Defiling Locks : The Language of Rape and Sexual Violence in Henry V
Résumé
Shakespeare’s Henry V is obsessed with rape. The playtext is indeed riddled with images of penetration and sexual invasion, as well as double entendres, sexual puns, and lewd jokes. The aim of this chapter is to revisit the issue of rape and sexual violence in the play (against men and women alike) by providing a close reading of its bawdy or even pornographic subtext. While the first part of this chapter is devoted to the menace of rape as a weapon of war, the second part focuses on the last scene of the play – traditionally referred to as the ‘wooing scene’ – and deals with the question of the ‘symbolic rape’ (J. Howard and P. Rackin) of the princess of France. This essay considers the issue of female vulnerability and also explores how male-on-female violence in the play can either polarize the male community or conversely help forge male-male bonds, thus creating a sort of ‘band of brothers’ in crime.