Henry V

• Henry V — formerly wild Prince Hal — is now king. The Archbishop proves (in a comically legalistic speech) that Henry has a claim to France • Henry discovers a plot against him by three trusted nobles. Executes them without mercy. The transformation from Hal is complete • He invades France. Siege of Harfleur: "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!" — the great rallying cry • The night before Agincourt: Henry disguises himself and walks among his soldiers. They argue about whether the king is responsible for soldiers' souls • The St. Crispin's Day speech: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" — Henry transforms certain defeat into glorious mission • Battle of Agincourt (1415): massively outnumbered English defeat the French. Henry orders the killing of French prisoners (a war crime, glossed over) • In counterpoint: Falstaff dies offstage ("the king has killed his heart"). Bardolph is hanged for theft. Nym is hanged. The Eastcheap world is destroyed • Henry woos Princess Katherine of France in a deliberately clumsy English-French scene — charm offensive after military conquest • The Chorus repeatedly asks the audience to use imagination to fill in what the stage can't show — Shakespeare's most meta-theatrical device • Treaty of Troyes: Henry becomes heir to France. Marries Katherine. Triumph • The Epilogue admits it was short-lived: Henry V died young, and his son (Henry VI) lost everything. Shakespeare undercuts his own heroic narrative