Composers represent the complex interactions between people and politics.

In your analysis of your prescribed text and at least ONE related text of your own choosing,
explore the complexity of people and politics.

Political leaders who are fuelled by an overwhelming motivation for the acquirement of power must
make moral compromises. As a result of this, citizenry are heavily impacted by these political actions,
and therefore composers aim to represent the complex interactions between people and politics. It is
through an exploration of Shakespeare’s history play King Henry IV Part 1 that audiences are Commented [MM1]: historical
exposed to the consequences of political leaders’ curation of their public image alongside social
manipulation of citizenry as a means of attaining power. Commented [MM2]: Good thesis

Representations of political leaders who curate their own public image forces audiences to recognise
the propagation of a falsehood as a means of gaining public admiration. It is through Shakespeare’s Commented [MM3]: Good topic sentence
articulate representation of Hal as a Machiavellian political personality, that Shakespeare asserts to
audiences that success arises from creating a public image separate to individual identity. This is
evidenced through the simile of “My presence, like a robe pontifical” which represents the facade that
the King forges as he likens himself to the Pope; a means required to gain public approval. Therefore,
it is through the propagation of a false public image by political leaders that Shakespeare effectively
reveals the complex interactions between people and politics, whereby citizenry are led by a leader
who had usurped the throne, going against the Divine Right of Kings, but displays himself as a good
leader. In conjunction with this, the King’s soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 2 allowed Shakespeare to reveal Commented [MM4]: Good, you really tackled the
the King’s inner thoughts and the motives for morphing his public image, as this deceitful act allows question head on here!
him maintain positive social perceptions as evidenced in the metaphor in “And dressed myself in such Commented [MM5]: You dipped into past tense here
humility.” King Henry’s political perspective that power demands deception of one’s identity is
shared with Prince Hal, as crystallised through the mythological reference in “Rise from the ground
like feathered Mercury… To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus.” Shakespeare’s great use of juxtaposition
between the acts of deceit that characterise Mercury and the purity of Pegasus confronts audiences
with the representations of Hal’s duplicitous behaviour that is a direct product of his father’s own
Machiavellian instincts. Hence, it is through the similar representations of both King Henry and
Prince Hal as political leaders who are fuelled by Machiavellian instincts, that audiences are exposed
to the role of deception in the acquirement of power. Commented [MM6]: good, but you need to go further
here and really link to the question
Political leaders will often be forced to compromise their morals and principles as a means of
attaining power and as a result, will manipulate the powerlessness of the wider society. It is through Commented [MM7]: Good
Shakespeare’s manipulation of the theatrical form that he effectively represents to audiences the
extent of the social manipulation that is enforced by political leaders who seek to maintain power.
This is evidenced through the diction of “civil butchery” in the King’s monologue, and it is through
Shakespeare’s articulate use of monologue that the King’s inner political motivations and actions are
revealed, whereby violence and political conflict are correlated to slaughter of wider society.
Shakespeare furthers his criticism of political leaders who abuse their power and manipulate the
powerlessness through his representation of Falstaff, as evidenced in the symbolism of food in “food
for powder, food for powder,” to represent the manipulation of citizenry’s powerlessness to become
political tools used in war and battles. In conjunction with this, the repetition in “tush man, mortal
men, mortal men,” allows Shakespeare to assert the idea that thousands of deaths are caused by
political machinations of the noble class, as per Realpolitik.. Therefore, it is through the Commented [MM8]: Shouldn't just show this term in,
representation of political leaders who attain power through social manipulation that audiences are without some context and demonstrating you understand
forced to recognise that politics if often a complex interplay between people in power and ‘ordinary’ what it means conceptually
people are often put in jeopardy as a result of populace having no control over their fate. Commented [MM9]: Much better! This is the way you
want to end you paragraphs