Henry V (play)

thumb|Title page of the first [[quarto (1600)]]

The Life of Henry the Fifth, often shortened to Henry V, is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written circa 1599. It tells the story of King Henry V of England, focusing on events immediately before and after the Battle of Agincourt (1415) during the Hundred Years' War. In the First Quarto text, it was titled The Cronicle History of Henry the fift,

Date and text

thumb|The first page of The Life of King Henry the Fifth, printed in the Second Folio edition of 1632

On the basis of an apparent allusion to the Earl of Essex's mission to quell Tyrone's Rebellion, the play is thought to date from early 1599. Gathered, Shakespeare presents warfare in all its complexity.

The American critic Norman Rabkin described the play as a picture with two meanings. He argues that the play never settles on one viewpoint on war, Henry himself changing his descriptions frequently, talking of "rape and pillage" during Harfleur, but of patriotic glory in his St Crispin's Day Speech.

Some scholars have connected the nationalist glorification of war with contemporary military ventures in Spain and Ireland. The Chorus directly refers to the looked-for military triumphs of the Earl of Essex, in the fifth act. Henry V himself is sometimes seen as an ambivalent representation of the stage machiavel, combining apparent sincerity with a willingness to use deceit and force to attain his ends.

Other commentators see the play as looking critically at the reason for Henry's actions. The noble words of the Chorus and Henry are consistently undermined by Pistol, Bardolph, and Nym. Pistol talks in a bombastic blank verse that seems to parody Henry's own style of speech. Pistol and his friends, thus, show up the actions of their rulers. Indeed, the presence of the Eastcheap characters from Henry IV has been said to emphasise the element of adventurer in Henry's character as monarch.

The play's ambiguity has led to diverse interpretations in performance. Laurence Olivier's 1944 film, made during the Second World War, emphasises the patriotic side, ignoring the fact that the enemy of the play, the French, were allies in that conflict, while Kenneth Branagh's 1989 film stresses the horrors of war. A 2003 Royal National Theatre production featured Henry as a modern war general, ridiculing the Iraq invasion.

In recent years, there has been scholarly debate about whether or not Henry V can be labeled a war criminal. Some call the question anachronistic, arguing that current legal standards cannot be applied to historical events or figures. However, other scholars have supported the proposed viewpoint. For instance, Christopher N. Warren looks to Alberico Gentili's De armis Romanis, along with Henry V itself, to show how early modern thinkers (including Shakespeare) were themselves using juridical approaches to engage with the past. As a result, Warren argues, the question of whether Henry V was a war criminal is not only legitimate, but also "historically appropriate".

In rhetoric intended to intimidate the Governor of Harfleur into surrendering the city to the English, Henry denies personal responsibility for his soldiers' actions if battle is resumed"What rein can hold licentious wickedness / When down the hill he holds his fierce career?"and describes in graphic detail the violence they will do to the townsfolk if his demands are not met:

On the other hand, Henry is portrayed as a great leader, as he keeps his temper when insulted: "we are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us". He also admits to his past mistakes: "did give ourselves to barbarous licence" and is shown to have great confidence: "I will rise there with so full a glory that I will dazzle all the eyes of France".

A mock trial of for the crimes associated with the legality of the invasion and the slaughter of prisoners was held in Washington, DC in March 2010, drawing from both historical record and Shakespeare's play. Titled The Supreme Court of the Amalgamated Kingdom of England and France, participating judges were Justices Samuel Alito and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The outcome was originally to be determined by an audience vote, but due to a draw, it came down to a judges' decision. The court was divided on Henry's justification for war, but unanimously found him guilty on the killing of the prisoners after applying "the evolving standards of the maturing society". Previously, the fictional Global War Crimes Tribunal ruled that Henry's war was legal, no noncombatant was killed unlawfully, and Henry bore no criminal responsibility for the death of the POWs. The fictional French Civil Liberties Union, who had instigated the tribunal, then attempted to sue in civil court. The judge concluded that he was bound by the GWCT's conclusions of law and also ruled in favour of the English. The Court of Appeals affirmed without opinion, thus leaving the matter for the Supreme Court's determination.

National identity

The words England, English, and Englishmen are used more frequently in Henry V than in any other play by Shakespeare. According to Michael Neill, this reflects the play's "deep involvement in that process of national self-definition which saw the emergence of England as Europe's first true nation-state." While the Chorus refers to the expectation of natural allegiance to one's native country, the play highlights the contradictions within the idea of "foreign" and "native" and within English identity itself. The English troops are shown to be a combination of Scottish, Irish, Welsh and English soldiers, whose relations are not always friendly. In Neill's view, the characters Fluellen and Macmorris represent different aspects of the possibility of incorporation into the English nation. Fluellen is hailed by Henry as a fellow countryman (since Henry himself was born in Wales) and proves himself to be really "English" under his "native garb" in his encounter with Pistol; he reflects the relatively easy absorption of Wales into the English kingdom. Meanwhile, Macmorris's angry response to the mention of the word "nation" may reflect contemporary anxieties about the ongoing conquest of Ireland.

The issue of national belonging in the play is further complicated by the presence of the French, who are at once contrasted with Henry's subjects and supposed to be integrated with them through Henry's conquest of France. This contradiction is seemingly resolved at the end of the play by Henry's marriage to the French princess Katharine, symbolically uniting the English and the French in the "one flesh" of husband and wife. However, according to Neill, Shakespeare makes clear in multiple scenes, including the dialogue between Henry and Katharine, the violent and involuntary nature of this prospective unification of the two countries. In 1600, the first printed text states that the play had been played "sundry times". The earliest performance for which an exact date is known, however, occurred on 7 January 1605, at Court at Whitehall Palace.

Samuel Pepys saw a Henry V in 1664, but it was written by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, not by Shakespeare. Shakespeare's play returned to the stage in 1723, in an adaptation by Aaron Hill.

The longest-running production of the play in Broadway history was the staging starring Richard Mansfield in 1900 which ran for 54 performances. Other notable stage performances of Henry V include Charles Kean (1859), Charles Alexander Calvert (1872), and Walter Hampden (1928).

Major revivals in London during the 20th and 21st centuries include:

1900 Lyceum Theatre, Lewis Waller as Henry
1914 Shaftesbury Theatre, F. R. Benson as Henry
1916 His Majesty's Theatre, Martin Harvey as Henry
1920 Strand Theatre, Murray Carrington as Henry
1926 Old Vic Theatre, Baliol Holloway as Henry
1928 Lyric, Hammersmith, Lewis Casson as Henry (Old Vic Company)
1931 Old Vic Theatre, Ralph Richardson as Henry
1934 Alhambra Theatre, Godfrey Tearle as Henry
1936 Ring, Blackfriars, Hubert Gregg as Henry
1937 Old Vic Theatre, Laurence Olivier as Henry
1938 Drury Lane Theatre, Ivor Novello as Henry
1951 Old Vic Theatre, Alec Clunes as Henry
1955 Old Vic Theatre, Richard Burton as Henry
1956 Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Christopher Plummer as Henry, with William Shatner as his understudy who substituted for him in one performance
1960 Mermaid Theatre, William Peacock as Henry
1960 Old Vic Theatre, Donald Houston as Henry
1965 Aldwych Theatre, Ian Holm as Henry (Royal Shakespeare Company)
1972 Aldwych Theatre, Timothy Dalton as Henry (Prospect Theatre Company), also in 1974 in Roundhouse Theatre
1976 Aldwych Theatre, Alan Howard as Henry (Royal Shakespeare Company)
1985 Barbican Theatre, Kenneth Branagh as Henry (Royal Shakespeare Company)
2003 Royal National Theatre, Adrian Lester as Henry
2013 Noël Coward Theatre, Jude Law as Henry (Michael Grandage Company)
2015 RSC and The Barbican, Alex Hassell as Henry
2022 Donmar Warehouse, Kit Harington as Henry

In the Shakespeare's Globe's 2012 Globe to Globe festival, Henry V was the UK entry, one of 37 and the only one performed in spoken English. Jamie Parker performed the role of Henry.

On British television, the play has been performed as:

1951 Clement McCallin as Henry, Marius Goring as Chorus, Willoughby Gray as Pistol
1953 Colin George as Henry, Toby Robertson as Chorus, Frank Windsor as Pistol
1957 John Neville as Henry, Bernard Hepton as Chorus, Geoffrey Bayldon as Pistol
1960 Robert Hardy as Henry, William Squire as Chorus, George A. Cooper as Pistol
1979 David Gwillim as Henry, Alec McCowen as Chorus, Bryan Pringle as Pistol, part of the BBC Television Shakespeare series
2012 Tom Hiddleston as Henry, John Hurt as Chorus, Paul Ritter as Pistol, part of The Hollow Crown TV series.

In 2017, the Pop-up Globe, the world's first temporary replica of the second Globe Theatre, based in Auckland, New Zealand, performed 34 Henry V shows. London-trained Australian actor Chris Huntly-Turner took on the role of Henry, Irish actor Michael Mahony as Chorus, and UK–New Zealand actor Edward Newborn as Pistol/King of France.

Adaptations

Film

The first film adaptation, Henry V (1944), directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, is a colourful and highly stylised version which begins in the Globe Theatre and then gradually shifts to a realistic evocation of the Battle of Agincourt. Olivier's film was made during the Second World War and was intended as a patriotic rallying cry at the time of the invasion of Normandy. It has been revived three times—in 2005, 2007, and 2011—playing cities across the United States, and received a National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces in Dance Award.

Music

Suite from Henry V is a 1963 orchestral arrangement of music that composer William Walton wrote for the 1944 Olivier film. The arrangement is by Muir Mathieson, and is in five movements.

Henry V – A Shakespeare Scenario is a 50-minute work for narrator, SATB chorus, boys' choir (optional), and full orchestra. The musical content is taken from Walton's score for the Olivier film, edited by David Lloyd-Jones and arranged by Christopher Palmer. It was first performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London, in May 1990. Performers for this premiere were Christopher Plummer (narrator), the Academy Chorus, Choristers of Westminster Cathedral, and Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. The conductor was Sir Neville Marriner. A CD of the work with these performers was released by Chandos in 1990.

O For a Muse of Fire is a symphonic overture for full orchestra and vocal soloist, written by Darryl Kubian. The work is 12 minutes long, and was premiered by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in March 2015. The work is scored for full orchestra, with vocal soloist. The vocal part incorporates selected lines from the text, and the vocal range is adaptable to different voice types. The soloist for the premiere performances with the New Jersey Symphony was former October Project lead singer (and former Sony Classical artist) Mary Fahl.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Fully edited texts of Henry V, both original-spelling and modernised, at the Internet Shakespeare Editions