The Complete Works of William Shakespeare - Israel Gollancz William Shakespeare [552]
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 Fluellen, a comically stereotyped Welsh soldier, whose name is an attempt at a phonetic rendition of "Llywelyn”. The play also deals briefly with the death of Sir John Falstaff, Henry's one time friend from the Henry IV plays.
Shakespeare's primary source for Henry V is Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles and Edward Hall's The Union of the Two Illustrious Families of Lancaster and York.
The play’s strong national theme has made it popular over the centuries, with diverse examples such as supporting the British war effort in the 1940’s or introducing the England football team in promotional advertisements and TV spots.
Henry V
CONTENTS
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
PROLOGUE
ACT I. SCENE I. London. An ante-chamber in the KING'S palace
SCENE II. London. The Presence Chamber in the KING'S palace
ACT II. PROLOGUE.
SCENE I. London. Before the Boar's Head Tavern, Eastcheap
SCENE II. Southampton. A council-chamber
SCENE III. Eastcheap. Before the Boar's Head tavern
SCENE IV. France. The KING'S palace
ACT III. PROLOGUE.
SCENE I. France. Before Harfleur
SCENE II. Before Harfleur
SCENE III. Before the gates of Harfleur
SCENE IV. Rouen. The FRENCH KING'S palace
SCENE V. The FRENCH KING'S palace
SCENE VI. The English camp in Picardy
SCENE VII. The French camp near Agincourt
ACT IV. PROLOGUE.
SCENE I. France. The English camp at Agincourt
SCENE II. The French camp
SCENE III. The English camp
SCENE IV. The field of battle
SCENE V. Another part of the field of battle
SCENE VI. Another part of the field
SCENE VII. Another part of the field
SCENE VIII. Before KING HENRY'S PAVILION
ACT V. PROLOGUE.
SCENE I. France. The English camp
SCENE II. France. The FRENCH KING'S palace
EPILOGUE
Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film version
The 1998 film adaptation
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
CHORUS
KING HENRY THE FIFTH
DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, brother to the King
DUKE OF BEDFORD, " " " "
DUKE OF EXETER, Uncle to the King
DUKE OF YORK, cousin to the King
EARL OF SALISBURY
EARL OF WESTMORELAND
EARL OF WARWICK
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
BISHOP OF ELY
EARL OF CAMBRIDGE, conspirator against the King
LORD SCROOP
SIR THOMAS GREY
SIR THOMAS ERPINGHAM, officer in the King's army
GOWER
FLUELLEN
MACMORRIS
JAMY
BATES, soldier in the King's army
COURT
WILLIAMS
NYM,
BARDOLPH
PISTOL
BOY A HERALD
CHARLES THE SIXTH, King of France
LEWIS, the Dauphin DUKE OF BURGUNDY
DUKE OF ORLEANS DUKE OF BRITAINE
DUKE OF BOURBON THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE
RAMBURES, French Lord
GRANDPRE, " "
GOVERNOR OF HARFLEUR MONTJOY, a French herald
AMBASSADORS to the King of England
ISABEL, Queen of France
KATHERINE, daughter to Charles and Isabel
ALICE, a lady attending her
HOSTESS of the Boar's Head, Eastcheap; formerly Mrs. Quickly,
nowmarried to Pistol
Lords, Ladies, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, Attendants
SCENE: England and France
PROLOGUE
Enter CHORUS
CHORUS.
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act,
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire,
Crouch for employment. But pardon, gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that hath dar'd
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object. Can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? Or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?