Just finished this one too - perfect timing 😄! I'm reading Shakespeare's history plays in the order in time that the title characters were King, and I would say that Henry V is my favorite one of those so far (Just beating Henry IV pt. 1 imo). I saw some scenes of the movie adaptation with Branagh and hope to buy/see the whole thing sometime!
Yes, I agree with your ranking. I also find the Branagh film is fun. It includes a very young Christian Bale as the Boy. Have you read the often overlooked Edward III? I’m putting up notes on that one Friday.
No - I've heard about it a while ago, but didn't do research on if Shakespeare actually had authorship of part of it. I'll put it on my list 😀! Are there any others that Shakespeare collaborated on besides Pericles and Two Kinsmen? (currently going through all of Shakespeare's works)
It’s a complicated topic since there isn’t complete scholarly agreement, but general consensus accepts a few of the early plays and a few of the late are collaborations, given variations in linguistic style, etc. Two Noble Kinsmen is the most obvious since it had Fletcher and Shakespeare credited on its first publication. Others include (off the top of my head) Henry VI, part 1; Timon of Athens; Edward III; Pericles; and probably Cardenio (if it still existed). One of the most interesting in my opinion in Sir Thomas More, which isn’t Shakespeare’s originally, but includes a scene rewritten by him in a late draft. It’s particularly interesting because it show the collaborative effort most distinctly of any manuscript.
This is excellent commentary, thank you very much! I like you backtracking about the events of Henry the IV. I can’t wait to watch your video on Edward the III.
This summary of the play is well done. However, it skips over something very important to understanding the Shakespeare canon; that the plays we know from the First Folio are largely re-writes from Shakespeare's youth. This is obvious from Henry V's Greek Chorus. Shakespeare is mocking Sir Philip Sidney's criticism of drama generally, and Shakespeare's play specifically in, 'A Defense of Poesie'. The Greek Chorus specifically addresses Sidney's complaints about the violation of 'the unities' of time and place, of depicting the Battle of Agincourt with only 4 swordsmen--two French, two English--of deriving humor from the inability of the French to speak English (and vice versa), the mixing of 'Kings and clowns,' alternating scenes of comedy and drama. It may well be that Sidney's criticism was of 'The Famous Victories of Henry V,' but Shakespeare is clearly directly answering Sidney. Then add Act III, scene 7, with its drawn out mocking of the 'Dolphin' for having an obsession with his horse and horsemanship--the very first paragraph of Sidney's monograph--ending with the French heir to the crown admitting he's written a sonnet to his horse. If this play was performed at Elizabeth's court, everyone present would know who was being lampooned. All of which means the play had to have been written before Sidney was killed fighting the Spanish in 1586. Further evidence in the play itself narrows the composition date to between November 1583 and Spring of 1584. I.e., the clear reference to the success of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormond, 'broaching rebellion on the point of a sword,' in Ireland. The language draws upon Butler's note that accompanied the severed head of the Irish Earl of Desmond: "So now is this traytor come to the ende...to dye by the sword to ende his rebellion...." This is way too precise to be 'coincidence.'
Henry V is so much better than the Henry VI plays that it surely came several years later. It seems that Shakespeare never cared about the unities at all. But a number of the plays have a narrator/chorus. Henry IV Part 2 has a character called Rumor. Romeo and Juliet has one.
There’s never been a more influential teacher!!! Thank you for all of your years of assistance!
Just finished this one too - perfect timing 😄! I'm reading Shakespeare's history plays in the order in time that the title characters were King, and I would say that Henry V is my favorite one of those so far (Just beating Henry IV pt. 1 imo). I saw some scenes of the movie adaptation with Branagh and hope to buy/see the whole thing sometime!
Yes, I agree with your ranking. I also find the Branagh film is fun. It includes a very young Christian Bale as the Boy. Have you read the often overlooked Edward III? I’m putting up notes on that one Friday.
No - I've heard about it a while ago, but didn't do research on if Shakespeare actually had authorship of part of it. I'll put it on my list 😀! Are there any others that Shakespeare collaborated on besides Pericles and Two Kinsmen? (currently going through all of Shakespeare's works)
It’s a complicated topic since there isn’t complete scholarly agreement, but general consensus accepts a few of the early plays and a few of the late are collaborations, given variations in linguistic style, etc. Two Noble Kinsmen is the most obvious since it had Fletcher and Shakespeare credited on its first publication. Others include (off the top of my head) Henry VI, part 1; Timon of Athens; Edward III; Pericles; and probably Cardenio (if it still existed). One of the most interesting in my opinion in Sir Thomas More, which isn’t Shakespeare’s originally, but includes a scene rewritten by him in a late draft. It’s particularly interesting because it show the collaborative effort most distinctly of any manuscript.
This is excellent commentary, thank you very much! I like you backtracking about the events of Henry the IV. I can’t wait to watch your video on Edward the III.
A clear and excellent summary - just in time for my class tomorrow. Thank you!
This summary of the play is well done. However, it skips over something very important to understanding the Shakespeare canon; that the plays we know from the First Folio are largely re-writes from Shakespeare's youth. This is obvious from Henry V's Greek Chorus. Shakespeare is mocking Sir Philip Sidney's criticism of drama generally, and Shakespeare's play specifically in, 'A Defense of Poesie'. The Greek Chorus specifically addresses Sidney's complaints about the violation of 'the unities' of time and place, of depicting the Battle of Agincourt with only 4 swordsmen--two French, two English--of deriving humor from the inability of the French to speak English (and vice versa), the mixing of 'Kings and clowns,' alternating scenes of comedy and drama.
It may well be that Sidney's criticism was of 'The Famous Victories of Henry V,' but Shakespeare is clearly directly answering Sidney. Then add Act III, scene 7, with its drawn out mocking of the 'Dolphin' for having an obsession with his horse and horsemanship--the very first paragraph of Sidney's monograph--ending with the French heir to the crown admitting he's written a sonnet to his horse. If this play was performed at Elizabeth's court, everyone present would know who was being lampooned. All of which means the play had to have been written before Sidney was killed fighting the Spanish in 1586.
Further evidence in the play itself narrows the composition date to between November 1583 and Spring of 1584. I.e., the clear reference to the success of Thomas Butler, Earl of Ormond, 'broaching rebellion on the point of a sword,' in Ireland. The language draws upon Butler's note that accompanied the severed head of the Irish Earl of Desmond: "So now is this traytor come to the ende...to dye by the sword to ende his rebellion...." This is way too precise to be 'coincidence.'
I appreciate your response to the historical context of Henry V and its allusions and original audience!
Henry V is so much better than the Henry VI plays that it surely came several years later. It seems that Shakespeare never cared about the unities at all. But a number of the plays have a narrator/chorus. Henry IV Part 2 has a character called Rumor. Romeo and Juliet has one.
Leonard Part 6 was better