A Transformational Analysis of Leadership in Shakespeare's Henry V
WALKER, JELENA (2009)
WALKER, JELENA
2009
Englantilainen filologia - English Philology
Humanistinen tiedekunta - Faculty of Humanities
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2009-05-13
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-19756
https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:uta-1-19756
Tiivistelmä
This thesis applies features of modern leadership theories in an analysis of Shakespeare's Henry V to determine the extent to which Henry, as portrayed by Shakespeare, can be considered a model leader from a transformational perspective. Transformational leadership theories view leadership as an interaction between a leader and his/her followers which leads to transformation of the followers' attitudes and aspirations into line with those of the leader. Such theories have a strong moral and ethical component and view leadership not simply as a phenomenon that results from special personal characteristics possessed by the leader, but as a process between the leader and those who are led. This thesis reviews some of the most important transformational leadership theories proposed in recent years, identifying common features and grouping them together to form a reduced set of essentially transformational leadership characteristics which can be applied in the analysis of Shakespeare's text. Taking each element of the grouping in turn, the play is analysed through selected example scenes/occurrences to determine the extent to which Henry's behaviour as leader corresponds with that expected from a truly transformational leader. Two readings of each selected scene are provided, one which positively seeks to identify Henry's transformational leadership behaviours and an alternative "gestalt", which points out departures from the transformational model, as well as ethical and moral shortcomings in Henry's aspirations and behaviour. As a result of this analysis it is clear that a reading of the text which seeks to identify Henry's transformational qualities clearly reveals such behaviours. However, elements which question Henry's credentials as a truly transformational leader are equally easy to identify. Thus, in line with other recent scholarly work, this leads to the conclusion that there is a fundamental dichotomy in Shakespeare's portrayal of Henry: while he exhibits many transformational leadership properties, there is a troubling darker side to Henry's character which casts doubt on the moral and ethical basis of his leadership style.
Asiasanat:Shakespeare, Henry V, transformational leadership, dichotomy
Asiasanat:Shakespeare, Henry V, transformational leadership, dichotomy