who he would eventually lead and earned their respect by showing them that he was human. His poor, common friends were his protection and allowed him to ripen as a king. In the extended metaphor that I included in Ely's speech, the nettles are referring to Prince Hal's common friends. Prince Hal is referred to as a strawberry that grows under nettles to stop itself from being picked and eaten. Nettles are of poorer quality than strawberries, yet strawberries ripen best when secluded by them. If a strawberry is left alone it gets ripe and succulent. Prince Hal is secretly preparing himself to be King, his knowledge and strength, maturing like a sweet strawberry or maturing if you like under the cover of nettles or the poor friends in the case of Prince Hal. The motive for me using this metaphor was to show how fantastic Hal had grown to be and that mixing with commoners aided his growth as a king. A strawberry is a fruit, which tends to be a vast favourite and it portrays good things regarding something that is used in
             ...