The play Henry V completes the second tetralogy of Shakespeare's History plays, and this work restates a problem first dealt with in Richard II: Can sensitivity and warmth- the spiritual values that elevate human life- coexist with the ruthless strength and shrewdness that a ruler needs to govern?
Henry V assumed the throne of England upon the death of his father, Henry IV, during a period of immense civil troubles and tenuous foreign affairs. This play is a powerful dramatic work whose epic quality is plainly intended to invoke the grandeur of the ancient world, whether seriously or sardonically. The young king, at the age of 26, is constantly faced with the awesome responsibility of the throne, struggling to become a strong, moral king, to heal the scars left over from the rebellion, and to expand his empire into France. His two mentors, his father, the good but besmirched King Henry IV, and his old friend Falstaff, the teacher of his reckless youth, are dead. From this point on, he must go forward alone.
Script of the Play!
http://www.field-of-themes.com/shakespeare/comtext/histories/henry5.htm(Full Script)
Cast Of Characters (text from Shakespeare A to Z by Charles Boyce)
King Henry V (1387-1422)
Historical figure and victorious leader of an English invasion of France during the Hundred Years War.
He is seen in two different ways, according to the play's ambivalence: (1) either a patriotic leader, or (2) as a vicious hypocrite, depending on one's interpretation of this protagonist; many episodes support both points of view.
Henry has two dramatic functions: to be the hero whose exuberant leadership carries England to triumph over a traditional foe, yet he is also a coldly Machiavellian politician who is indifferent to human costs of war. The portrait of the epic hero is completed with the marrying of Princess Katharine of France, to have offspring that will follow his line.
He is particularly concerned with his relations with heaven in view of his father's sins of usurpation and murder, and refuses credit for military victory, always ordering psalms to be sung and thanksgiving to be given.
But Henry often seems sanctimonious rather than genuinely religious. He chiefly calls on God to justify his own intentions, and turns sentiment into slurs in regards to the French.Many of his prayers follow moments where he is loathing about the difficulties he has faced, and had Shakespeare intended his hero as a seriously religious person these would have been a telling and touching moment to have him turn to God. This omission is not in itself very important, but it contributes to a sense that Henry does not truly possess the Christian spirit that he projects.
Henry V must dominate the play, for the play's essential ambivalence towards power depends entirely on the extraordinary dual nature of the protagonist, who must function as two quite different figures at the same time. Henry V is in this way unparalleled in Shakespearean drama, though many of the characters are greater than he in other respects. Thus he brings us to a renewed awareness of the range of his creator's genius.
Duke of Exeter, Thomas Beaufort (1337-1427)
Exeter (middle) was the illegitimate son of John of Gaunt and younger brother of the Bishop of Winchester.
He is a valued follower of his nephew the King, but has no distinctive personality. He bears a boldly defiant message to the French and recounts the death of the Duke of York, both in tone reminiscient of courtly epic poetry.
The historical Exeter was an important military commander under both Henry IV and Henry V, and was named executor of the latter's will.
King Charles VI of France (1368-1422)
Historical figure and opponent of Henry V. The ineffectual French King is given a portrait that omits the most important fact about him: he was intermittently insane. His illness -- later to surface in his grandson Henry VI of England -- was known to Shakespeare, but the playwright may have disliked pointing out defects in the ancestral line of his own ruler.
Two factions vied with each other for the regency of France when the King was sick. This led to the lack of support at Harfleur (3.3) since they were fearing a direct assault on Paris. Due to this division in the leadership, the country soon began to crumble and England conquered Normandy and claimed the French crown.
The French Royals
The Dukes of Berrie and Bertagne, of Orleans (right) and the Dauphin (left)... as well as the Constable (middle)... were the source for many of the problems in France, due to their inability to see two major issues: the need for support of troops and at what point to consolidate their divisions for a renewed assault.
These problems created inner turmoil, and in combination with the King's mental illnesses, created much confusion that the English were able to capitalize on and succeed in their invasion of lower France.
Princess Katharine
Historical figure and daughter of Charles VI, King of France. Later betrothed to King Henry V. Had a son, Henry VI.
Princess Katharine is an innocent girl, who is comically instructed in English by her waiting-woman Alice, and is later baffled by Henry's aggressive courtship. She has little personality; she is simply the object of King Henry's affections and part reward for victory over France.
Historically, she is the youngest child of Charles VI and Queen Isabel. Married to Henry V after the Treaty of Troyes. After Henry's death, she married a Welshman, Owen Tudor; their grandchild was to become King Henry VII, appearing as the Earl of Richmond in Richard III.
Alice, servant to Princess Katharine
She is the attendant to Princess Katharine, and they engage in a humorous, but tense, dialogue during 3.4. Princess Katharine is learning some basics of the English language, which is hardly a funny thing considering the plight of France during the invasions. Her role is to only provide interpretation for the Princess, who will understandably need to learn the new language.
The Group from Eastcheap
Sir John Falstaff
Falstaff-- physically huge, stunningly amoral, and outrageously funny --is generally regarded as one of the greatest characters in English literature. Lecherous, gluttonous, obese, cowardly, and a thief, he lies to the world but is honest with himself.
He is not a true member of Henry V; however, if having followed the major tetralogy, one would easily recall Falstaff's final humiliation at the hands of his former friend Hal. This is the character we find dying of what Mistress Quickly calls, "...a broken heart...", but we know better.
Falstaff's humanly believable end summons our sympathy for the character ...one who "had more flesh than a real man, and therefore more frailty" (1 Henry IV, 3.3.167-8).
Mistress Quickly (Hostess)
Proprietress of the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap. She is a good-hearted woman whose affection for Falstaff withstands his exploitation of her purse. Aspiring to conversational brilliance, she displays a considerable vocabulary, but she misplaces words here and there (homicide for homicidal: 2 Henry IV, 2.1.49-51).
She is a denizen of the quasi-criminal underworld of London, but no crimes are attributed to her. Her nature has no taint of villainy. In this play she has even married, to Pistol.
In Henry V, she has a small but striking role, as she ascends her attendance at Falstaff's death-bed. Her speech is one of the masterpieces of English comic literature, being simultaneously extremely funny, even bawdy, and touchingly tender. Her efforts to comfort a dying and conscience-stricken sinner reflect Shakespeare's own forgiving humanity.
Pistol
A braggart soldier and follower of Falstaff. He mourns the passing of Falstaff with his new wife (Hostess) whom he has presumably dazzled with his extravagant braggadoccio.
In the campaign in France he proves himself a coward (3.2), and following this episode, the boy remarks on the villainy of Pistol, Nym and Bardolph. After pleading unsuccessfully for the life of Bardolph, he is encountered by a disguised king the night before Agincourt.
The last survivor of Falstaff's followers, as we hear about the death of Hostess in 4.7, he serves to show that the anarchic element represented by Falstaff is finally rendered both harmless and completely disreputable. He may also be a symbolic parallel to King Henry's militarism... he threatens to kill his prisoner, as does the king all the captured French.
Nym
This follower of Falstaff is a minor character, feuding with Pistol, who married the Hostess, to whom Nym was engaged. Bardolph reconciles the feud with swords.
Says little in the play, acts cowardly at Harfleur and is upbraided by Fluellen. His villainous character is commented on by the Boy, and we also find out through the Boy of Nym's hanging, apparently for theft.
Bardolph
"Do not, when thou art King, hang a thief..."
Despite his swaggering early in the second act, he has little distinctive personality. Bardolph remains a comic soldier, a petty villain whose end .. his execution for having stolen a crucifix (pax) from a French church... helps to demonstrate the King's dedication to justice.
His most predominant characteristic is his diseased facial complexion, florid and fiery, 'all bubukles and whelks and knobs and flames o' fire' (Henry V, 3.6.105-06). He is teased mercilessly about his skin disorder by Falstaff and other characters, finding himself compared to lamps, torches, blushing maids, red wine, red petticoats, hellfire, and even 'Lucifer's privy kitchen' (2 Henry IV, 2.4.330).
Boy
Servant of Bardolph, Pistol and Nym.
Having been the page of Falstaff, he accompanies his late master's cronies to France as part of King Henry's army.
He elicits our sympathy by regretting his association with such cowardly thieves. Reveals in 4.4 the Bardolph and Nym have been hung. His final statements are to foreshadow his own death, as he lights upon the fact that he and the other boys are only there to guard the baggage train, which would make them a good target for the French. In 4.7, we learn from Gower of the massacre of all these youngsters.
Fluellen
Welsh officer in the army of Henry V. Hot-tempered, rather humorless and pedantic, but is an open, honest, and courageous man as well. He is further distinguished by a comically extravagant Welsh accent.
His bravery and sense of military honor mark him as a fine soldier, and his enthusiasm for Henry support the play's presentation of the king as an epic hero. On the other hand, his fiery irrationality and suffocating self-confidence are also to be associated with the king and color the alternative view that Henry is a vicious militarist and the play is a satirical picture of war and political power.
The French Ambassador/Herald, Mountjoy
Serving many of the roles in the movie, Mountjoy is the consummate messenger of French demands and then requests to the King of England.
Speaking very little, the part is only fully appreciated when viewed in a visual depiction of the play, seeing how many of the French personality appears in this somewhat haughty, then very subdued and task-oriented character.
Chorus , Allegorical figure from Henry V
Here, from the Kenneth Brannaugh version of Henry V (played by Sir Derek Jacobi).
The function of the Chorus was to identify the stage direction as the Prologue, provide an introduction to each Act and an Epilogue.
The Chorus apologizes for the inadequacy of the theater to present the events in a sufficiently grand manner, and therefore offers a summarized supplementary account of the events dramatized. Uses a stylistic and artificial diction that is in marked contrast with the realism of the dramatic scenes.
The Chorus repeatedly invokes imaginary scenes in order to help the audience "piece out..their thoughts", which helps to create an almost cinematic sweep of time and events.
VIDEO CLIPS
Greater Note-taking ideas
COMMENTARY (borrowed from The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare)
The play covers the time period from 1413-1415, so as one reads, the gaps in time must be traversed and understood mentally
The issue of sensitivity and warmth is answered in two ways through this play:
(1) The play seems like a patriotic tribute to Henry, seen as an ideally heroic leader; a hero suited for the threatening times England endured in the late 16th century.
(2) The play also seems like a mordant commentary on politics and war. Henry is a Machiavellian militarist, a cold-blooded, power-hungry hypocrite using religion to justify the horrors of an unnecessary war.
Throughout the play Shakespeare remains committed to the great portrait of the common people of England that he began so successfully in the Henry IV plays. The colorful characters, led by Fluellen, exemplify the stalwart bearing of the common soldier, which lends dignity to the king in so much as his ability to relate to this type of man. Henry's strength derives from his subjects, who in turn respond to him and are proud to be British.
Pathos in the play is developed very early with a scene at the Boar's Head Tavern, where much of the youth of the young king was spent. This world is treated far less sympathetically in this play, as Falstaff dies off-stage almost immediately, and the Hostess' role is very brief. The Bardolph and Nym die ignominiously, and the Boy is killed in an atrocity of war.These incidents serve both interpretations of the play, for while they represent defeat for anarchy by the new order of the epic hero, at the same time they represent Henry as an unfeeling politician who can cite principles of discipline while permitting an old friend to die.
Henry's invasion of France and the victory at Agincourt were already legendary peaks of English glory in Shakespeare's day, and national pride is patently evident at many points in the play. However, all is not rousing pageantry; Henry's war is questioned throughout. Most importantly, the savagery of war is repeatedly described in vivid speeches that compellingly counter the heroic idea of warfare that they ostensibly promote. Thus the evils of war are abundantly demonstrated, even as the triumph of English arms is glorified. Even Henry's aggressive wooing of Princess Katharine may be seen as an extension of his brutal conquest. This, in part with the concluding epilogue reminding the readers of the failures of Henry VI, reminds us that Henry V actually presents a bloody interlude to the selfish ambitions of feuding aristocrats.
Shakespeare's instinctive response to the complexity of life was to be further reflected in other plays, those dealing with power and idealism which force readers to question human motives, whether political or otherwise...questions that are the implicit ambiguities of Henry V. The need for social order is an important issue throughout Shakespeare's work; however, so is an evident distrust of those who hold authority. Readers can only conclude that the playwright recognized the paradox that underlies much political thought from the late Middle Ages to the present: the only forms of political power that seem fully moral are impossible to achieve. Thus the ambivalence of Henry V reflects our most profound political ideals as well as our most disturbing fears of political power.
Battle of Agincourt (from "Agincourt" by Christopher Hibbert)
One of the decisive battles of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). At Agincourt, a French village now in Pas-de-Calais department, an army led by Henry V of England defeated the chivalry of Charles VI of France on Oct. 25, 1415.
Reviving claims of his ancestors to the French throne, Henry invaded Normandy in August 1415 and laid siege to Harfleur. The town fell on Sept. 22nd, but by then the English army had been seriously weakened by dysentery as well as by battle casualties. Of the 11,000 men who had sailed from England, fewer than 5,000 archers and 1,000 men at arms survived the march north to Calais.
The English path was blocked at Agincourt by a French force of 20,000 to 30,000 men- mostly knights in heavy armor and on horseback- concentrated in the cramped space between two woods. Henry drew up his troops in order of battle, placing his archers in wedge-shaped groups on each side of three blocks of dismounted men-at-arms and in wings at either extremity of his 900-yard-long line. Then he led the army forward to within bow shot range, where the archers let fly a stream of arrows to provoke the enemy to charge.
Stung into action, the undisciplined French knights galloped through the mud into a fresh hail of arrows and onto sharp-pointed stakes that the English archers had stuck into the ground in front of them. A second attack, by dismounted men-at-arms, was initially successful. But as more and more knights entered the battle, they became so densely packed that there was scarcely room to strike a blow. Thousands of them were hacked to the ground by the less encumbered English. Thousands more were taken prisoner, until Henry ordered that these too should be killed for fear that they might rejoin the battle. In all, between 7,000 to 10,000 Frenchmen were left dead. The English losses were less than 450.
Henry's early death in 1422, however, rendered his triumph an empty one. His son and successor, Henry VI, lacked his father's leadership and had to contend with the rising force of French national pride and its inspired epitome, Joan of Arc. He was to lose all that Henry V had fought for.
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Study Guide
PROLOGUE
1. Why does Shakespeare choose to include the Chorus, since it offers an introduction to the play rather than providing a separate poem? To consider this reasoning, ponder why in many of his other plays he jumps straight into the action (i.e. the initial fight scene in Romeo and Juliet).
2. What does the Chorus ask of the audience?
3. Discuss the comparison that the Chorus makes between Henry V and Alexander the Great.
ACT I PLOT QUESTIONS
I.i
1. What is the content of the secret conversation that happens between the Bishop of Ely and the Archbishop of Cantebury that opens this Act?
2. How did Medival political thought view the king (consider Christianity)?
3. How do Cantebury and Ely seek to protect the church from the bill that is coming before the House of Commons?
4. What, accoring to Ely and Cantebury, is the Salique Law?
I.ii
6. In 1.2.26-28, Henry states, "him whose wrongs give edge unto swords that make such waste in brief mortality." What is Henry implying here?
7. In what way does Cantebury divulge the right to the French throne to Henry?
8.What is Henry "well-resolv'd" to do?
9. Who sent the ambassadors of France to England?
10. What gift do the ambassadors deliver to King Henry?
11. What does Henry say he will do with this gift?
12. How does the response of Henry to the gift represent first, an overreaction; and secondly, display that he should be seen as an instrument of God's vengeance?
ACT I REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why was England in so much turmoil after the reign of Edward III?
2. How did Henry IV become king?
3. In Shakespeare's two parts of Henry IV, Prince Hal was developed by comparison and contrast with two other characters: Hotspur and Falstaff. How is Henry like and unlike each of these characters?
4. According to the Prologue, what is the work of the audience in a dramatic production?
5. Why does Shakespeare have the Chorus keep reminding the audience that they are watching a play?
6. Why do Ely and Cantebury support Henry's invasion of France?
7. How does Cantebury describe the change that has overtaken Henry since becoming king? What is the significance of these descriptions?
8. Why does Henry plan to invade France? Why did his father advise him to get involved in foreign wars?
9. What does the Dauphin send to Henry? Why?
10. How does Henry react to the Dauphin's gift? Is his an appropriate response?
ACT I THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS
1. Some have said that television and movies weaken imagination. If you read a book, you have to "piece out the imperfections with your thoughts," since much is left to our imagination.When we watch a television program, everything is shown to us. Do you agree with this? What would Shakespeare say?
2. Genesis 6 says that "the imagination of the thoughts of man's heart are only evil continually." Does this mean that there is no place for imagination in the Christian life? What place does imagination have in Christianity? Is Shakespeare's view of imagination a Christian one?
3. Ely says, "The strawberry grows underneath the nettle" (1.1.60). What dose he mean by this? How does this apply to King Henry? Compare this to Henry's talk about the "use" he made of his wilder days.
4. According to the "Salique Law," no woman is allowed to succeed the throne (1.2.38-9). What is Canterbury's argument in support of Henry's claim to the French throne through a female ancestor?
5. What is the significance of Canterbury's mention of Pepin and Hugh Capet (1.2.64-77). How are their circumstances similar to Henry's?
6. What does Henry fear will happen if he invades France (1.2.136-154)? How does Westmoreland support Henry's concern (1.2.166-173)? How does Canterbury finally resolve this concern (1.2.213-220)?
7. How is a kingdom like music (1.2.180-182)? How is a kingdom like a beehive (1.2.187-204)?
8. Edmund Mortimer had a claim to the English throne through a female but had been defeated and imprisoned by Henry IV. How does this fact illumine what is going on in the council? How does this fact affect Henry's claim to the throne of England?
9. What does Henry see as the two possible outcomes of his invasion (1.2.221-233)?
10. The Dauphin sends Henry tennis balls, and Henry responds by comparing the tennis balls to warfare (1.2.261-266). Explain the comparison.
ACT II PLOT QUESTIONS
Prologue
1. What does the Chorus say about how the French view the English plans to invade France?
2. What main point of tension is produced in the Prologue that readers are pointed towards in the opening?
II. i.
3. Who are the characters from King Henry's youth that we are introduced to in the opening scene?
4. What is the situation that is devolving between Pistol and Nym? How is this comparable to what Henry is doing with France?
5. Who is Falstaff? What is happening to him and why? What does Mistress mean when she says "the king has killed his heart" (2.1.92-3)?
II. ii.
6. What are the names of the three traitors Henry traps in this scene?
7. How does this scene promote Henry acting like a "mirror of all Christian kings" in his treatment of the soldier who railed against him?
8. Why is the king most offended by the treason of Lord Scroop (2.2.93-102)?
II. iii.
9. What are some of the commiserations made about the death of Falstaff in this scene?
II. iv.
10. How does the Dauphin recommend they treat the English threats?
11. In what way do the constable and King Charles VI respond to the Dauphin?
12. About what event does the king remind his nobles?
13. What does Exeter tell Charles and then the Dauphin?
ACT II Review Questions
1. What does the Prologue to Act II lead us to expect in the first scene? What does happen in the first scene?
2. What parallels can be seen between the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II?
3. Why is Falstaff dying? What is Falstaff really dying? How does this relate to Henry's betrayal by the three lords in 2.3?
4. How does Henry trick the traitors into condemning themselves?
5. Whose treachery most angers Henry? Why? Why is this ironic?
ACT II Thoughtful Questions
1. Explain how the Prologue to Act II uses the words "crown" (Prol. 2.8-11, 20-22) and "guilt" (Prol. 2.25.26).
2. What does the role of Bardolph play in the tavern scene in 2.1? How does this cast some light on the council scene in 1.2?
3. What are Pistol and Nym quarreling about? What kind of character is Pistol? Why do you think Shakespeare called him "Pistol"?
4. In actual history, the conspirators were determined to put Edmund Mortimer on the throne, a man who had claim to the English crown through a female. How does this throw new light on the conspiracy?
5. Why does Henry say that demons will boast of Scroop's treachery? (2.2.111-125). How do these words reflect on Henry himself? How does the tirade he dispells toward Scroop relate to what has happened to Falstaff?
6. What does the Dauphin think of Henry (2.4.14-28)? Whom is the Dauphin really describing? What is the Constable's opinion of Henry (2.4.29-30)?
ACT III PLOT QUESTIONS
CHORUS
1. What does the Chorus tell the audience to imagine?
2. What are the specific ideas itemized in the Chorus between King Charles and King Henry: "the offer likes him not" (Prol.3.29-32)?
III.i.
3. What is required in the theory of Medivial Christians as to what created a "just war"? (two things)
4. What is Henry's speech outside of Harfleur designed to do? What does it allow the audience to grasp about whether or not this is a "just war"?
5. Spell out what Henry means when engaging his troops with "imitate the action of the tiger/Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,/Disguise fair nature with hard-favor'd rage;/Then lend the eye a terrible aspect." (3.1.6-9).
III.ii
6. Discuss the purpose of the scene with Fluellen, Gower, Jamy and Macmorris, as well as Pistol, Nym, and the Boy.
III.iii
7. Describe the exchange that takes place between Henry and the Governor of Harfleur.
III.iv.
For the French part (3.4) go here
8. What is the gist of the conversation between Katherine and her maid Alice?
III.v.
9. The pretense of this scene in the march of the English army to Agincourt. What is the tone of the conversation inside the French Court?
III.vi.
10. What happens with Bardolph? How does King Henry react (3.6.113-120)?
11. Explain the exchange between Mountjoy and Henry.
III.vii.
12. What is the atmosphere in this final scene of the French army in preparation for the battle?
ACT III Review Questions
1. What are the two criteria of a just war? How does Henry's war measure up?
2. What does Henry tell his troops as they attack Harfleur? What do you think of this advice?
3. What does Henry say to warn the citizens of Harfleur to stop fighting? What do you think of this warning?
4. Why is Bardolph condemned to death? How is this ironic?
5. How does Henry instruct his troops to conduct themselves in France? Is this sound Christian advice?
ACT III Thoughtful Questions
1. Why does the Boy decide to abandon Bardolph, Nym, and Pistol (3.2.28-57)? Does he have good reasons? Whom does the Boy remind you of?
2. What kind of man is Fluellen (3.2.61-155)?
3. What is Princess Katherine of France doing while Henry invades (3.4)? Why is this significant? What does she think of the English language?
4. Why do Pistol and Fluellen quarrel (3.6.21-63)?
5. What is the Dauphin's attitude toward his horse (3.7.11-45)? How do the Constable and Orleans react to the Dauphin's praise for his horse? Do they respect the Dauphin (3.7.100-136)?
ACT IV PLOT QUESTIONS
CHORUS
1. What does the Chorus describe at the beginning of the Act?
2. In what way does it say the French are passing the night? the English?
IV.i.
3. What does King Henry do? Why does he assume a different identity?
4. What does Pistol say about King Henry?
5. Comment on the exchange that occurs between King Henry and Williams, Court and Bates.
6. For what does Henry pray for his soldiers?
IV.ii.
7. Paraphrase Henry's long speech prior to Agincourt.
IV.iii
8. How does Henry answer Mountjoy when he comes to see if Henry will ransom himself off?
9. What, at the end of the battle, has made Henry mad?
10. What are the numbers of the French and English dead?
ACT IV Review Questions
1. What is the atmosphere in the English camp?
2. How does Henry affect the troops as he visits them during the night prior to battle? Why is Henry called "Harry" in the first scene?
3. Why is it significant that Henry borrows Sir Thomas Erpingham's cloak and goes disguised through the camp (4.1.24-27)?
4. How is Henry like the sun?
5. What do Bates and Williams discuss? What does Henry contribute to their discussion? Does Henry make good points?
6. What makes Henry different from any other man? What is the power of ceremony? What is the ultimate difference between commoner and king?
7. What kind of prayer does Henry pray before battle? Why?
8. How does Henry rouse his men to fight valiantly at Agincourt?
9. Is Agincourt a great battle in Shakespeare's depiction? Why or why not?
10. To whom does Fluellen compare Henry? How, in Fluellen's view, are they similar? Explain the ironies of this comparison.
ACT IV Thoughtful Questions
1. According to the Chorus, the French "chide the cripple tardy-gaited night who, like a foul and ugly witch, doth limp so tediously away" (Prol.4.20-22). What does this mean?
2. Thomas Erpingham appears very briefly, yet we get a clear picture of him. What kind of man is Erpingham (4.1.13-34)? Do you like him? Why or why not?
3. What is the significance of the name "Alexander Court," who speaks only two lines at 4.1.89-90?
4. What does Henry mena when he says that the king's affections are 'higher mounted' but that 'when they stoop, they stoop with like wing' (4.1.111-113)?
5. Why does Williams say that "few die well that die in battle" (4.1.149-150)? Note: he is not merely referring to the pain of suffering wounds.
6. What point is Henry making when he lists the guilt that soldiers in his army may bear (4.1.169-180)? Does this answer the soldiers' questions about the king's responsibility for sending men to death in an unjust cause?
7. How does the discussion between Henry and Williams end (4.1.205-239)? What does Bates do? How does this compare to the scene in 2.1?
8. Where is Henry during the battle?
9. Does Pistol know French (4.4)? Discuss Pistol's misunderstandings of his captive. How does this reinforce the overall impression of Agincourt? How does Pistol's treatment of his prisoner compare to Henry's?
ACT V PLOT QUESTIONS
V.i.
1. Discuss the conversation between Pistol and Fluellen.
V.ii.
2. Why does Shakespeare spend more time on the 'wooing of Katharine' than on signing a treaty?
3. How old is Henry? Katharine?
4. Why were all the legal documents of the time signed in French and Latin?
EPILOGUE
5. What does the Epilogue tell us about what happens after the play that the characters do not?
6. When did Henry V die?
ACT V REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why is it significant that this play ends with a wedding? What do weddings signify?
2. What do the French King and Queen hope for from the wedding?
3. How does Burgundy describe the condition of France? What has brought this about?
4. What imagery does Burgundy use? What is this significant?
5. What benefits, in Burgundy's view, dose peace bring?
6. Are the hope for the alliance realized?
7. How does Henry approach his courtship with Katherine? What does Henry call Katharine during the courtship scene? Why is this important?
8. Why, according to Henry, should France be glad that love is blind? What has love distracted Henry from? Explain how Henry implies the threat of further warfare.
9. What does Pistol plan to do when he returns to England? What does this say about the effects of the war?
10. How does the play end? What does this say about Shakespeare's view of Henry V?
ACT V THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS
1. How does the chorus describe Henry's entrance into London (Prol. 5.13-24)? To whom does he compare Henry (lines 25-28)? How does this fit with other allusions and comparisons in the play?
2. Why did Shakespeare put the scene of Pistol eating a leek next to the scene of the peace negotiations? How is Fluellen's treatment of Pistol similar to Henry's treatment of the French?
3. Why is it significant that Fluellen is Welsh, and cannot speak English properly (see 5.1.73-84)? What other signs are there of ethnic divisions within the English army (see 3.2.58-150)? How does this fit with the overall plot of the play?
4. How does the French Queen describe Henry's eyes (5.2.12-20)? How does this relate to Henry's later discussion with Burgundy about love and blindness?
5. According to Burgundy's speech, why does France lie in ruins? What does this say about the relationship of man's labor to the earth's beauty and production? How does this relate to the description of peace as "nurse of arts"?
6. How does Henry say that France can recover peace (5.2.68-73)? How does this fit with Henry's implicitly threatening statements elsewhere in the scene?
7. Why is it significant that Henry and Katharine speak different languages? Why does Shakespeare include French sentences in their conversation?
8. How does Henry try to convince Katharine that he will not grow uglier as time goes by (5.2.231-246)?
9. Trying to get Katharine to kiss him, against the custom of French girls, Henry tells her that "nice customs curtsy to great kings" and "we are the makers of manners" (5.2.284-287). What does he mean?
10. Shakespeare often uess the phrase "stopping the mouth" to refer to a kiss (5.2.286-290). In what two senses does Henry use this phrase?
cola.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl339/hv.html
www.shakespearestudyguide.com/Henry5.html
VOCABULARY
Define, name the part of Speech and use in a sentence. Number each word and underline the word in the sentence.
Clemency Gregarious Exonerate Usurp Exhorts Mitigate Extrapolate Perdition
Ostensibly Garrulous Recapitulate Prosaic Ingratiate Indigenous Insipid Judicious
Altruism Exemplary Sovereign Complicit
Further Notetaking
The events of the play really happened: In real time, it covers a time period of about 10 days over the span of 6 years, from the year 1413-1415, then 1418.
Thematic Concepts in the play include: Moral and Emotional growth; The Burdens of Leadership; The Nature of Power; Patriotism; War.
The Plantagenet dynasty was founded in 1113 by the father of Henry II, and they ruled England from 1154-1399. Their succession was disputed from 1399-1485 by the claimants of York and Lancaster, the dispute culminating in the War of the Roses.
Henry's claim to the French throne was a fabrication from the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Ely. The genealogical fabrication, connected to the Salique Law, goes as follows:
*Louis X
(died 1316) -----Jeanne -----------Charles "the Bad" d'Evereux
married Marguerite de
Borgogne
second wife -------son, died as infant
Phillipe IV-------*Phillipe (1317-1322)--------4 daughters
*Charles IV ---------2 daughters
(king 1328)
*Isabelle de France -----Edward III----------- John of Gaunt---------H. Bolingbroke----Henry V
(married Ed II of
England, had
murdered 1327)
*Mortimer
(affair) (work by Julia Stiens-Berkemeier, 05/ 2008)