Metaphors of Spatiality and Discourse of Femininity in Shakespeare’s Henry V
Metaphors of Spatiality and Discourse of Femininity in Shakespeare’s Henry V

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on cognitive metaphor theory and on an approach to spatiality in terms of experiential engagement with the environment, this paper aims to show that Henry V presents a pragmatic, matter-of-fact and efficacious view of power based on the voice. The king’s metaphorical discourse constructs a gendered, male oriented conception of territory as female body to be conquered and of woman as space to be regulated. Control and submission are ensured by the strategies of containment the king needs to deploy in order to avoid subversion, be it among his own troops or with Katherine, the deceptively compliant French princess. Henry V teaches about early modern English history and invites the audience to engage with their own, contemporary reality. Above all, it shows that all forms of conceptualizations take place in terms of metaphorical language.

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