Henry V

King Henry admits to Gloucester and Clarence that the English are “in great danger” (4.1.1) but that “the greater therefore should our courage be” (4.1.2). The elderly soldier Sir Thomas Erpingham is present and exchanges words of courage and gallantry with the King. Henry asks for Erpingham’s cloak and puts it on, sending the advisors away and asking for some time alone. Pistol enters and asks Henry who he is: Henry pretends to be a gentleman called Harry le Roy. Pistol praises the King, without knowing who Harry is. Henry says he is a Welshman (the Tudors were originally a Welsh family). Pistol asks if Harry knows Fluellen and insults Fluellen. Henry says he is Fluellen’s “kinsman.” Pistol exits.

Fluellen and Gower enter, deep in conversation. Henry stands to one side and hear Fluellen caution Gower to talk softer when so close to the enemy lines. Fluellen and Gower exit. Although Fluellen is loquacious and a figure of fun, as Henry says, “a little out of fashion” (4.1.83) he is impressed by the “care and valor” (4.1.84) of Fluellen.

Three soldiers enter: Alexander Court, Michael Williams, and John Bates. They sit beside a campfire, nervously awaiting daybreak. They ask Henry who he is and he says “a friend” and that he serves under Sir Thomas Erpingham. The men praise Erpingham and ask Henry what Erpingham thinks of their chances. Henry says that Erpingham thinks they are “wrecked.” Bates asks if Erpingham has told this to the King and Henry says that Erpingham has not, out of an understanding of the King’s position: Henry anonymously asserts that the King is “but a man” and fears just like his men but must not show it because his men rely on him (4.1.105). The men wish they were at home and debate whether they think Henry’s cause is just and whether that matters to the common soldiers who are the King’s “subjects.” They wonder whether, if men “do not die well” (i.e., die fighting in an unjust cause), their sins will be blamed on the King at the Day of Judgment. The King makes a speech about the responsibilities of kings and the nuanced relationship between a king and his subjects.

Henry says he has heard that the King has vowed not to be ransomed (i.e., that he will fight to the death like a common soldier and not buy his life if he is defeated). Williams disbelieves this and refuses to back down. Henry says he wishes there was time to resolve the argument. They agree that if they survive the battle, they will continue their “quarrel.” They exchange gloves so that they will know each other, a gesture reminiscent of the traditional challenge to a duel by throwing down a gauntlet or glove.

The men exit. When he is alone again, Henry thinks about the soldiers’ words. His position as king sometimes makes him feels lonely and isolated. He also feels the need to be constantly vigilant. The only benefit to being king, he suggests, is the pomp and ceremony that comes with the role. To Henry, however, much of this ceremony seems hollow. He says that the humblest person can enjoy their country’s peace but a king must constantly work to maintain it. As dawn approaches, the Henry prays alone. He asks the “God of battles” (4.1.282) to fill his men’s hearts with strength and not to punish Henry for the bloody manner in which his father took the English throne. Henry confesses shame for his father’s actions and reminds God that he has done many things to expunge these sins.

The French army prepares. They are confident and joke and tease each other. A messenger tells them that the battle has begun. The nobles fasten their armor and mount horses, with the Constable and the Earl of Grandpré offering confident speeches to their fellow lords and knights (i.e., the cavalry). They laugh arrogantly at the English army with their ragged appearance.

The English noblemen prepare. The King has already gone to command the start of battle. They confirm that they are greatly outnumbered “five to one” (4.3.4). Warwick regrets that they don’t have “one ten thousand” of the men left in England (4.3.18). Henry, returning, overhears Warwick. In response he makes a gallant and eloquent speech: Since there are so few of them, their respective share of the glory will be so much greater. He does not want to fight beside any man who does not want to fight for England. Any soldier who wants to leave, he says, will be given enough money to travel home. Those who stay to fight, however, will be able to spend the rest of their lives telling people that they took part in a famous victory, and that the date, St. Crispin’s Day, will be remembered forever in England. Every man in the army, King Henry says, will become his blood-brother: “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers” (4.3.60). Every man at home, he says, will wish that they had fought in the battle.

Montjoy brings a message for Henry from the French King: He says that if Henry does not surrender, his whole army will be killed and their bodies left in the field. Henry can avoid death for his men Charles says, if he surrenders himself. Henry courteously declines the offer. He rallies his troops and prepares to lead them into battle. The Duke of York asks to lead the vanguard and Henry agrees.

Amid the chaos of the battle, Pistol takes a Frenchman prisoner in a comic scene. Neither man can speak the other’s language, so Falstaff’s former pageboy must translate. His efforts are hindered by Pistol’s outlandish demands; he does not have the vocabulary to explain. The Frenchman becomes convinced that Pistol is a nobleman. He says that his name is Monsieur le Fer and offers a large ransom, if he is allowed to live. Pistol accepts the offer and takes the Frenchman captive. The boy follows, complaining that even Nym and Bardolph had “ten times more valor” (4.4.68-69) than Pistol. He tells the audience that both Nym and Bardolph were executed for looting.

The French troops are in chaos. They cry out, proclaiming that the battle is lost. The French nobles are shocked. They are so enveloped by “reproach and everlasting shame” (4.5.4) that they think about ending their own lives. Rather than the shame of surrender, however, they plan to fight to the death. They return to fight.

The English are winning the battle but some fighting continues. They have taken many French nobles and soldiers as their prisoners. King Henry receives a message from Exeter: The Duke of York and the Earl of Suffolk have both died in the fighting. Exeter describes the scene of their brave deaths, which brings Henry to tears. A sudden sound from far away catches Henry’s attention. He believes that the sound signals a French rally, so he tells his men to “kill [their] prisoners,” so that they don’t rejoin the fight (4.6.37).

Fluellen and Gower discuss that the French have broken the rule of law, breaking into the English camp, killing all the pageboys, and looting. He and Gower agree that King Henry was right to execute the French prisoners, comparing the King to Alexander the Great. King Henry arrives with the Duke of Bourbon as his prisoner. He is furious about the murder of the pages. He repeats his order to kill French prisoners. Montjoy brings another message, in which King Charles requests time to allow his men to collect their wounded and dead. Henry presses Montjoy to declare an English victory. When Montjoy confesses that this is true, Henry praises God.

Henry talks to Fluellen about their shared Welsh ancestry. Henry sees Michael Williams wearing the King’s glove in his cap. He asks Williams about it as if her does not know, and Williams explains about the disagreement and that he is looking for the other soldier, who wears his glove. Williams then exits. Taking the glove that he had swapped with Williams, Henry tells Fluellen to wear the glove around the camp. He must tell people, Henry says, that he took it from a French nobleman, Alençon, after he killed him. Anyone who says otherwise, Henry says, is a “friend” to the French. Fluellen is delighted to receive these “great honors” (4.7.155). Henry follows Fluellen to see Williams’s reaction to seeing Fluellen with the glove, and to prevent any “harm” from his joke.

Williams recognizes the glove in Fluellen’s cap. He accosts Fluellen. Fluellen is confused but maintains the King’s story about Alençon. King Henry reveals himself and explains what has happened. Williams is terrified but pleads his case: He was honest with his opinion to another man. He only offended because that man was the King, but, as Henry had purposely adopted a disguise, it is Henry’s fault that he was offended, not Williams’s. Henry sends Williams away after filling the glove with coins.

Exeter returns to Henry with a herald. He claims that 10,000 French soldiers are dead, while the English lost only 29 soldiers. The English soldiers praise God for their good luck. Henry instructs his mean not to boast: the victory is God’s. He orders the English dead to be sent back to England.