But pardon, and gentles all, the flat unraised. Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, assume the port of Mars and at his heels, leashd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire crouch for employment. the privèd maidens’ groans” for dead combatants, as well as to the horrors awaiting the non-combatants: “ the filthy and contagious clouds / Of heady murder, spoil,” rape, and infanticide.Īfter you read this range of different voices that make up the text of Henry V, we invite you to turn to “ Henry V : A Modern Perspective,” written by Professor Michael Neill of the University of Auckland. (King) Henry V (1944, UK) (aka The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France). Even in the impressive speeches of Henry and his nobles threatening the French, there are many chilling references to the human cost of war, to “ the widows’ tears, the orphans’ cries, / . . . Then we hear soldiers in a tavern enthusiastic for war, not in the hope of winning glory, but in the expectation of reaping profits (“ To suck, to suck, the very blood to suck” ). We hear bishops conniving for war so that they can postpone a bill in Parliament that would heavily tax the Church’s wealth. The play’s Chorus urges us to join the invasion by grappling our imaginations to the sterns of Henry’s ships as they set sail for France, and then to join with the Chorus in praise of Henry on the eve of his greatest battle, Agincourt: “ Praise and glory on his head!” Repeatedly the Chorus glorifies the warlike king, calling him “ the mirror,” or paragon, “ of all Christian kings” and “ this star of England.”īut when the Chorus is offstage we hear other voices of war that are far less alluring. ![]() Some of the play glorifies war, especially the play’s Choruses and Henry’s speeches urging his troops into battle: “ Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, / Or close the wall up with our English dead!” During this first engagement between the invading English army and the French at Harfleur, Henry tells his men that they can never be more truly and gloriously the sons of their fathers than in making war. Henry V is Shakespeare’s most famous “war play,” perhaps because it represents war in such a variety of ways and thereby tests whatever understanding of war we may bring to it. Editors of the Folger Shakespeare Library Editions Overall Impression: A great play about a king in his warlike years, but lacking the humor and charm of the Henry IV plays.
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