The Shakespeare Book

THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN’S MAN 169

prequel, Henry IV, these were
entertaining characters, a comic
counterpoint to the main action
led by the irrepressible Sir John
Falstaff. But in Henry V, much of the
humor has drained away and the
lovable rogues of the earlier play
become victims, bearing the cost of
war more than the other characters.
Falstaff dies without ever even
appearing—a victim, so Mistress
Quickly insists, of Henry’s neglect:
“The King has killed his heart”
(2.1.84). Bardolph and Nim are
hanged offstage for the same
roguery that made them endearing
in the earlier play. Finally, Mistress
Quickly dies of the French malady
(venereal disease), again offstage.
Only Pistol survives, and even he is
humiliated by being forced to eat a
leek by Fluellen. The juggernaut of
Henry’s heroic new age has rolled
on and left these characters of an
earlier time in its wake.

Henry the king
The portrait of a king in Henry V,
then, is an ambiguous one, more so
than the stirring speeches would
suggest. What is certain is that
Henry is no unthinking military
leader. He has a keen insight into
his role as king. As he explains
to Bates and Williams when in
disguise, “All his senses have but
human conditions. His ceremonies
laid by, in his nakedness he
appears but a man” (4.1.103–105).
Henry knows that he is,
underneath the crown, just a man.
But he is keenly aware that, as
king, he cannot behave as other
men do. “We are no tyrant,” he
insists, “but a Christian king, /
Unto whose grace our passion is as
subject / As our wretches fettered
in our prisons” (1.2.241–243). The
image of his human emotions as
a wretched prisoner in chains is
disturbing, but his view of the need

for self-control and self-sacrifice is

clear. The result is that Henry’s

personality remains largely hidden.

He has just one moment of personal

revelation—a long soliloquy at the

end of his nightwalk about the

camp—and even here his argument

about the burdens of kingship seem

more theoretical than emotional.

Henry is a consummate actor, able

to be whoever his people need him

to be—from theologian with the

Take it God,

For it is none but thine.

Henry V

Act 4, Scene 8

bishops to common man with the

soldiery, to charming, unschooled

lover with the princess Catherine.

The Henriad

Henry V was the fourth play of the

Henriad, a quartet of history plays,

following Richard II and Henry IV

Parts 1 and 2. Together with the

first quartet (comprising Henry VI

Parts 1, 2, and 3, and Richard III), it

forms a complete chronology of

English history from the time of

Richard II (1377–99) to the time of

Richard III (1483–85). Henry V

provides a contrasting figure to the

quartet’s first king, Richard II,

whose weaknesses are transformed

into Henry’s strengths. Richard

smashes a mirror when he loses his

throne. But as the English prepare

for battle, the Chorus holds Henry up

as “the mirror of all Christian kings”

(2.0.6). Henry is our own reflection,

the king we want him to be, which

may explain why our view of this

hero is so hard to pin down. ■

Nobles Knights Soldiers

The Battle dead:

10,000 French, including

126 nobles, 8,400 knights,

1,600 common soldiers;

29 English, including

4 nobles and 25 knights/

common soldiers.

KEY