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STUDY GUIDE
Arkansas Repertory Theatre
Fall 2012
About the Play
What Happens in England
As the play begins, two powerful religious
leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury and
the Bishop of Ely, discuss a parliamentary
bill that, if passed, would divest the church of
valuable land and possessions. In an effort
to ensure goodwill with the church and
direct the king’s energies elsewhere, they
offer Henry the financial support he needs
and the spiritual sanction he desires to
renew his claim to the French throne. The
French Dauphin’s insulting response to
Henry’s previous terms of negotiation—a
chest of tennis balls, a reminder of Henry’s
rebellious youth—solidifies the king’s
decision to assemble his troops and invade
France. Before conquering foreign lands,
however, Henry must face a dangerous
domestic concern. Three of his subjects have
participated in a conspiracy to assassinate
him. After discovering the plot and making a
public example of the traitors, King Henry
crosses the Channel.
What Happens in France
The army of King Henry V lays siege first to
the town of Harfleur. Though Harfleur is
won, the victory is at a devastating cost to
Henry, whose forces are depleted and
desperately ill. The king makes the decision
to advance to Calais, but is met along the way
by the enemy, near Agincourt. The English
are grossly outnumbered by the French, but
a decisive battle is inevitable and Henry
rouses his troops toward triumph in his
famous “St. Crispin’s Day” speech. Against all
odds and with remarkably few losses, the
English win the Battle of Agincourt. After
sailing home in victory, King Henry returns
again to France to settle the terms of the
peace agreement. He woos the French
princess, Katherine, and their impending
marriage symbolizes the unification of
England and France under a single crown.
Cool Stuff
about
Shakespeare
Shakespeare is believed to have been
born in Stratford upon Avon—we have a
record showing that he was baptized on
April 26, 1564 at The Holy Trinity Church
(probably at about 3 days old).
At age 18, Shakespeare married Anne
Hathaway, a woman 8 years older than
himself. Their first daughter, Susanna,
was born six months later. Do the math.
Shakespeare’s complete works consist of
884,647 words and 118,406 lines.
Good news: some of the same words
that seem strange to us were strange to
Shakespeare’s audience, too—they had
never heard them before! Among the
many words Shakespeare invented are
“assassination,” “eyeball,”
“bloodstained,” and “amazement.”
The inscription on Shakespeare’s grave
reads:
“Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To dig the dust encloased heare:
Bleste be ye man [that] spares thes stones,
And curst be he yt moves my bones.”
Imaginary Forces: Shakespeare’s Chorus
In Henry V, the Chorus is a character that serves as a narrator, speaking directly to the audience
throughout the play. Productions of Henry V in Shakespeare’s day would have taken place on a bare
stage, without elaborate scenery, lighting, or special effects. Though the Rep’s production will use
technological advances that were unavailable to Shakespeare’s company of actors, the Prologue to the
play will still emphasize the creative and collaborative nature of the theatrical enterprise. In his first
address to the audience, the Chorus urges us to become participants in the production, putting our own
“imaginary forces” to work to help bring the story to life. Carefully read the Prologue (below). Look up
any unfamiliar words. What images stand out to you? Do you notice any patterns? How does the
Chorus go about convincing us to be more than mere spectators?
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
OAfor
a Musefor
of fire,
thatprinces
wouldto
ascend
kingdom
a stage,
act
The
brightest
heaven
of
invention,
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
AThen
kingdom
forthe
a stage,
princes
acthimself,
should
warlike
Harry,tolike
And
monarchs
to behold
scene!
Assume
the port
of Mars;the
andswelling
at his heels,
Leash'd
in like
sword and fire
Then
should
thehounds,
warlikeshould
Harry,famine,
like himself,
Crouchthe
for port
employment.
and gentles all,
Assume
of Mars; But
andpardon,
at his heels,
The flatinunraiséd
spirits
that have
dared
Leash'd
like hounds,
should
famine,
sword and fire
On
this
unworthy
scaffold
to
bring
forth
Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all,
So flat
great
an object:
can this
hold
The
unraised
spirits
thatcockpit
have dared
The
vasty
fields ofscaffold
France?to
orbring
may we
cram
On
this
unworthy
forth
Within
this
wooden
O
the
very
casques
So great an object: can this cockpit hold
That
did fields
affright
air at or
Agincourt?
The
vasty
ofthe
France?
may we cram
O, pardon! since a crookéd figure may
Within this wooden O the very casques
Attest in little place a million;
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
And let us, ciphers to this great account,
O,On
pardon!
since a crooked
figure may
your imaginary
forces work.
Attest
in
little
place
a
million;
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
And
us,confined
ciphers to
this
greatmonarchies,
accompt,
Arelet
now
two
mighty
On
your high
imaginary
forces
Whose
uprearéd
andwork.
abutting fronts
Suppose
within
the
girdle
ofparts
theseasunder:
walls
The perilous narrow ocean
Are
now
confined
two mightywith
monarchies,
Piece
out
our imperfections
your thoughts;
Whose
high upreared
abutting
fronts
Into a thousand
partsand
divide
on man,
The
narrow ocean
parts asunder:
Andperilous
make imaginary
puissance;
Think
when
talk of horses,
that
youthoughts;
see them
Piece
out
our we
imperfections
with
your
Printing
their proud
theman,
receiving earth;
Into
a thousand
parts hoofs
dividei' on
Formake
'tis your
thoughts
that now must deck our kings,
And
imaginary
puissance;
Carry
them
here
and
there;
jumping
o'ersee
times,
Think when we talk of horses,
that you
them
Turningtheir
the accomplishment
of receiving
many years
Printing
proud hoofs i' the
earth;
Into
hour-glass:
forthat
the now
whichmust
supply,
For
'tisanyour
thoughts
deck our kings,
Admit
me
Chorus
to
this
history;
Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times,
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Turning
the accomplishment of many years
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
Into an hour-glass: for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that have dared
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the lines of the
Chorus. Re-read the underlined lines, then look
below for an explanation.
The Chorus is telling the audience that the actors
are merely
men creating
the scenes
on this
The Chorus
reminds
the audience
“unworthy
scaffold”
orare
the stage.
He asks if
that the
actors
“flat unraiséd
they can
“cram”
all
the
elements
of
the play into
spirits”—they are mere mortals—
trying to
a monumental
storyof
this “wooden
O”create
referring
to the architecture
on
the
“unworthy
scaffold”
of
the
the Globe theatre (which was round).
stage. He admits that they cannot
“cram” all the realistic elements of
the play into the “wooden O,”
referring to the architecture of the
The Chorus
the audience
to complete
Globe asks
theatre
(which was
round).with
their thoughts what the actors cannot physically
represent on the stage. When they see “one man”
in battle on stage they should instead envision “a
thousand” men fighting on the fields of France.
When the Chorus asks the audience
“piece
out” theasks
“imperfections”
of
Noticetothat
the Chorus
the audience kindly
the performers, he is asking us to
to “hear” rather than “see” the play—this
make up for what cannot be
demonstrates
the importance
of listening
to the
represented
on stage by
using the
visualpower
imagery
theown
language
rather than
ofinour
minds—
watching
the spectacle
on the stage.
“imaginary
puissance.”
of the Chorus. Re-read the underlined
lines, then look below for an explanation.
Note that the Chorus stresses what
the audience will “hear” rather than
what they will “see.” Why do you
The Chorus is telling the audience that
think he does this, in the context of
the actors
areofmerely
men creating the
the rest
the speech?
scenes on this “unworthy scaffold” or the
stage. He asks if they can “cram” all
the elements of the play into this
“wooden O” referring to the architecture
of the Globe theatre (which was round).
Unburied Bones
Three years after Henry V died in 1422, Katherine
married Owen Tudor. Together they had a son,
Edmund, who was to become the father of the
first Tudor king, Henry VII. When Katherine died
in 1437, she was buried in the Lady Chapel rather
than next to Henry V in Westminster Abbey.
When her grandson (Henry VII) destroyed the
chapel in 1502, he laid her body in a coffin of
loose boards beside Henry V’s tomb. Because the
coffin was not sealed, her bones were exposed to
the sight (and, apparently, to the touch) of
enthusiastic visitors like Samuel Pepys, who
recorded his viewing of the queen’s body some 70
years after Shakespeare wrote Henry V:
STUDY GUIDE
“Whenever Shakespeare or a member of his acting
company or his audience went into Westminster Abbey
(as many of them, Shakespeare included, may well
have done early in 1599 for the funeral of the national
poet, Edmund Spenser), they would have seen Henry V’s
saddle, helmet, and shield… The prominence of the
Arkansas
relics in the Abbey is a reminder
that Repertory
the story of Theatre
Henry
V was very much alive and significantFall
in 1599…”
2012
Jonathan Bate & Eric Rasmussen
“Here did we see, by particular favour, the body of
Queen Katherine of Valois, and had her upper part
of her body in my hands. And I did kiss her
mouth, reflecting upon it that I did kiss a Queen…”
(23 February 1669).
In 1776, Katherine’s bones were finally taken off
public display, and over 100 years later, they were
laid beneath the altar in Henry’s chantry.
The story of Katherine’s unprotected, unburied
bones—their accessibility, their vulnerability, and
their tangibility—emblematizes the palpability of
history for Shakespeare and his audience. The
past was not hidden out of sight, permanently
enclosed in a tomb. Rather, the bones of recent
history were laid bare and exposed to the gaze of
interested passers-by, who, on occasion (and
often with great affection), unsettled them.
Katherine de Valois Inscription on Altar
Photo from: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/
henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois
Henry V Effigy
Photo from: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/
henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois
Henry V’s Saddle
Photo from: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our
history/royals/burials/ henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois
henry-v-and-catherine-de-valois
The History Plays
Richard II:
Richard II renounces his throne and is
later murdered, an act that divides the
succession into two dynastic strains,
Lancaster and York, primary contenders
for the crown in the War of the Roses.
Henry IV (Bolingbroke) is crowned.
Henry IV, Part 1:
Henry’s old supporters, the Percys, raise
forces against him. Relations between
Henry and his heir, Hal, are strained; Hal
comes of age when he valiantly fights in
his father’s cause.
Henry IV, Part 2:
Civil disruptions continue as Henry
struggles to maintain his throne; he dies
and is succeeded by his son, Hal, who
becomes Henry V.
First Tetralogy (events 1422-1485)
Second Tetralogy (events 1398-1420)
First Performed in 1599 (the same year as Julius Caesar) and first printed in 1600 (Q1), Henry V is the final
play in Shakespeare’s second tetralogy. Following is a chronology of the history plays in the order of the
events they depict (rather than the order in which Shakespeare wrote them).*
Henry VI, Part 1
Henry V dies while Henry VI is still an
infant; uncles vie for power; civil war is
imminent; France is lost.
Henry VI, Part 2
Henry VI grows up to become a weak
and ineffectual ruler; the War of the
Roses begins (Henry is a Lancastrian).
Henry VI, Part 3
Henry is defeated; the House of York
triumphs; Edward IV, brother of Richard
of Gloucester (Richard III) is crowned.
Richard III
Edward IV dies; Richard removes
obstacles to the crown and becomes
Richard III. At the Battle of Bosworth, he
is slain by Henry Richmond (Henry VII),
the first Tudor king and Elizabeth I’s
grandfather.
Henry V
The tetralogy ends with English victory
and peace, though characteristically
pushing against the play, the Chorus
reminds us that such prosperity will be
short-lived. The play takes up such
questions as:
What is honor? Loyalty? Unity?
Are some lives worth more than
others?
Is the play a shameless celebration of
patriotism or a sober warning against
the travesties of war? Or both?
What is the price of strong
leadership? Must all good leaders
make moral and ethical compromises?
*Chronology and summaries taken directly from Norrie Epstein’s The Friendly Shakespeare (161-162),
Making Memory Matter:
History & Identity
Throughout Shakespeare’s lifetime, England was
developing a perception of itself as a nation in
ways it had never done before. The literary,
political, religious, and cultural influence of the
notion of a national identity cannot be
overstated. Playwrights like Shakespeare helped
shape that sense of “Englishness” (which
partially accounts for the obsessiveness with
which foreigners are treated so skeptically or
cruelly in the period’s drama). The stories of
England’s history—its heroes, its villains, its
evidence of God’s providence—were crucial to
its emerging sense of itself as a nation.
In 16th-century England, historians recorded
stories of the past in which they saw (and sought
to highlight) moral lessons for the present. In
the words of scholar Warren Chernaik, “the
notion… that the historian, aiming at a scientist’s
objectivity, should limit himself to ‘strict
presentation of facts’… and thus ‘transmit what
happened’, avoiding any contamination by
values or personality, was virtually unknown in
Shakespeare’s day.” So, while Shakespeare’s
history plays unapologetically walk a thin line
between fact and fiction, heightening dramatic
potential whenever possible, even the
playwright’s historical sources were shaped by
artistic, political, and moral concerns.
Like Shakespeare’s other history plays, the
predominant sources for Henry V are Raphael
Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and
Ireland (1587) and Holinshed’s main source,
Edward Hall’s Union of the Two Noble and
Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (1548).
“This story shall the good man teach his son,
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by
From this day to the ending of the world
But we in it shall be remembered,
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Henry V, 4.3.56-60
“For Shakespeare and his contemporaries,
history was a morality play, written, staged,
and directed by God. It had a pattern and a
plot, and there was a reason for everything…
By examining history, the Elizabethans
traced their destiny as it worked itself out
through the movements of kings, queens,
tyrants, rebels, and pretenders.”
Norrie Epstein
According to Arden editor T.W. Craik, “the other
major source for Henry V… is an anonymous play
entered in the Stationers’ Register on 14 May
1594 and printed by Thomas Creede in 1598
with the title The Famous Victories of Henry the
fifth; Containing the Honourable Battell of Agincourt” (7).
What we are perpetually drawn to about
Shakespeare’s history plays is not his
presentation of historical data, but his
humanizing of historical figures: fathers who
worry about sons, sons who suffer the sins of
their fathers, and friends who betray one
another, for example. We also marvel at
Shakespeare’s command of the language, both in
prose and poetry, and his ability to shape into
dramatic verse such a broad spectrum of events.
It makes sense that in the character of Henry V,
Shakespeare gives us a rhetorical genius, a man
whose words are so powerful as to terrify the
vulnerable people of Harfleur into surrendering
as well as to rally his sick and grossly
outnumbered army to fight valiantly. Showing
off his linguistic prowess is, no doubt, why
Shakespeare gives him three times as many
words as anyone else in the play.
At a Glance:
The Reign of King Henry V
1386
Age 12
Age 16
September 16, Henry born
Accompanied Richard II on his second
expedition to Ireland;
Became heir to the throne of England
when his father deposed Richard II
Fought in the Battle of Shrewsbury and
took an almost-fatal arrow in the face.
April 9, 1413, became King of England
Age 26
September 23, 1413, oversaw the
inquiry of Sir John Oldcastle (leader of
the Lollard movement, later executed
for treason)
Age 29
October 25, 1415, fought & won Battle
of Agincourt
Age 33
May 21, 1420, signed Treaty of Troyes;
Henry and Katherine married
Age 35
August 31, 1422, died of dysentery;
Henry VI was not quite 9 months old
Subhead. Subhead. Subhead.
Fang Du
Mitch Tebo
Jason Collins
Michael Bartholmey
Boy
Nate Washburn
Hostess/
Alice
Nym/
French soldier
Canterbury/
Pistol
King of France/
Bishop of Ely
Bardolph/
Gloucester
Constable/
Williams
Dauphin
Exeter
Avery Clark
Burgundy/Scroop/
Macmorris/Rambure
s
Joe Menino
Westmoreland/
Gower
Fluellen
Governor/Orleans/
Cambridge
Paul Romero
Ambassador/
Erpingham/Bourbon
Irungu Mutu
Grey/Messenger/
Herald
Bedford/Bate
s
Chorus/
Montjoy
Katherine
Henry V
Meet the Cast
Nikki Coble
Bill Jones
Jason Guy
Richard Prioleau
Ed Lowry
Ashton Crosby
Sheila Glasscock
DC Wright
Peter Leake
Andrew Curzon
The Battle of Agincourt
Reason for Invasion
Henry decides to invade France based on a claim
made previously by his great-grandfather, Edward
III, who asserted that his mother, Isabella, was the
rightful heir to the childless King Charles IV (her
brother). On the claim that male heirs only were
recognized (the “Salic Law”), the crown had passed
instead to Charles’ first cousin, Philip of Valois.
Actually, any right that might have existed would not
have belonged to Henry, but to the heir of Richard II,
Edmund Mortimer (Earl of March), rather than to the
son of a usurper.
In Shakespeare’s play, Henry’s motivation to invade
France may certainly be bolstered by the urging of
the clergy (who have self-interested motives, in light
of the parliamentary bill mention at the play’s start),
but the seed for such action had been planted by his
father at the end of 2 Henry IV:
“… Therefore, my Harry,
Be it thy course to busy giddy minds
With foreign quarrels, that action, hence borne out,
May waste the memory of former days” (4.3.340-3).
Preparations
Approx. 1,500 sea vessels prepared
Approx. 2,500 men-at-arms contracted
Approx. 8,000 archers, gunners, sappers,
armorers, grooms, surgeons, cooks, saddlers,
smiths, fletchers, chaplains (and 15
minstrels!)
Henry prepared himself spiritually through
pilgrimages and church services.
Attempted negotiations continued.
Still, the king made the (unpopular) decision to
advance to Calais, 150 miles away. They were met
along the way by the enemy, near Agincourt
(October 24).
Agincourt
It had been raining for a week and rained throughout
the night before the battle (the salvation of the
English, they would later learn). On the morning of
October 25, the Feast of St. Crispin and Crispinian,
both sides prepared for battle. The English formed
three lines across, with archers in between. Henry
himself led the center line. Sharpened stakes were
set in front of the men as a defense against the
French cavalry. Because the French army was so
large and the space was so small, a line formation
was impossible; instead, they formed a column,
deployed in three ranks one behind the other, with
cavalry on each side and crossbowmen between.
When the French began the attack, both cavalry and
infantry, weighed down with heavy armor, began to
sink in the mud, making them easy targets for the
English archers. The few French who managed to
reach the English line were met with short swords,
axes, and clubs. The second wave of attack met with
the same fate, and the third wave fled.
Harfleur
Having departed on August 11, 1415, the army began
a siege on Harfleur that lasted for 5 weeks. The land
on which they were fighting was made of marshes,
which were swarmed with flies, and the only
available food (rotten fruit and shellfish) led to fever
and dysentery. Within a month, some 2,000 men
were dead; many more were sick enough to be sent
home to England. Though Harfleur was won on
September 22, the victory was at a devastating cost
to Henry, who had lost at least a third of his men.
*Image from
http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/
123%20172%20henryv.htm
Killing the French Prisoners
It was at this point that King Henry V gave the
merciless order to kill all the prisoners. Many men
refused to obey, and ultimately, he had to designate a
large number of his archers to do it.
Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen note that the play
“is quite explicit that King Harry gives the order to
kill the prisoners before he hears of the attack on the
camp followers. The reason for their summary
slaughter is that every last soldier is needed to cope
with the arrival of French reinforcements. It is a
pragmatic decision, not a gallant or a worthy
one…”(xi).
Losses
French losses were extraordinary. Out of
approximately 20, 000 men, 7, 000 were gone; the
English, on the other hand, lost 1, 600 at the most
(perhaps far less).
Henry arrived at Calais on October 29, at Dover on
November 16, and at London on November 23,
where the somber king was greeted by enormous
numbers of jubilant subjects.
Aftermath
The victory at Agincourt was followed by two
subsequent campaigns in France. It was five years
later when the Treaty of Troyes was signed, and the
king was married to Katherine.
What do YOU think?
How does the play portray war?
What characters are interested in
the ethics of war and why does
that matter? What are some of
the contradictions the play seems
to consider when it comes to
war?
Does the war seem to impact
characters differently based upon
their class? How do the common
folk talk about fighting? How
does this compare with
discussions among the nobles?
Why is this important?
How would you describe Henry’s
leadership? What kind of king is
he? Merciful? Ruthless?
Compassionate? Heartless?
What ideas about the nature of
kingship does the play engage?
“The play is intended to work up on us as King
Harry works upon his followers: the dazzling
power of words creates the triumph out of
extremely limited resources.”
Jonathan Bate & Eric Rasmussen
From Prince Hal to King Henry
At the end of Henry IV, Part 2 the Epilogue
enthusiastically anticipates the forthcoming Henry V
and starts making promises he can’t seem to keep:
“…our humble author will continue the story with Sir
John in it…” Maybe Shakespeare found Falstaff no
longer relevant to the story; maybe he didn’t want any
blemishes on Henry’s glorious triumph; or maybe
comic actor Will Kemp had suddenly left the
company. Whatever the reason, Henry V does not
feature Sir John. There are, however, references to
him and a detailed description of his death. You may
notice that these have been cut in our production.
The omission of lines about Falstaff in our cutting
symbolizes, in a way, the significance of the
character’s physical absence from the play: the
rowdy Prince Hal is able to fully and finally effect his
transformation to the regal King Henry V through the
rejection (and ultimately the death) of the irreverent
and irresponsible Falstaff. As the new king says to his
old friend at the end of 2 Henry IV:
“For God doth know, so shall the world perceive,
That I have turned away my former self;
So will I those that kept me company”
(5.5.57-9).
Abandoning his friendship with Falstaff is a necessary
step in Hal’s carefully thought-out (and self-managed)
reform plan. As he reveals upon his father’s death,
“My father is gone wild into his grave,
For in his tomb lie my affections,
And with his spirits sadly I survive
To mock the expectation of the world,
To frustrate prophecies, and to raze out
Rotten opinion, who hath writ me down
After my seeming” (5.2.122-8).
.
You may notice that some characters in
Henry V refer to Henry’s wild past (the
bishops and the Dauphin, for example). Take
a look at Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 to see the
rowdy Prince Hal they’re talking about!
The King’s Two Bodies
Henry V is not the first king to
fret over the frustrations of his
office. The early modern
doctrine of the king’s two bodies
reconciled the divine sovereignty
of the throne with the human
vulnerabilities of those who
occupied it. A monarch’s body
natural was mortal, while the
body politic was supernatural.
Though the body natural could
be destroyed, the body politic
would live eternally ( “The king is
dead, long live the king!”)
In the (fictional and historical)
rhetoric of some monarchs, the
theory of the two bodies
registers as an undesirable
division of the self. Kings and
queens alike comment on the
conflict between duties of the
public self (body politic) and the
desires of the private self (body
natural). For example,
Queen Elizabeth I wistfully
acknowledges in more than one
of her speeches that she is not
simply “a milkmaid, with a pail
on mine arm,” and therefore
cannot enjoy the privilege of
privacy in her affairs. Similarly,
in Shakespeare’s 3 Henry VI , the
king laments:
“O God, methinks it were a
happy life / To be no better than
a homely swain” (2.5.21-2).
The Importance of Order
“Band of Brothers”
Though he calls his soldiers a “band of brothers,”
King Henry in both of his moving speeches to the
troops (in Act 3 & in Act 4) makes much of social
hierarchy. In fact, as Bate and Rasmussen point
out, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends,
once more” is a speech that “enacts the chain of
command down the ranks. It offers a textbook
image of the officer class leading from the front
by example…” As many scholars have noted, the
early modern obsession with order and
hierarchy was connected to “the Great Chain of
Being,” a theory that, according to Russ
McDonald, “held that God had created the
universe according to a system of hierarchies,
that every living creature… occupied its
ordained place in an elaborate interlocking
scheme, and that awareness of that scheme and
one’s place in it was a precondition for the
peaceful and productive operation of society”
(319). Everyone had a place, and when anyone
attempted to move into a different place, chaos
could occur.
Treason
The persistent, provocative question of whether
regicide is ever justified has motivated restless
subjects and plagued anxious monarchs
throughout England’s history, and Henry V was
no exception. Less than 2 weeks before Henry
departed for France, Mortimer (earl of March,
Richard II’s son) came to him to report a
conspiracy. Mortimer reported that Richard,
Earl of Cambridge, Thomas Grey, and Henry,
Lord Scrope of Masham (one of the king’s
trusted confidantes) had plans to assassinate
Henry and put Mortimer on the throne. All three
were convicted of treason and sentenced to die.
British Nobility*
The system of British Peerage in
Shakespeare's time (which still exists—
although altered—in modern day Great
Britain) determined one's position in
society.
Duke: The highest rank, other than king or
prince; from the Latin dux, meaning leader.
Marquess: Second-highest rank, from
the French marquis, meaning march.
Earl: This title comes from an old English
term that referred to a military leader, and
the rank corresponds to a Count in
continental Europe.
Viscount: A Latin-derived word that
translates to vice-count.
Baron: Someone who holds land directly
from the King or Queen.
*http://www.shakespeareinamericancommunit
ies.org/education/elizabethan-age;
http://history.howstuffworks.com/europeanhistory/question438.htm
The boy reveals that Bardolph and Nym are both hanged for
thieving. Pistol begs for mercy on Bardolph’s behalf after
he steals a pax from a church (a pax is small gold or silver
disc used during Communion). When he is told about
Bardolph, Henry says he would “all such offenders so cut
off.” Why might the king feel so strongly about such
crimes?
Casting the Vision: An Interview with the Director
What are some important issues the
play explores?
“Shakespeare's Henry V is both thrilling and
poignant; the themes of the play: the quest for
power, the cost of war, the price we are willing
to pay for what we believe is right are as
relevant to us today as they were 400 years
ago.”
Why do you think audiences will be
inspired by Henry V?
“The power of Henry V lies in its contradictions:
valor and cruelty, greed and generosity, honor
and treachery. These contradictions make the
play immediately accessible to a modern
audience and help bring the characters to vivid
life on the stage.”
You were awarded a prestigious grant
for this production. What opportunities
has this funding allowed you to pursue?
“The Shakespeare in American communities
grant allows us to expand the educational
outreach component of our new season's first
Mainstage production. Henry V is politics, it is
history, it is the human condition in
extraordinary circumstances. To be able to
explore these ideas with students across central
Arkansas is a central objective of our work this
fall. We look forward to bringing The Rep's first
foray into Shakespeare's history plays to vivid
life for audiences of all ages, and especially, with
the help of this important grant, to enriching the
experience for young audiences through a
greater understanding of the creative, historical
and cultural context of the play.”
Rep Producing Artistic Director and
Henry V Director,
Robert Hupp
What excites you about this play and
this production?
“From his confrontation with the close friends
who betray him to his wooing of the French
princess, Henry V is such a compelling character.
A young king, untested, driven by ambition,
strives for redemption and power through the
cauldron of war and redefines his world in the
process. We are working through the creative
process with a cast of 19 to tell a story in an
exciting, engaging and meaningful way for our
audiences.”
Setting the Scene: Scenic Design
Designer: Mike Nichols
Creating the Look: Costume Design
Designer: Marianne Custer
The English
The French
Shakespeare Then & Now
so-lil-o-quy:
Actors
Being an actor in Shakespeare’s day was not
easy. Companies typically performed six days a
week and an actor might be required to learn a
new role every single week, with thirty to forty
roles to memorize.
Only male actors were allowed onstage during
this period in England, so all female roles were
played by boys. Since each acting company did
not have enough actors for the large number of
roles in most plays, doubling was a
commonplace practice—one actor would play
multiple roles during the course of any given
show. The Rep’s production of Henry V
maintains the practice of doubling. You’ll
notice actors nimbly switching from one role to
another.
[suh-lil-uh-kwee]
The Latin base words in soliloquy
are Solus (“to be alone”) and Loqui
(“to speak”). In the theatre, a
soliloquy is a speech during which a
character who is on stage alone (or
thinks he or she is alone) reveals
his or her thoughts to the audience.
In general, the audience can believe
that what a character says in
soliloquy is true, particularly since
the character speaking is not
addressing any other characters on
stage. Pay particular attention to
these moments—they may expose
secrets that the character is hiding
or even hint at the next big event in
a twisting and exciting plot.
Audiences
Outdoor theatres like Shakespeare’s Globe
could hold between 2, 000-3, 000 audience
members at a time. In an age where people did
not shower daily or wear deodorant, you can
imagine the smell.
Usually, a flag would be flown on the theatre’s
roof to announce the beginning of a
performance. Performances took place midafternoon, in the daylight. This means that
when the actors wanted to show that it was
nighttime they had to do so through their
language or use of small props (carrying a
candle, for example). Another effect of the
shared light of the theatrical space was that the
audience could not only see the actors, but they
could see one another—and the actors could
see all of them. The price of seeing a play
varied—patrons of the lower class could watch
the play from the pit (these spectators were
called “groundlings”) for just a penny. Richer
patrons could pay more for nicer, more
prominent seats in the galleries.
Production
As the Chorus alludes to in the beginning of
Henry V, Renaissance theatres did not boast
elaborate sets, scenery, or special effects.
Actors did wear opulent costumes—in fact,
costumes were the most valuable of assets
owned by acting companies of the day. A
company easily paid more money for costumes
than for the scripts of the plays it produced.
A Few Questions
What effect does the doubling of roles have on
the Rep’s production of Henry V?
How does the use of lighting and special effects
impact the production? What would be most
different about a version of the play without
these aids?
How does modern theatre etiquette differ from
the behavior of audiences in Shakespeare’s
day? Why do you think this is?
About the Rep
History
Founded in 1976, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is the state’s largest non-profit professional
theatre company.
A member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT D), The Rep has produced more than 300
productions including 40 world premieres on its 385-seat MainStage and 99-seat black box
SecondStage located in its historic building in downtown Little Rock.
Robert Hupp, Producing Artistic Director, leads a resident staff of designers, technicians and
administrators in the creation of eight to ten productions for an annual audience in excess of
70,000 for MainStage productions, educational programming and touring. The Rep employs guest
artists from across the country to produce works, created, rehearsed and built in downtown Little
Rock, ranging from contemporary comedies and dramas to world premieres to the classics of
dramatic literature.
Mission
Arkansas Repertory Theatre exists to create a diverse body of theatrical work of the highest
artistic standards. With a focus on dramatic storytelling that illuminates the human journey, The
Rep entertains, engages and enriches local and regional audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Works Consulted
Chernaik, Warren. The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s History Plays. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.
“Henry V and Catherine de Valois.” Westminster Abbey. Web. 10 August 2012.
[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/henry-v-and-catherinede-valois].
McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2001.
Norwich, John Julius. Shakespeare’s Kings. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Shakespeare, William. Henry V.
Arden edition (ed. T. W. Craik, 1995).
Norton edition (ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean Howard, Katharine
Mauss, 1997).
RSC edition (ed. Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen, 2007).
Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s
production is part of
Shakespeare for a New Generation,
a national program of the National
Endowment for the Arts in
partnership with Arts Midwest.
Study Guide Compiled By:
Paige Martin Reynolds