The Shakespeare Book

166

H

enry V is often described

as Shakespeare’s war play.

Unlike most of his plays,

there is no unfolding of complex

personal journeys or relationships.

It appears to be a simple, thrilling

story of how the heroic young

soldier-king Henry V triumphs at

Agincourt against all the odds,

packed with stirring war poetry.

In the past, many regarded it

as Shakespeare’s most patriotic

play—a glorification of a high point

in England’s history, when a small

HENRY V

“band” of Englishmen defeated a

large army of the cream of French

knighthood. At the center of it all is

an uplifting portrait of a matchless

hero, leading his men to an unlikely

victory. Speeches have often been

culled from the play to inspire

troops at moments of crisis. Most

famously, British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill echoed Henry’s

speech “We few, we happy few...”

(4.3.60) in his broadcast telling the

public of the debt owed to the “few”

fighter pilots who saved the country

in the Battle of Britain of 1940.

Changing perspectives

Attitudes towards the play have

changed considerably through

time, along with attitudes to war

and nationalist fervor. Critics and

theater directors now treat the play

much more warily than in the past.

They often look for a subversive

political message that parodies

militarism—staging the play not

IN CONTEXT

THEMES

War, patriotism, kingship

SETTING

London and Southampton

in England; the palace of

the French king; Harfleur

and Agincourt in France

SOURCES

1577 Edward Halle’s Union of

the Two Noble and Illustrious

Families of Lancaster and York.

1587 The key source is

the Chronicles of England,

Scotland, and Ireland edited

by Ralph Holinshed.

LEGACY

1738 The first performance

of the full play in 130 years is

staged in London as Britain

goes to war with France again.

1897 Frank Benson plays a

heroic Henry in Stratford-upon-

Avon, notably pole-vaulting

onto the walls of Harfleur.

1944 Laurence Olivier directs

and stars in a film version of

the play. Partially funded by the

British government, it stresses

the patriotism of the play.

1986 Michael Bogdanov tours

with a left-leaning version for

the English Shakespeare

Company, portraying Henry

as a cold cynic.

1989 Kenneth Branagh’s film

adaptation brings a gritty

reality to the battle scenes.

2003 Nicholas Hytner makes

his debut as National Theatre

Director setting Henry V in

contemporary Iraq.

Consideration like an

angel came

And whipped th’offending

Adam out of him

Archbishop of

Canterbury

Act 1, Scene 1

Laurence Olivier’s morale-boosting

film, made during World War II, left

out some of Henry’s more vicious acts,

such as the hanging of Bardolph, to

portray Henry as a heroic figure.