William ShakespeareHenry V Henry V, which dates from 1599, is the last in Shakespeare’sseries of plays based on English history. It is also, of course, the sequel tothe two Henry IV plays which had proved so successful with Elizabethanaudiences and which, like Henry V itself, remain immensely popular today.Shakespeare was to move on to Julius Caesar—a kind of history play, to be sure,but safely remote from the difficult topical questions about royal successionand the justification of war which had to be handled carefully in a national(or nationalistic?) play like Henry V. If we look at Henry V as the third in a trilogy ofplays—discounting for the moment the likelihood that the trilogy was neverplanned as such—then we need briefly to examine the development of Henry’scharacter throughout the sequence. Henry IV had usurped the throne from RichardII and ordered his murder. A serious and responsible king, he remains tormentedby guilt and is profoundly disappointed by the apparent failure of his son Henry(or Harry, or Hal) to become the honorable and dutiful heir he would wish. Itseems as if Hal’s only purpose in life is to waste his time with the gross anddisreputable Sir John Falstaff in taverns and brothels. Hal, however, is quickto confide in the audience: he is actually behaving in this manner so as torender his ‘reform’, when itcomes, the more glorious and impressive. A further motive becomes apparent asthe two Henry IV plays unfold: Hal is learning the trade of kingship by mixingwith a variety of types and classes, and simultaneously acquiring the supportof ordinary people—the ‘lads of Eastcheap’ and all whom they represent. Thistactical approach may be seen as cold and scheming—especially when it becomesnecessary to spurn old cronies (‘I know thee not, old man, fall to thyprayers…)—or as the necessary wisdom of princes. Certainly it requires theability to act, or pretend, and this kind of ambivalence in both character andaudience response is going to remain an issue in the third play. By the end of 2 Henry IV the old king is dead, having atlast been reconciled with his son, who has defeated rebellion and demonstratedhis filial loyalty. The new king is crowned, his old companions banished;church and state wait to see if Henry V will fulfill his promises or lapse intodebauchery. SOURCES Shakespeare’s main source was once again Ralph Holinshed’sChronicles (1587). Hall’s older Chronicle is apparent indirectly at momentswhere Shakespeare was influenced by earlier Henry V plays, but in general he iscontent to follow Holinshed quite closely. An example adduced by Andrew Gurr inhis edition of the play is the way in which Shakespeare carefully avoids havingto conflate the two successive Dauphins of history by keeping that character awayfrom the closing scenes: to have to tell the audience that one Dauphin had diedand been succeeded during the action of the play would be distracting andconfusing. It seems almost certain that Shakespeare knew and wasinfluenced by the play The Famous Victories of Henry V: as Gurr states,‘Shakespeare knew either The Famous Victories or a stage version from which itderived when he wrote his Henry V’. Key differences between the two textsinclude the truly wild and irresponsible behavior of the young prince in theearlier play, and Shakespeare’s decision to establish Hal throughout thetrilogy as choosing to seem morally errant, while all the time planning hismoment of ‘reform’. SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY Act 1, Prologue: The Chorus apologizes for the technicallimitations of theatrical production, especially in view of the heroicsubject-matter. Scene 1: The Bishops of Canterbury and Ely, anxious to avoidpunitive taxation of the Church, express amazement at the piety and wisdom ofthe young king, who has listened sympathetically to their pleas. Scene 2: TheFrench ambassador awaits audience with Henry, who wishes first to hear fromCanterbury whether he has a legal and moral right to the throne of France.Canterbury expounds the complexities of the ‘law Salic’ and ends by confirmingHenry’s claim. Having gained the support of his nobles, Henry calls in theambassador, who delivers a mocking rejection of Henry’s French ambitions in theform of a ‘tun’ of tennis balls, but the king turns the jest against the Frenchby explaining how he will ‘play a set’ that will ‘make [the Dauphin’s]jest…savor but of shallow wit’. Henry then orders immediate preparations forinvasion. Act 2, Prologue: The scene shifts to Southampton, where thefleet’s departure is delayed by the discovery of treacherous conspiracy:Cambridge, Scroop and Gray, in return for French money, have been plottingHenry’s death. Scene 1: Nym and Bardolph quarrel briefly with Pistol, who hasrecently married Mistress Quickly (the Hostess); their reconciliation iscemented by the prospect of Pistol’s profits selling food to the army. The Boybrings news of Sir John Falstaff’s mortal sickness. Scene 2: Henry makes apublic demonstration of the traitors’ guilt, lamenting the taint it has castupon his view of human nature, especially considering the intimate friendshiphe had enjoyed with Scroop. The traitors arrested, Henry orders the fleet tosail. Scene 3: The Hostess affectingly recounts the death of Falstaff. Scene 4:Exeter brings to the French court Henry’s formal claim to the French throne,and also delivers a scornful message to the Dauphin, who continues to hold theEnglish king in slight regard. The French King asks for a day in which toconsider Henry’s claim. Act 3, Prologue: The Chorus urges the audience to imaginethe English fleet sailing from Southampton to Harfleur, which is then besieged.Scene 1: Henry exhorts his troops to greater efforts, asking them to adopt theanimal ferocity required for success in war, and appealing to their sense offamily honor: ‘Now attest/That those whom you called fathers did beget you…’Scene 2: The cowardly parody of Henry’s speech offered by Nym, Pistol andBardolph arouses the contempt of the Boy who follows them: he will ‘seek somebetter service’. Scene 3: Four captains, representing the four British nations,meet in the heat of battle. The Welsh Llewellyn and Irish MacMorris begin anangry dispute based on a misunderstanding: they are interrupted by atrumpet-call sounding a truce. Scene 4: The Governor of Harfleur, despairing ofrelief, yields to Henry’s terrifying threats. Scene 5: Written in French.Alice, an old gentlewoman, gives a beginner’s English lesson to Katherine, theFrench princess. Scene 6: The King of France takes counsel. The valor and successof the English has taken the French by surprise, but the king urges adevastating response, encouraged by reports of the small number of able-bodiedtroops available to Henry, in whose army sickness is rife. Montjoy the heraldis to discuss terms of ransom with Henry; the French king, together with theDauphin, will await developments in Rouen. Scene 7: Exeter, following theexpress orders of the king, has condemned Bardolph to be hanged for stealingfrom a church. When Henry hears of this from Llewellyn he has no hesitation inconfirming the order: even an old drinking companion cannot be exempt fromjustice. Montjoy arrives to demand surrender and ‘bid [Henry] consider of hisransom’. Henry confesses that he would prefer to avoid battle and march unimpededback to Calais, but ‘if we be hindered/We shall your tawny ground with your redblood/Discolor’. Battle seems inevitable next day. Scene 8: In the French campthe nobility, longing for the morning and the expected victory, exchange boastsabout their horses and their armor, laying bets on who will capture the mostEnglishmen. Act 4, Prologue: The Chorus vividly evokes the night scenein which two armies can see each other by the light of their watch-fires asthey prepare for the coming battle. The weakened English forces are encouragedby the cheerful presence of their king, who offers ‘a little touch of Harry inthe night’. Scene 1: Henry will meet ‘the princes in [his] camp’ shortly:meanwhile he wishes to spend some time on his own. Borrowing Sir ThomasErpingham’s cloak, he moves, disguised, around the English camp, encounteringfirst Pistol and then three soldiers: Bates, Court and Williams. He encouragesthem to consider the morality or otherwise of the war and the king’sresponsibilities, seeking to make them aware of the latter’s common humanity—he‘is but a man’—and arguing the need for every individual to make his own peacewith God rather than seeking to lay his sins upon the king’s head. Williams,questioning the king’s integrity a little too roundly, declares that he willgive his unknown disputant a ‘box on the ear’ after the battle. Henry acceptsthe challenge. Alone, he laments the essential loneliness of kingship, arguingthat only ‘ceremony’ separates a king from a peasant. Before returning to hisnobles, Henry prays that God will ‘steel his soldiers’ hearts’ and that his‘father’s fault in compassing the crown’ may be set aside, if only for the day.Scene 2: The French comment contemptuously on the reduced state of the Englishand look forward to an easy victory. Scene 3: In the English camp, Westmorlandwishes for ten thousand more men. Henry uses this as a cue for his St.Crispin’s Day speech, inviting his troops to see themselves as a ‘band ofbrothers’ whose glory will be the greater if their small number overcomes theenemy. Henry rejects a last opportunity to make terms offered by Montjoy, andbattle is joined. Scene 4: The Boy watches as Pistol greedily bargains with hisFrench prisoner for ransom money. He then expresses anxiety about thedefenseless ‘lackeys’ who are the only guardians of the baggage. Scene 5:French nobles express anguish at the disorderly defeat, which seems imminent.Scene 6: Henry, aware that victory is almost assured, hears news of the gallantdeaths of Suffolk and York. An alarm signifies that the French are regrouping.Ruthlessly, Henry orders that ‘every soldier [should] kill his prisoners’.Scene 7: Llewellyn and Gower lament the treacherous murder of the boys leftguarding the baggage. An angry Henry appears, seeking clarification from theFrench as to their intentions. Montjoy arrives to admit defeat and beg leave tobury the dead. Henry dispatches Llewellyn and others to bring the dispute withWilliams to a peaceful conclusion. Scene 8: Henry, witnessing the beginning ofa fight between Williams and his deputy Llewellyn, intervenes, rewardingWilliams with money after the latter has apologized. Exeter then reads ‘thenumber of the slaughtered French’. When Henry has heard of the tiny lossesincurred by the English, he gives thanks to God and orders the departure forhome. Act 5, Prologue: The Chorus speeds the audience overintervening events, including Henry’s triumphant return to England, and bringsus back to France for the peace negotiations. Scene 1: Pistol, who has insultedLlewellyn as a Welshman, is given a deserved cudgeling. Scene 2: Burgundy,acting as mediator, paints a grim picture of economic and social disorder inFrance. The French king asks for a little more time to consider the terms of thepeace treaty. Henry, having appointed representatives to deal with the finaldetails, turns his attention to the wooing of Katherine. Presenting himself asa bluff, unsophisticated lover, he emphasizes the unaffected honesty of hisfeelings and before long wins her consent. The treaty, including the marriage,is agreed, its chief term being that Henry becomes the named heir of the Frenchking. Scene 3: The Chorus reaffirms the glorious achievements of Henry, butends on a lower note as he recalls the disaster of the infant Henry VI’s reign,when France was lost. COMMENTARYHenry V is, at first sight, a patriotic play in which itseponymous hero presents an idealized picture of the warrior-king. Englishqualities of honor, resilience, courage in the face of adversity and socialunity appear to be celebrated in a pageant of set-piece displays; so remarkableare the values demonstrated that the theater and the actors must be inadequate,as the Chorus frequently reminds us. One has only to think of the two well-knownfilm versions—Sir Laurence Olivier’s 1944 version and Kenneth Branagh’s morerecent one—to conjure images of sterling longbowmen and memories of heroicnational rhetoric. The themes are surely clear: patriotism, kingship, andcomradeship.Yet all is not quite so simple, as critics of the last halfcentury have tried to demonstrate. Henry himself is vulnerable to agonizedself-doubt, as in his prayer before battle; he is capable of ruthlessness; andit is difficult at any one time to know which is the ‘real’ Henry, even (forexample) in the moving account of his agonized disappointment at betrayal byhis former intimate, Scroop. His self has been called ‘opaque’: he cannotafford to seem weak or uncertain, must be all things to all men, can neverforget his father’s sins. Thus he becomes the consummate actor, apparentlyindifferent to the fate of old friends in his desire to be the perfect prince,ready to put on a distasteful, uncomfortable performance in order to win hisFrench princess. Then there is the repeated undercutting of idealism bycynicism—Nym, Bardolph and Pistol paradoxically echo their king’s words; thefighting at Agincourt is represented by Pistol’s mercenary treatment of hisprisoner; the different nations brawl rather than pull together; Williamsremains convinced of his king’s indifference to the ordinary soldier’s fateuntil after the battle, when he can hardly do other than apologize in thecircumstances. Even the notion of English social unity—‘we few, we happy few,we band of brothers’—may be seen as temporary and convenient: when the dead arecounted, Henry seems much more interested in those ‘of name’ than in ‘all othermen’. Again, linguistic variety—‘correct’ English, caricatured dialect forms,Alice’s pidgin English, a whole scene in French—serve, perhaps, to emphasize analmost comic disunity rather than the reverse. But this complexity or ambiguity is what makes the playinteresting, not to say typically Shakespearean, and we need to beware in anycase of imposing modern notions of political correctness upon a 16th centurytext. Shakespeare was certainly interested in a kind of social justice—think ofKing Lear, of Measure for Measure—but he was at least equally concerned withsocial order and the dangers of anarchy. My own feeling is that the power ofthis play derives in part from the imaginative realism of his depiction ofpower and responsibility: to be an effective king requires the sacrifice ofwhat most of us regard as common humanity, and it cannot be otherwise. If Henryis less sympathetic than Hal, that is no fault of his. Think, for example, ofhis repeated, anxious deference to God and His will—hastily adding, after aburst of proud defiance, that ‘this lies all within the will of God’ or, afterAgincourt, taking care to announce ‘not to us, but to Thy arm alone/Ascribe weall’. There is glory in Henry’s achievements, but there is also pathos: afterall, the play ends not in triumph but in sober disappointment with the loss ofeverything Henry had bought so dearly. Notes by Perry Keenlyside DIRECTOR’S THOUGHTS ON HENRY V Shakespeare’s Henry V is a play that is a mass ofcontradictions, and has been both extolled and execrated by the critics. It sitsawkwardly in the canon of history plays, and Shakespeare may not have been atease in writing it. He seems to have found the subject matter (strongleadership, the glorification of war and the dubious justification for aninvasion of a foreign country) difficult to come to terms with as a poet.Indeed, he constantly apologizes through the mouthpiece of the Chorus, for theinadequacies of the stage and his inventive processes in dealing with so epic asubject. It was a technique he had never employed before, nor ever would again.Is it possible that Shakespeare didn’t want to write this play at all, or atleast not in this way, but was coerced by his fellow shareholders at the GlobeTheatre?It seems certain that Henry V was written in 1599, amomentous year for Shakespeare’s company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. This wasthe year their new theater , ‘The Globe’, opened on Bankside, carefully andeconomically constructed from the timbers of their old one across the river inShoreditch. ‘The Globe’ needed a sensational opening production to put it onthe map. What better than a re-vamp of the old history of Henry V, thewarrior-king whose victory at Agincourt against overwhelming odds was nothingshort of a miracle. The story had everything: battles, drama, humor, alove-interest in Henry’s wooing of Katharine, the King of France’s daughter,and it was well-suited to the times. For in 1599, England was at ‘war’ with its dominion Ireland,and Robert Devereux, the young Earl of Essex, the very image of a Henry V, wasin the process of subduing the Irish rebels. He was the man of the moment, andShakespeare unmistakably links this Elizabethan rising sun with his hero Henry.The Elizabethan ‘plebeians’ will like their medieval counterparts ‘go forth andfetch their conquering Caesar in: As, by a lover but by loving likelihood. Were now the general of our gracious empress, As in good time he may, from Ireland coming, Bringing rebellion broached on his sword, How many would the peaceful city quit/to welcome him! Yet, Shakespeare seems to have had difficulties inpresenting a mere celebratory romp through the well-known story. In fact he haswritten two plays in ‘Henry V’, so the audience may take it on whatever levelpleases them. There is enough patriotic rhetoric in the play, of the ‘God forHarry, England and St. George’ variety to satisfy those who look for acelebration of heroism and a victorious war, and on one level Shakespeare isexamining the nature of leadership, the qualities desirable in a strong andjust prince, a ‘mirror of all Christian kings’. But he could not stop himself presenting a more roundedcharacterization than a one-dimensional catalog of virtues. Herein lies thesecond ‘hidden’ play. Shakespeare strives to show that this idealized monarchalso has a human face: ‘The king is but a man’. This leads him inevitably tostart to explore the darker shadows cast by this sun king. In 1599, Shakespearewas moving away from the romantic comedies and chronicle plays, towards thedeeper explorations of human nature he expressed in Hamlet and the tragedies.It is the scene before Agincourt, (Act IV Scene1), where we feel Shakespeareturns a corner in his writing and almost takes the play in another direction.The voice of the common man, Williams and Bates, enters the chivalric argument,sounding a new note of doubt about the moral justification of the war, andleaving Henry, Hamlet-like, to wrestle with his conscience about his personalresponsibility. It is not however Shakespeare’s intention to go down thiswinding road yet, and to put the play back on track, he uses his Chorus toinject doses of ‘praise and glory’ on his hero’s head. This is some of thefinest poetic writing in the whole gamut of Shakespeare’s plays. So fine, infact, it could be the voice of the poet himself. So, in this production ‘work your thoughts’, and imagine theChorus is indeed Shakespeare, in ‘little room’ going through the difficultcreative process of writing the brilliant yet controversial history of ‘KingHenry the Fifth.’ The Cast of Henry V HenryV SamuelWest Chorus TimothyWest Katharine Cathy Sara Archbishop/Scroop Hugh Dickson Pistol/Grandpré NigelAnthony Exeter/Rambures/Erpingham StephenThorne Llewellyn/Bretagne Bernard Lloyd Gower/Nym/Ely IanMasters Hostess/Alice/QueenIsabel AuriolSmith Frenchking/Cambridge/Bates RoySpencer Dauphin/Court/Frenchsoldier/Westmorland RogerMay Bourbon/Williams/Salisbury BarrieJaimeson Constable/Bardolph/Macmorris Jonathan Keeble Orléans/Gloucester Nick Fletcher Burgundy/Governor/York/Bedford David Timson Montjoy/FrenchAmbassador/Grey/Jamy/Warwick PeterYapp Boy Dominic Kraemer Director DavidTimson Producer NicolasSoames Engineer MikeEtherden StageManagement Alison Mackenzie Recorded at Motivation Sound Studios, London (August 3-4,2000) SAMUEL WEST (Henry V) was widely praised for his performanceas Leonard Bast in the Merchant Ivory film, Howard’s End. Other film creditsinclude Carrington and Reunion, and he has been seen on television inPersuasion and Heavy Weather. Theatrical roles have included Valentine inArcadia and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest. TIMOTHY WEST’s (Chorus) numerous London stage performancesbegan in 1959 with the farce Caught Napping. He has appeared with the National,Royal Shakespeare Company and Prospect Theatre companies playing among others,King Lear, Prospero, Shylock and Macbeth. Among his many television appearancesare: Edward VII, Beecham, Brass and Churchill and the Generals. His filmsinclude Ever After, Joan of Arc and Villa of Roses. In 1984 he was awarded CBEfor his services to the profession. CATHY SARA (Katharine) has worked for the New ShakespeareCompany in The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet, as well as the StephenJoseph Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse and in King Lear at the HackneyEmpire. Her television appearances include Kavanagh QC, Beck, The Detectivesand Heartbeat, and she has worked extensively for the BBC Radio Repertory. HUGH DICKSON (Archbishop/Scroop) is a former member of theRoyal Shakespeare Company and the BBC Radio Drama Company. He has specializedin verse-speaking, working with many leading poets on radio, platform andrecordings. Stage appearances include Escalus in Measure for Measure and ProfRiley in Shadowlands. Radio work includes Camillo in The Winter’s Tale and GuyCrouchback in Sword of Honour. NIGEL ANTHONY (Pistol/Grandpré) is one of Britain’s leadingvoice actors with wide experience of reading for audiobooks and on radio. Hisextensive work for BBC Radio has twice won Best Actor awards. He is also knownfor his work in television (Coronation Street, Slender, Casualty, and others)and in theater, with the Royal Shakespeare Company and with Alan Ayckbourn atScarborough. STEPHEN THORNE (Exeter/Rambures/Erpingham) has made over2,000 broadcasts for BBC Radio as well as theater and television appearances.He has recorded over 100 audiobooks, mostly unabridged, including The SheepPig, all the Brother Cadfael novels and works by Dickens and Hardy.BERNARD LLOYD (Llewellyn/Bretagne) trained at RADA. His theater credits include Still Time (Manchester RoyalExchange), Give Me Your Answer Do (Lyric Theatre, Belfast), Mother Courage(Contact Theatre, Manchester), and many Royal Shakespeare Company credits—mostrecently A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night and A Christmas Carol. Histelevision credits include Pavements of Gold, A Christmas Carol, episodes ofCoronation Street, McCallum, Food For Ravens, Casualty and Inspector Morse.IAN MASTERS (Gower/Nym/Ely) has worked in radio, televisionand theater for over thirty years. From the Welsh College of Music & Dramahe went to regional reps and then into the West End where he played the lead inNo Sex Please We’re British. Other West End productions include Noises Off, TheLast of Mrs. Cheyney and Conduct Unbecoming. On television he has played partsas diverse as Birdman in Red Dwarf to Siegfried Sassoon in Fatal Spring. Filmsinclude: Jigsaw Man, Telling Tales and Pathfinders. AURIOL SMITH (Hostess/Alice/Queen Isabel) has played manyleading roles including Paulina in A Winter’s Tale touring the USA, and LadyWishfort in The Way of the World at Manchester Royal Exchange. Recenttelevision appearances include One Foot in the Grave and Peak Practice. Hermany voice recordings include 40 Years On’ with Alan Bennett and LosingRosalind for BBC Radio 4. ROY SPENCER’s (French King/Cambridge/Bates) spear carrying,repertory work, first appearance on television and first broadcast followedtraining at RADA. Fans still request photos and send questionnaires about themaking of a 1970s Dr. Who serial. For BBC Radio 4, he has written and presentedprograms and has made three American tours with his one-man D.H. Lawrenceshows. ROGER MAY (Dauphin/Court/French Soldier/ Westmorland) hasdone over 80 radio plays and spent a year with the BBC Radio Drama Company in1995-6, following that with a season at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Ontelevision he has appeared in, among others, Mosley, Peak Practice andHornblower and, on film, The Scarlet Tunic and An Ideal Husband. BARRIE JAIMESON (Bourbon/Williams/Salisbury) trained at TheWebber Douglas Academy and has had a long theater career appearing in manyLondon productions, repertory theaters across the UK and national tours. Histelevision appearances have included The Bill, Pie In The Sky, Albion Marketand Bergerac. He recently completed filming A Kind of Hush for the First FilmCompany. JONATHAN KEEBLE’s (Constable/Bardolph/Macmorris) theatercredits include leading roles at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, Coventry, Liverpool,Exeter, Lancaster and West Yorkshire Playhouse. Television includes People LikeUs, The Two Of Us and Deptford Grafitti. Jonathan has featured in over 250radio plays for the BBC and was a member of the Radio Drama Company. NICK FLETCHER (Orléans/Gloucester) began his career in HenryV and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside at Shakespeare’s Globe. Other theater workincludes A Difficult Age for English Touring Theatre, seven plays at the OrangeTree in the’98/’99 company, Silence at the Birmingham Rep and After The War forGranada TV. DAVID TIMSON (Burgundy/Governor/York/Bedford and Director)has performed in modern and classic plays across the UK and abroad, includingWild Honey for Alan Ayckbourn, Hamlet, The Man of Mode, and The Seagull. He hasbeen seen on television in Nelson’s Column and Swallows and Amazons, and in thefilm The Russia House. A familiar and versatile audio and radio voice, Timsonis a frequent reader on Naxos AudioBooks. PETER YAPP (Montjoy/French Ambassador/Grey/Jamy/ Warwick)has appeared in plays and theaters across Britain and in the West End includingRosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Piccadilly, and The Black Princeat the Aldwych, and spent a year with the BBC Radio Drama Company. His TVcredits include House of Elliot, Martin Chuzzlewit and Poirot. DOMINIC KRAEMER (Boy) studies music at the Purcell School andis a member of the Finchley Children’s Music Group. He has appeared in Joy tothe World, sung in Britten’s St. Nicolas as well as in the chorus in Carmen,The Nutcracker (ENB), Wind in the Willows (NT); he was Eyolf in Little Eyolf atthe Royal Shakespeare Company and Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryat the National Theatre Studio. He appeared in the 2000 Royal Military Tattooand at the Queen Mother’s 100 Birthday Pageant at Horse Guards Parade.