It's Better To Be Feared

A common topic we have been discussing in class is King Henry V’s Behavior. When doing so, all that comes to mind for me is the famous quote by Niccolo Machiavelli, “It is better to be feared than loved as a leader”. Time and time again we see King Henry make a threatening statement just to strike fear into those he is speaking to or around.

A good example is when Henry is at the French town of Harfleur. He threatens to massacre the town’s children, women, and elderly civilians. Instead of taking a better approach to this he is willing to strike fear into this French town in the worst possible way. He is seen as a relentless murderous leader at the gates. Did he do it? No. Would he have done it? Probably not, but the fear that was exposed forced this French town to give him what he wanted. We see this common inner struggle with Henry as he has to make hard decisions for his country over and over again. He is responsible for the wellbeing of his country as well as the fate of his kingdom. 

At times being feared has helped him be a better leader. He had to make the challenging decision to put friends to death to uphold the law. This is another example of how Henry must use fear as a king. His kingdom and more importantly, his friends, must understand that his kingdom and his throne is more important than being loved and a “nice guy”. He must separate himself from the role of being king and the man he used to be. Altogether having his people fear him has come allowed him to be more successful than taking a different path.