Verse and Prose in Henry V
Thomas Merriam · Notes and Queries · 2017
In 1998 I employed neural networks using letter frequencies to explore the authorship of the Shakespeare First Folio. The patterns that emerged presented sections which showed a significant difference from the writing of Shakespeare. These included, for example, the first acts of Henry V, Edward III, 1 Henry VI, and Titus Andronicus—the last three now widely accepted as containing text not by Shakespeare. Then I found that the stylistic patterns of the verse parts throughout Henry V also differed from Shakespeare's and resembled those of Marlowe more than those of Shakespeare. The prose parts were clearly and incontrovertibly by Shakespeare.1 This division in Henry V is reinforced by Norman Rabkin’s observation, in Henry V Shakespeare creates a work whose ultimate power is precisely the fact that it points in two opposite directions, virtually daring us to choose one of the two opposed interpretations it requires of us.2 The critical tradition on H5 is notoriously divided between the celebratory view of heroic kingship, patriotism, and nationalism versus the skeptical perspective that emphasises irony and questioning of ideology.3