleasure during his adolescence, his true character was simply dormant and waiting for the passage of time to make him mature enough to rule his country. The image of Henry as a strawberry surrounded by nettles not only justifies his behavior as a young man, but also foreshadows the difficult war with France that he will have to endure. Henry is surrounded by the intimidating force of the French, but he must overcome these harsh realities to become the king his country can count on. Henry's true character as a fully blossomed adult is evident after he fulfills his destiny and takes the French. crown. In the epilogue the chorus says: "Fortune made her sword, / With which the best garden in the world was made / And of it she left 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 "best garden in the world" is a symbol of the great kingdom that Henry has now created: images of the flowering and tidy garden that reveal Henry's true character show that Shakespeare believed that Henry's personality was central to his success as a ruler . For Richard II, the garden imagery that describes his character and personality is in stark contrast to the imagery used towards Henry V. When the gardener is in the royal garden and describes Richard's downfall, he compares the king to bark of fruit trees, "being too proud in sap and blood, / With too many riches he is confused" (3.4 ll. 60-61). Richard is too self-confident and this trait has ruined his ability to defend himself himself and his kingdom. His inability to see his own weaknesses determines his failure as a leader; his deficient personality is described as a tree too mature to maintain itself Riccardo is becoming overgrown and withered due to his lack of characterstrong and reliable. Richard even foreshadows his own end when he visits John of Gaunt on his deathbed and ignores his final words. After John's death, Richard states: "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 has no personality and needs 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 “ripenest fruit” and will soon fall. However, his overconfident and weak personality is reflected in the imagery of the overripe and withered garden that describes him. Politically, Henry V does not always hold himself to the moral standards he expects his subjects to strive to meet. It becomes apparent that Shakespeare applies different moral standards to kings than to mere mortal men when Burgundy addresses the king after the final battle, saying, “And while our vineyards, fallows, meadows, and hedgerows, / Defective in their nature, grow to become wild, / Thus our homes and ourselves and our children / We have lost, or we do not learn for lack of time / The sciences that should become our homeland" (5,2 ll. 54-58). Henry fought a brutal war and defeated the French on their own soil. The “wildness” of the French garden reveals that they are truly defeated, because their “garden” no longer maintains the order it once had. For Shakespeare, kings like Henry must separate their emotions from their actions during war. A great warrior king must destroy his enemy's orderly government (garden) to create the perfect kingdom for his nation. France was no doubt surprised by Henry's ability to fight a great battle and win because when the constable realizes Henry's incredible power he asks: “Is not their climate misty, raw, dull, / Upon which the sun appears pale, / Killing their fruits with their frowns?”(3.5 ll.16-18) Henry's political experience surprised the French because they were under the impression that Henry was simply a spoiled teenager. The agent describes Henry's rule as "foggy, crude, (and) boring" because that was all he believed the English throne was capable of responding to: inhospitable, suffocating conditions. Shakespeare, however, justifies Henry's wild behavior as a young man, using it to make his current political skills seem much more impressive. The focus on the imagery of the withered, pale garden of his youth compared to the strong imagery of his triumph reveals that Henry is the heroic king that Shakespeare surely believed him to be. The imagery of the garden reflecting Richard's political skills pales in comparison to the surrounding imagery. 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 thou and, like an executioner, / Cut off the heads too quickly - growing sprays / Which seem too noble in our Commonwealth. / All 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 defense 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 instead. 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 Richard's downfall, the gardener then says: “All the earth is full of weeds, its most beautiful flowers are suffocated, / Its.