Henry V is the fourth and final play in Shakespeare’s tetralogy or Henriad: four plays regarding the succession from King Richard II – Henry IV – Henry V. Written in the late 16thcentury, it primarily covers the British victory at the battle of Agincourt, 1415, which resulted in a brief truce to the Hundred Years War.
And though it covers the battle, I would say it is about Henry (aka Harry) truly becoming a King. In his youth he was a spoiled wastrel, but at his father’s deathbed he promised to be a better man, and a worthy King. It didn’t happen overnight, but it definitely comes to fruition in this play.
Henry carefully and sincerely ponders the justice of the war, and is slow to accept it. But when convinced that he has rightful claims to the French throne, he still tries to avoid war by giving King Charles VI of France terms – relinquish the crown – terms which are of course, rejected.
I would say I liked this but didn’t love it, but for Henry’s St. Crispin’s day speech [Act IV, scene III]
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
There’s much more to the speech. It’s all the Bard’s embellishment of course. We know of no such speech, but Henry is so persuasive, he rouses the men to battle hysteria. Henry questions his cousin, the Earl of Westmoreland, who moments before had wished for more men.
[King H] Thou dost not wish more help from England coz?
[Earl] God’s will my liege, would you and I alone
Without more help, could fight this royal battle!
[King H] Why, now thou hast unwish’d five thousand men;
Which likes me better than to wish us one –
You know your places: God be with you all!
The British are tired, ill-fed, sick, and hopelessly outnumbered, and yet they win the day. Henry is quick to give God the glory, and issues death penalty to any who boast otherwise.
Come, go we in procession to the village:
And be it death proclaimed through our host
To boast of this, or take that praise from God
Which is his only
This is not my favorite of the Historical plays, but Henry’s speech does make it worthwhile. There is less comic relief than most, and what there is, is lost if you don’t read French. As part of the truce, Henry is to marry the French Princess Katherine. His French is bad, her English is worse, and there is some playful attempt at wooing, but my French is worse than Henry’s, so it wasn’t as fun as I’m sure it should be.
You must be careful of the “history” in this historical play. Shakespeare greatly embellishes the odds at 5 to 1 in favor of the French. It was probably closer to 2 to 1. He gets the casualty numbers even further out of proportion. I don’t know if this was poetic license, patriotic zeal, or perhaps accepted “truth” of the day.
There is a very good film adaptation, with Kenneth Branagh as Henry. It omits a few lines here and there, but the Saint Crispin’s day speech is 100% faithful as far as I could tell. And in my very novice opinion, no one does Shakespeare as well as Branagh. Most actors I’ve witnessed recite…as if they are reciting. Branagh delivers each line as it were the expression of his natural passion.
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