Henry V is a history play by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are
The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth (in the First Quarto text) and
The Life of Henry the Fifth (in the
First FolioMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....
text). It tells the story of King
Henry V of EnglandHenry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, focusing on events immediately before and after the
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
(1415) during the
Hundred Years' WarThe Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
.
The play is the final part of a
tetralogyA tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works, just as a trilogy is made up of three works....
, preceded by
Richard IIKing Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
,
Henry IV, part 1Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
and
Henry IV, part 2Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
. The original audiences would thus have already been familiar with the title character, who was depicted in the
Henry IV plays as a wild, undisciplined lad known as "Prince Hal." In
Henry V, the young prince has become a mature man and embarks on a successful conquest of France.
Characters
- Henry V
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
- Duke of Gloucester (Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Pembroke, KG , also known as Humphrey Plantagenet, was "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of king Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, brother to king Henry V of England, and uncle to the...
) & Duke of Bedford (John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford), Brothers to the King
- Duke of Exeter (Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter), Uncle to the King
- Duke of York (Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York
Sir Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York, 2nd Earl of Cambridge, Earl of Rutland, Earl of Cork, Duke of Aumale KG was a member of the English royal family who died at the Battle of Agincourt....
), Cousin to the King. He is the Aumerle of Richard II and the traitor Cambridge's brother; nothing is made of these connections.
- Earls of Salisbury (Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, 6th and 3rd Baron Montacute, 5th Baron Monthermer, and Count of Perche, KG was an English nobleman...
), Westmoreland (Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of WestmorlandSir Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, 4th Baron Neville de Raby, Lord of Richmond, Earl Marshal, KG, PC , was an English nobleman of the House of Neville...
), and Warwick(Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of WarwickRichard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Count of Aumale, KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Early Life:...
)
- Archbishop of Canterbury (Henry Chichele
Henry Chichele , English archbishop, founder of All Souls College, Oxford, was born at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in 1363 or 1364...
)
- Bishop of Ely (John Fordham
John Fordham was Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Ely.Fordham was keeper of the privy seal of Prince Richard from 1376 to 1377 and Dean of Wells before being named Lord Privy Seal in June of 1377. He held that office until December of 1381....
)
- Earl of Cambridge
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge was the younger son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and Isabella of Castile....
, Lord Scroop, and Sir Thomas Grey, Traitors
- Sir Thomas Erpingham
Sir Thomas Erpingham KG was an English knight who became famous as the commander of King Henry V's archers at the Battle of Agincourt. He was immortalised as a character in the play Henry V by William Shakespeare...
, Gower, FluellenFluellen is a fictional character in the play Henry V by William Shakespeare. Fluellen is a Welsh Captain, a leader of a contingent of troops in the small army of the English King while on campaign in France during the Hundred Years' War.-The name:...
, Macmorris, Jamy, Officers in King Henry's Army
- Bates, Court, Williams
Michael Williams is a character in William Shakespeare's Henry V. He is one of three soldiers visited by King Henry before the Battle of Agincourt....
, Soldiers in King Henry's Army
- Pistol, Nym, Bardolph
- Boy
- A Herald
- The King of France, historically Charles VI
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
but never named as such in the play
- Lewis
Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Guyenne was a younger son of Charles VI of France and Isabella of Bavaria-Ingolstadt...
, the Dauphin
- Dukes of Burgundy, Orleans
Charles of Valois was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans, on the orders of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy...
, BourbonJean de Bourbon was Duke of Bourbon, from 1410 to his death and Duke of Auvergne since 1416. He was the eldest son of Louis II and Anna d'Auvergne...
, and BerryJohn of Valois or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy...
- Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
(Charles d'AlbretCharles d'Albret was Constable of France from 1402 until 1411, and again from 1413 until 1415. He was also the co-commander of the French army at the Battle of Agincourt where he was killed by the English forces led by King Henry V....
)
- Rambures and Grandpré, French Lords
- Montjoy, a French Herald
- Governor of Harfleur
- Ambassadors to the King of England
- Monsieur le Fer, a French soldier
- Isabel, Queen of France
- Katharine
Catherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of...
, Daughter to Charles and Isabel
- Alice, a Lady attending on the Princess Katharine
- Hostess of the Boar's Head Tavern, formerly Mistress Quickly
Mistress Quickly is an inn-keeper who appears in four plays by William Shakespeare:*Henry IV, Part 1*Henry IV, Part 2*Henry V*The Merry Wives of Windsor...
, and now married to Pistol
Synopsis
Elizabethan stages did not use scenery. Acknowledging the difficulty of conveying great battles and shifts of location on a
bare stageIn theatre, a thrust stage is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its up stage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the audience than a proscenium, while retaining the utility of a backstage area...
, the Chorus (a single actor) calls for a "
MuseThe Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
of fire" so that the actor playing King Henry can "Assume the port [i.e. "the bearing"] of
MarsMars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
." He asks, "Can this
cockpitA cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
[i.e. the theatre] 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."
The early scenes deal with the embarkation of Henry's fleet for France, and include a real-life incident in which the
Earl of CambridgeRichard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge was the younger son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York and Isabella of Castile....
and two others plotted to assassinate Henry at
SouthamptonThe Southampton Plot of 1415 was a conspiracy against King Henry V of England, aimed at replacing him with Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March. The three alleged ringleaders were Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, Mortimer's brother-in-law; Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham The...
. Henry's clever uncovering of the plot and ruthless treatment of the plotters is one indication that he has changed from the earlier plays in which he appeared.
When the Chorus reappears, he describes the country's dedication to the war effort – "They sell the pasture now to buy the horse." The chorus tells the audience "We'll not offend one stomach with our play," a humorous reference to the fact that the scene of the play crosses the English Channel.
The Chorus appears again, seeking support for the English navy: "Grapple your minds to sternage of this navy" he says, and notes that "the ambassador from the French comes back / Tells Harry that the king doth offer him / Katherine his daughter."
At the siege of
Harfleur-Population:-Places of interest:* The church of St-Martin, dating from the fourteenth century.* The seventeenth century Hôtel de Ville .* Medieval ramparts * The fifteenth century museums of fishing and of archaeology and history....
, Henry utters one of Shakespeare's best-known speeches, beginning "Once more unto the breach, dear friends..."
Before the
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, 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 determine what they really think of him. He agonizes about the moral burden of being king, noting that a king is only a man. Before the battle, Henry rallies his troops with the famous St. Crispin's Day Speech.
Following the victory at Agincourt, Henry attempts to
wooCourtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
the French princess,
Catherine of ValoisCatherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of...
. This is difficult because he does not speak French well and she does not speak English well, but the humor value of each others' mistakes actually helps him to achieve this. 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."
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 lost France, and made his England bleed" – a reminder of the tumultuous reign of
Henry VI of EnglandHenry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
, which Shakespeare had previously brought to the stage in a trilogy of plays:
Henry VI, Part 1Henry VI, Part 1 or The First Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare, and possibly Thomas Nashe, believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
,
Henry VI, Part 2Henry VI, Part 2 or The Second Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
and
Henry VI, Part 3Henry VI, Part 3 or The Third Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
.
As with all of Shakespeare's serious plays, there are also 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 they include Pistol, Nym, and Bardolph from the
Henry IV plays. The army also includes a Scot, an Irishman, an Englishman and
FluellenFluellen is a fictional character in the play Henry V by William Shakespeare. Fluellen is a Welsh Captain, a leader of a contingent of troops in the small army of the English King while on campaign in France during the Hundred Years' War.-The name:...
, a comically stereotyped
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
soldier, whose name is an attempt at a phonetic rendition of "
Llywelyn-Personal names: Historical:Historically it may refer to any of several Welshmen:*Llywelyn ap Merfyn early 10th century King of Powys*Llywelyn ap Seisyll , king of Gwynedd and Deheubarth...
". In
Kenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's acclaimed 1989 film version of the play, most of these scenes were played as serious drama, because Branagh felt the humour was outdated and incomprehensible to modern audiences, while
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, in his equally praised 1944 film version of the play, staged the comic scenes as comedy, whether modern audiences understood them or not.
The play also deals briefly with the death of
FalstaffSir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
, Henry's estranged friend from the
Henry IV plays whom Henry remembers fondly.
Sources
Shakespeare's primary source for
Henry V, as for most of his chronicle histories, was
Raphael HolinshedRaphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
's
Chronicles; the publication of the second edition in 1587 provides a
terminus ad quemTerminus post quem and terminus ante quem specify approximate dates for events...
for the play.
Edward Hall'sEdward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
The Union of the Two Illustrious Families of Lancaster and York appears also to have been consulted, and scholars have supposed that Shakespeare was familiar with
Samuel Daniel'sSamuel Daniel was an English poet and historian.-Early life:Daniel was born near Taunton in Somerset, the son of a music-master. He was the brother of lutenist and composer John Danyel. Their sister Rosa was Edmund Spenser's model for Rosalind in his The Shepherd's Calendar; she eventually married...
poem on the
civil warsThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
.
Date and text
On the basis of an apparent allusion to
Essex'sRobert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
failed mission to quell
Tyrone's RebellionThe Nine Years' War or Tyrone's Rebellion took place in Ireland from 1594 to 1603. It was fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh O'Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against English rule in Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the...
, the play is thought to date from early 1599.
The Chronicle History of Henry the fifth was entered into the
RegisterThe Stationers' Register was a record book maintained by the Stationers' Company of London. The company is a trade guild given a royal charter in 1557 to regulate the various professions associated with the publishing industry, including printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and publishers in England...
of the
Stationers CompanyThe Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was founded in 1403; it received a Royal Charter in 1557...
on 14 August 1600 by the bookseller
Thomas PavierThomas Pavier was a London publisher and bookseller of the early seventeenth century. His complex involvement in the publication of early editions of some of Shakespeare's plays, as well as plays of the Shakespeare Apocrypha, has left him with a "dubious reputation."-Life and work:Pavier came to...
; the first
quartoThe size of a book is generally measured by the height against the width of a leaf, or sometimes the height and width of its cover. A series of terms is commonly used by libraries and publishers for the general sizes of modern books, ranging from "folio" , to "quarto" and "octavo"...
was published before the end of the year—though by
Thomas MillingtonThomas Millington was a London publisher of the Elizabethan era, who published first editions of three Shakespearean plays...
and John Busby rather than Pavier. (
Thomas CreedeThomas Creede was a printer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, rated as "one of the best of his time." Based in London, he conducted his business under the sign of the Catherine Wheel in Thames Street from 1593 to 1600, and under the sign of the Eagle and Child in the Old Exchange from 1600 to...
did the printing.)
Q1 of
Henry V is a "
bad quartoBad quarto is a term and concept developed by twentieth-century Shakespeare scholars to explain some problems in the early transmission of the texts of Shakespearean works...
", a shortened version of the play that might be a pirated copy or reported text. A second quarto, a reprint of Q1, was published in 1602 by Pavier; another reprint was issued as Q3 in 1619, with a false date of 1608—part of William Jaggard's
False FolioFalse Folio is the term that Shakespeare scholars and bibliographers have applied to William Jaggard's printing of ten Shakespearean and pseudo-Shakespearean plays together in 1619, the first attempt to collect Shakespeare's work in a single volume....
. The superior text first saw print in the
First FolioMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....
in 1623.
Performance history
A tradition, impossible to verify, holds that
Henry V was the first play performed at the new
Globe TheatreThe Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
in the spring of 1599—the Globe would have been the "wooden O" mentioned in the Prologue—but
ShapiroJames S. Shapiro is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University who specialises in Shakespeare and the Early Modern period...
argues that the Chamberlain's Men were still at The Curtain when the work was first performed, and that Shakespeare himself probably acted the Chorus. In 1600 the first printed text states that the play had been played "sundry times." The earliest performance known for certain, however, occurred on 7 January 1605, at Court.
Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
saw a
Henry V in 1664—but it was written by
Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of OrreryRoger Boyle redirects here. For others of this name, see Roger Boyle Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery was a British soldier, statesman and dramatist. He was the third surviving son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and Richard's second wife, Catherine Fenton. He was created Baron of Broghill on...
, not by Shakespeare. Shakespeare's play returned to the stage in 1723, in an adaptation by Aaron Hill.
The longest running production of the play in Broadway history was the staging starring
Richard MansfieldRichard Mansfield was an English actor-manager best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
in 1900 which ran for 54 performances. Other notable stage performances of
Henry V include
Charles KeanCharles John Kean , was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean.After preparatory education at Worplesdon and at Greenford, near Harrow, he was sent to Eton College, where he remained three years...
(1859),
Charles Alexander CalvertCharles Alexander Calvert was a British actor and theatre manager noted for Shakespearean "revivals" featuring elaborate staging and historically accurate sets and costumes.-Early life:...
(1872),
Walter HampdenWalter Hampden is the artist name of Walter Hampden Dougherty was a U.S. actor and theatre manager. He was the younger brother of the American painter Paul Dougherty ....
(1928), and Ty Jones (2011) in an all black cast.
Major revivals in London during the twentieth century include:
- 1900 Lyceum Theatre, Lewis Waller as Henry
- 1914 Shaftesbury Theatre, F.R.Benson as Henry
- 1916 His Majesty's Theatre, Martin Harvey as Henry
- 1920 Strand Theatre, Murray Carrington as Henry
- 1926 Old Vic Theatre, Baliol Holloway as Henry
- 1928 Lyric, Hammersmith, Lewis Casson
Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC was a British actor and theatre director and the husband of Dame Sybil Thorndike.-Early life:...
as Henry (Old Vic Company)
- 1931 Old Vic Theatre, Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as Henry
- 1934 Alhambra Theatre, Godfrey Tearle as Henry
- 1936 Ring, Blackfriars, Hubert Gregg
Hubert Gregg was a BBC broadcaster, writer and stage actor. At the end of his life he was probably best known for the BBC Radio 2 'oldies' shows A Square Deal and Thanks For The Memory...
as Henry
- 1937 Old Vic Theatre, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
as Henry
- 1938 Drury Lane Theatre, Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
as Henry
- 1951 Old Vic Theatre, Alec Clunes
Alexander "Alec" Demoro Sherriff Clunes was an English actor and stage manager.Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's famous play The Lady's Not For Burning. He gave the actor and dramatist Sir Peter Ustinov his first break with his production The House of Regrets. His film career was...
as Henry
- 1955 Old Vic Theatre, Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as Henry
- 1960 Mermaid Theatre, William Peacock as Henry
- 1960 Old Vic Theatre, Donald Houston
Donald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
as Henry
- 1965 Aldwych Theatre, Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
as Henry (Royal Shakespeare Company)
- 1972 Aldwych Theatre, Timothy Dalton
Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...
as Henry (Prospect Theatre Company), also in 1974 in Roundhouse Theatre
- 1976 Aldwych Theatre, Alan Howard
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE, is an English actor known for his roles on stage, television and film.He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.-Personal life:Howard is the only son of the actor...
as Henry (Royal Shakespeare Company)
- 1985 Barbican Theatre, Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
as Henry (Royal Shakespeare Company)
On British television the play has been performed as follows:
- 1951 Clement McCallin as Henry, Marius Goring
Marius Goring CBE was an English stage and cinema actor. He is most often remembered for the four films he did with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes...
as Chorus, Willoughby Gray as Pistol
- 1953 Colin George
Colin George is a Welsh actor and director, born in Pembroke Dock, Wales. He is known for his many roles in numerous theatre productions as well as the founder of the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield ....
as Henry, Toby Robertson as Chorus, Frank WindsorFrank Windsor is an English actor, mainly on television.He attended Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. He began his career on radio and made an appearance in a 1953 film of Henry V...
as Pistol
- 1957 John Neville as Henry, Bernard Hepton
Bernard Hepton is a British actor of stage, film and television.Hepton is known as a particularly versatile character actor. He trained at Bradford Civic Theatre school under Esme Church along with actors such as Robert Stephens...
as Chorus, Geoffrey BayldonGeoffrey Bayldon is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle , after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction...
as Pistol
- 1960 Robert Hardy
Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:...
as Henry, William SquireWilliam Squire was a Welsh actor of stage, film and television, born in Neath, South Wales.As a stage actor, Squire performed at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic, and notably replaced his fellow-countryman Richard Burton as King Arthur in Camelot at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.His...
as Chorus, George A. Cooper as Pistol
- 1979 David Gwillim
David Gwillim is an English actor, best known for playing Prince Hal in the BBC Television Shakespeare Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II and the title role in Henry V which were broadcast in 1979, and John Bold in The Barchester Chronicles broadcast in 1982.- Biography :Gwillim was born in...
as Henry, Alec McCowenAlexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year's Honours List.-Personal:...
as Chorus, Bryan PringleBryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...
as Pistol
- 2012 Tom Hiddleston
Thomas William "Tom" Hiddleston is an English actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Loki in the 2011 Marvel Studios film Thor.-Early life and education:...
as Henry
Views on warfare
Readers and audiences have interpreted the play’s attitude to warfare in several different ways. On the one hand, it seems to celebrate Henry's invasion of France and valorises military might. Alternatively, it can be read as an anti-war allegory.
Some critics connect the glorification of nationalistic pride and conquest with contemporary English military ventures in Spain and Ireland. The Chorus directly refers to the military triumphs of
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of EssexRobert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
, in the fifth act. Henry V himself is sometimes seen as an ambivalent representation of the stage machiavel, combining apparent sincerity with a willingness to use deceit and force to attain his ends.
Other commentators see the play as looking critically at the motivation for Henry's violent cause. The noble words of the Chorus and Henry are consistently undermined by the actions of Pistol, Bardolph and Nym. Pistol talks in a bombastic
blank verseBlank verse is poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the sixteenth century" and Paul Fussell has claimed that "about three-quarters of all English poetry is in blank verse."The first...
that seems to parody Henry's own style of speech. Pistol and his friends thus show up the actions of their rulers. Indeed the presence of the
EastcheapEastcheap is a street in the City of London. Its name derives from cheap, market, with the prefix "East" distinguishing it from the other former City of London market of Westcheap . In medieval times Eastcheap was the City's main meat market, with butchers' stalls lining both sides of the street...
characters from
Henry IV has been said to underscore the element of adventurer in Henry's character as monarch.
The American critic Norman Rabkin described the play as a picture with two simultaneous meanings. Rabkin argues that the play never settles on one viewpoint towards warfare, Henry himself switching his style of speech constantly, talking of "rape and pillage" during Harfleur but of patriotic glory in his St. Crispin's Day speech.
The play's ambiguity has led to diverse interpretations in performance.
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's
1944 filmHenry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
, made during the Second World War, emphasises the patriotic side, while
Kenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
's
1989 filmHenry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
stresses the horrors of war. A 2003
Royal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
production featured Henry as a modern war general, ridiculing the
Iraq invasion.
A mock trial of Henry V for the crimes associated with the legality of the invasion and the slaughter of prisoners was held in Washington, D.C. in March 2010, drawing from both historical record and Shakespeare's play. Titled "The Supreme Court of the Amalgamated Kingdom of England and France", participating judges were Justices
Samuel AlitoSamuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
and
Ruth Bader GinsburgRuth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
. The outcome was originally to be determined by an audience vote, however due to a draw it came down to a judges decision. The court was divided on Henry’s justification for war, but unanimously found him guilty on the killing of the prisoners after applying “the evolving standards of the maturing society”. Previously the fictional "Global War Crimes Tribunal" ruled that Henry’s war was legal, no non-combatant was killed unlawfully and that Henry bore no criminal responsibility for the death of the POWs. The fictional "French Civil Liberties Union", who had instigated the tribunal, then attempted to sue in civil court. However the judge concluded that he was bound by the GWCT’s conclusions of law and also ruled in favour the English. The Court of Appeals affirmed without opinion, thus leaving the matter for the Supreme Court’s determination.
St. Crispin's Day Speech
The
St. Crispin's Day Speech is a famous
motivationMotivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
al speech from the play, delivered by Henry V before the Battle of Agincourt (act IV scene iii). It is so called because 25 October is the feast day of Saints Crispin and Crispinian. The speech itself names the day
Crispin Crispian:
- This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
- He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
- Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
- And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
- He that shall live this day, and see old age,
- Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
- And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."
- Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
- And say, "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."
- Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
- But he'll remember with advantages
- What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
- Familiar in his mouth as household words,
- Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,
- Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
- Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
- This story shall the good man teach his son;
- And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
- From this day to the ending of the world,
- But we in it shall be remembered-
- 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 accursed they were not here,
- And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
- That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day
Saint Crispin's Day falls on 25 October and is the feast day of the Christian saints Crispin and Crispinian , twins who were martyred c. 286...
."
Film
There have been two major film adaptations. The
firstHenry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
, directed by and starring
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
in 1944, is a colourful and highly stylised version which begins in the
Globe TheatreThe Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, and was destroyed by fire on 29 June 1613...
and then gradually shifts to a realistic evocation of the
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
. Olivier's film was made during the Second World War and was intended as a patriotic rallying cry at the time of the invasion of Normandy.
The
second major filmHenry V is a 1989 film directed by Kenneth Branagh, based on William Shakespeare's play The Life of Henry the Fifth about the famous English king. Branagh stars in the title role, and wrote the screenplay. The film was highly acclaimed on its release....
, directed by and starring
Kenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
in 1989, attempts to give a more realistic evocation of the period and lays more emphasis on the horrors of war. It features a mud-spattered and gruesome
Battle of AgincourtThe Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
.
Dance
In 2004, post-modern choreographer David Gordon created a dance-theatre version of the play called
Dancing Henry Five, which mixed
William WaltonSir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
's music written for the Olivier film, recorded speeches from the film itself and by
Christopher PlummerArthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, and commentary written by Gordon. The piece premiered at
Danspace ProjectDanspace Project was founded in 1974 to provide a performance venue for contemporary dance. Its performances are held in St. Mark's Church in the East Village area of the Manhattan borough of New York City.-History and mission:...
in New York, where it was compared favorably to a production of
Henry IVHenry IV may refer to:* Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor , King of The Romans and Holy Roman Emperor* Henry IV, Duke of Brabant * Henry IV Probus , Duke of Wrocław* Heinrich IV Dusemer von Arfberg Henry IV may refer to:* Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1050–1106), King of The Romans and Holy Roman...
at Lincoln Center. It has been revived three times – in 2005, 2007 and 2011 – playing cities across the United States, and received a
National Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
American Masterpieces in Dance Award.
External links
- Fully edited texts of Henry V, both original-spelling and modernised, at the Internet Shakespeare Editions
- Henry V, plain text at Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...