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Glory is like a circle in the water,
Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself
Till, by broad spreading, it disperse to naught.
With Henry’s death, the English circle ends;
Dispersèd are the glories it included. (1.3.112–16)
The third scene of act 1 begins with the French leadership remarking on the impressive military might of the English. Alençon notes that back in England’s heyday under Edward III, every Englishmen had been “all Olivers and Rolands bred” (1.3.9)—meaning they had all descended directly from the great heroes of the age of Charlemagne. And even now, Alençon goes on to say, the English send forth “none but Samsons and Goliases” (1.3.12), both names that connote superhuman strength. Later in this same scene, however, Joan la Pucelle speaks the lines quoted above, claiming that however great England’s previous order might have been, its supremacy is about to end. In an intriguing image, she compares “glory” to a circle spreading in water from a central point of impact. Such a circle expands until “it disperse[s] to naught,” essentially canceling itself out. This is precisely what she says is now happening to England: even as it reaches the height of its power and influence, it is already passing into nothingness.
When first this order was ordained, my lords,
Knights of the Garter were of noble birth,
Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage,
Such as were grown to credit by the wars;
Not fearing death nor shrinking for distress,
But always resolute in most extremes.
He then that is not furnished in this sort
Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight,
Profaning this most honorable order,
And should—if I were worthy to be judge—
Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. (4.1.33–44)
When Henry arrives in Paris for his official coronation, Talbot breaks off from fighting to honor his sovereign with a visit. During this scene, Talbot encounters Sir John Fastolf, a cowardly soldier who has deserted several battles. Indeed, it was his desertion in Orléans that led to Talbot’s being taken prisoner by the French. Here, Talbot lets loose on Fastolf, stripping him of the band that marks his membership in the Order of the Garter. This order is an institution of chivalry that had been established a century earlier by King Edward III, the ideals of which Talbot recites in the first part of this speech. Talbot then insists that Fastolf has profaned this noble order, and that he should be equally “degraded” in status by being sent into exile. Fastolf’s multiple appearances in this play reflect a larger thematic concern with the passing of an older order of chivalry.
Here’s a silly, stately style indeed.
The Turk, that two-and-fifty kingdoms hath,
Writes not so tedious a style as this.
Him that thou magnifi’st with all these titles
Stinking and flyblown lies here at our feet. (4.7.72–76)
After Talbot and his son die, the messenger Sir William Lucy arrives in Bordeaux to determine if there are any English survivors. When he comes upon the French leadership, he makes a long and formal recitation of titles and names as part of his inquiry. Joan responds to this recitation with these chilly words of dismissal. Whereas the English remain committed to such ridiculous performances, Joan has no time for pomp and circumstance. War, to her mind, is a black-and-white matter of winning and losing—not formal ceremony. Thus, in her icy pragmatism, she subverts Lucy’s “silly, stately style” by gesturing to the battlefield strewn with “stinking and flyblown” corpses. The fact that Lord Talbot himself numbers among these corpses signifies that the old order of chivalry is indeed dead.
