Henry V (play)

Henry V is a play by William Shakespeare based on the life of King Henry V of England. It deals with the events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt during the Hundred Years War.

Synopsis

Elizabethan stages did not use scenery. Acknowledging the difficulty of conveying great battles and shifts of location on a bare stage, Shakespeare introduces the character of the Chorus (a throwback to the chorus of Greek drama, which Shakespeare would not have been very familiar with), who acts as a narrator, explaining the story to the audience and encouraging them to use their imaginations. The chorus calls for a "Muse of fire" so that the actor playing King Henry can "Assume the port of Mars." He asks, "Can this cockpit hold / The vasty fields of France?" and encourages the audience to use their imaginations to overcome the stage's limitations: "Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts."

Related Topics:
Chorus - Muse - Mars

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The early scenes deal with the embarkation of the fleet for France, and include the real-life incident in which the Earl of Cambridge and two others plotted to assassinate Henry at Southampton. Henry's clever and ruthless uncovering of the plot is one indication that he has changed from the earlier plays in which he appeared.

Related Topics:
Earl of Cambridge - Southampton

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The Chorus reappears. He describes the country's dedication to the war effort - "They sell the pasture now to buy the horse" - and tells the audience "We'll not offend one stomach with our play."

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As with all Shakespeare's serious plays, there are a number of minor comic characters whose activities contrast with and sometimes comment on the main plot. In this case, they are mostly common soldiers in Henry's army, and include Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph from the Henry IV plays. They also include representatives of each of the constituent parts of the British Isles: a Scot, and Irishman, and Englishman and Fluellen (a comically-stereotyped Welsh soldier, whose name is almost certainly a phonetic rendition of "Llewellyn"). The play also deals briefly with the death of Falstaff, another character from the Henry IV plays.

Related Topics:
British Isles - Welsh - Falstaff

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The Chorus appears again, seeking support for the English navy: "Grapple your minds to sternage of this navy" he says, notes that "the ambassador from the French comes back;/ Tells Harry that the king doth offer him / Katharine his daughter."

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At the siege of Harfleur, Henry utters one of Shakespeare's best-known speeches, beginning "Once more unto the breach, dear friends...".

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Before the Battle of Agincourt, victory looks uncertain, and the young king's heroic character is shown by his decision to wander around the English camp at night, in disguise, so as to comfort his soldiers and find out what they really think of him. Before the battle begins, Henry rallies his troups with the famous speech:

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:We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

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:For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

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:Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

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:This day shall gentle his condition:

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:And gentlemen in England now a-bed

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:Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

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:And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

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:That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

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Following the victory at Agincourt, Henry attempts to court the French princess, Catherine of Valois. The action ends with the French king adopting Henry as his heir to the French throne and the prayer of the French queen "that English may as French, French Englishmen, receive each other, God speak this Amen."

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But before the curtain descends, the Chorus re-appears one more time and ruefully notes that Henry's own heir's "state, so many had the managing, that they both lost France, and made his England bleed" - a reminder of the tumultuous reign of Henry VI of England, which Shakespeare had previously brought to the stage.

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