ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that Henry V reveals Shakespeare moving beyond the mere belittlement of the Tamburlainian prototype. Both Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare are intensely interested in the mechanics of their artistry as a means for increasing the dramatic effectiveness of their plays. The changes in Shakespeare's attitude toward Marlowe's work that surface in Henry V can be placed in a broader chronological context. Rather than expand on Shapiro's argument that the Tamburlaine plays and Henry V are heroical histories or on the list of five parallels, the author wants to take the argument for influence in another direction. Central to the artistic concerns of Marlowe in the Tamburlaine plays and Shakespeare in Henry V is the characterization of the protagonist. In glorifying Henry, Shakespeare is responding not only to the familiar tradition behind Henry the hero king but to the Tamburlaine of Marlowe's first play.
