Shakespeare quote - Essay Example

Quote Analysis Quote Analysis Introduction In the literary work of William Shakespeare called Henry one of the characters recognized as Falstaff stated that “What is “honor”? A word. What is in that word “honor”? What is that “honor”? Air” (Sobran, 2010, p.90). These lines were spoken by Falstaff in Henry IV Part 1: Act 5, Scene 1 (Sobran, 2010, p.90). The purpose of speaking these words was that Falstaff wanted to talk against the outcomes that are caused by honor while he was indulged in a war at Shresbury.

Meaning The purpose of speaking these lines was to convey the message that honor is a two sided sword and is not necessarily a motivator that can result in positive outcomes. In these lines Falstaff made a link between honor and physical coercions. The message he wanted to convey was that people indulge in a particular way because they are motivated due to the motivational factor of honor. He said that honor has harmful physical consequences for the person who is being motivated by honor. He states that he might indulge in war to respect his honor but this can cause serious harm to him and can even become a cause of his death.

He says that when an individual is harmed during a war in which an individual is indulged due to honor, the aspect of honor becomes a waste and is useless. This is because honor cannot heal him or cannot cure his injuries. He believes and compares honor to air that an individual exhales when he/she is involved in saying a particular word. By this he means that honor is short lived and the life of honor is as small as the air that when has exhaled while saying a word. He further adds that honor is something that an individual receives when he/she is dead and he/she cannot enjoy honor after death.

By this Falstaff meant that people honor only those warriors who have lost their life in battlefield and those who remain alive are not honored. These words were spoken by Falstaff towards the end of the Act and the specific purpose of these words was to motivate people to refrain from indulging in war and fighting with each other on the basis of honor. These words are contrary to the values and morals that the entire Act or literary work of William Shakespeare was promoting.Response I disagree with the statement that Falstaff has made on the grounds that honor is something that we all should live for and abide by.

If we will not operate with the objective of being honored by others, our lives will be worthless because we human beings are motivated to perform an action in order to develop a positive image of our self in the eyes of others. Furthermore, if it would not have been honor that is motivating our defense forces to defend our nations then we would have become a very weak nation. This is because without the motivation to attain honor, people would not want to defend themselves and their loved ones and any other competing nation or enemy would have easily taken advantage of this and they would have waged and win war against our nation.

ReferencesSobran, J. (2010). Henry IV, part 1. New York: Marshall Cavendish.