Henry V

Henry V follows the young king's invasion of France and his victory against the odds at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, introduced by a Chorus who asks the audience to imagine the battlefields on the bare stage.

Main characters

• King Henry V
• The Chorus
• The Dukes of Exeter and Gloucester
• Fluellen, Gower, Macmorris and Jamy, captains
• Pistol, Nym and Bardolph, old companions from the tavern
• Williams, a common soldier
• The King of France, the Dauphin and Princess Katherine
• Montjoy, the French herald

Plot summary

This summary gives away the ending.

The Chorus apologises for squeezing 'the vasty fields of France' into this 'wooden O'. Encouraged by churchmen, Henry claims the French throne. The Dauphin replies with a mocking gift of tennis balls. Henry uncovers a plot against his life, then sails for France. At home, Mistress Quickly reports the death of Falstaff.

Henry leads the siege of Harfleur with the rallying cry 'Once more unto the breach'. His army, weakened by disease, is shadowed by a far larger French force. On the night before battle, Henry walks among his soldiers in disguise and argues with a soldier, Williams, about the king's responsibility for the men who die in his wars. On St Crispin's Day he rouses his troops with the 'band of brothers' speech and wins a stunning victory at Agincourt. The play ends with a peace treaty and Henry's comic, halting courtship of the French princess Katherine, before the Chorus reminds us that his son's reign would lose everything.

Themes

• Leadership and the burden of kingship
• Patriotism and the costs of war
• Unity among the nations of Britain
• Theatre and imagination

Famous lines

O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention.

Chorus, Prologue

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

King Henry, Act 3 Scene 1

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.

King Henry, Act 4 Scene 3

The game's afoot.

King Henry, Act 3 Scene 1

More in our collection of famous Shakespeare quotes.

Sources

Holinshed's Chronicles and The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth.

On stage and screen

Laurence Olivier's 1944 film, made with government support during the Second World War, presented it as patriotic pageant. Kenneth Branagh's 1989 film brought out the mud and cost of war. Many modern productions do both.

See where Henry V sits in Shakespeare's career on the timeline, or read about the playhouses it was written for.