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Summary: Someone please give this book to Bush
Review: "Now, if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the King that led them to it."
Particularly poignant poetry in these times of pompous presidential sabre rattling and wars based on questionable facts.
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Summary: Every soldier should carry a copy.
Review: 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' What more need I say? Henry V is an imortal classic of western literature. And this edition is complete and accurate. See the film if you want, but be sure to read the words at least once. They are inspiring.
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Summary: the great king henry v
Review: Having read Henry V, I think I can sum up the plot as follows: the French insult King Harry, Harry get royally ticked-off, goes to kick some French butt, and comes home with a damned saucy wife. Right now I enjoy any play that shows a contemptuous French government getting smacked down, but this play is not numbered among Shakespeare's heavy-hitters. For one thing, King Harry is not a very interesting character. In fact, I can't stand him - he is a faithless, glorified basher of heads. Shakespeare knows this, that's why he only struts around giving rabble-rousing speeches.There is a host of other colorful characters in the play (such as Ancient Pistol) but Henry V suffers in comparison with the two parts of Henry IV because of the absence of Falstaff. Falstaff is the most interesting character in the Henriad. By this time, King Harry has treacherously banished Falstaff and he has died of a broken heart. Therefore, there is no cynical commentary in Henry V. If Falstaff had been around, he would have completely undermined King Harry's posturing. The induring legacy of the play seems to be the films made of it by Olivier and Branagh. Ironically, these are two of the best films made of Shakespeare - partially because the play is so direct and accessible. It is a short, brutal piece about war. King Harry is so good at making speeches, most readers miss Shakespeare's subtle judgement on his central character's hypocrasy.
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Summary: Shakespeare is a damned liar!
Review: I just have to share this with everybody...
Henry was not the nice "Welshman to the core" of this play. After Agincourt, he ordered "the slaughter of all disarmed prisoners, noble or otherwise, and his foot soldiers watched, deeply shocked as two hundred archers stabbled, clubbed, or burned the captives to death." Coupled with the fact that Henry didn't smile once during his victorious progress through London...I must conclude that the historical guy was an evil hardass. The Duke of York was not stabbed to death, and did not dramatically barf blood like in the Kenneth Branagh film. "He was a big man and very overweight, and it is reported that he either suffocated to death in his armor or suffered a heart attack in the press of the fighting." So the next time you read Shakespeare, especially this play or, my favorite ahistorical pro-Lancastrian history twister, Richard III....just remember.... Shakespeare is a damned liar. :-) Thanks to Alison Weir for the information in "The Wars of the Roses".
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Summary: Shakespeare is a damned liar!
Review: I just have to share this with everybody...
Henry was not the nice "Welshman to the core" of this play. After Agincourt, he ordered "the slaughter of all disarmed prisoners, noble or otherwise, and his foot soldiers watched, deeply shocked as two hundred archers stabbled, clubbed, or burned the captives to death." Coupled with the fact that Henry didn't smile once during his victorious progress through London...I must conclude that the historical guy was an evil hardass. The Duke of York was not stabbed to death, and did not dramatically barf blood like in the Kenneth Branagh film. "He was a big man and very overweight, and it is reported that he either suffocated to death in his armor or suffered a heart attack in the press of the fighting." So the next time you read Shakespeare, especially this play or, my favorite ahistorical pro-Lancastrian history twister, Richard III....just remember.... Shakespeare is a damned liar. :-) Thanks to Alison Weir for the information in "The Wars of the Roses".
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Summary: Excellent Publication/Version (Arden Shakespeare)
Review: I looked long and hard (and asked many a scholar) for the "perfect" Shakespeare publication that I might purchase to study "King Henry V" (for a experiential education requirement, I had undertaken the translation of Henry V into American Sign Language). The Arden Shakespeare came highly recommended by everyone, and has lived up entirely to all its rave reviews. I will never buy Shakespeare from another publisher. While these books may be slightly more expensive than a "mass market" edition, I believe that if you are going to take the time to read and understand Shakespeare, it is well worth the extra dollar or two. The Introduction, the images, and plethora of footnotes are irreplaceable and nearly neccessary for a full understanding of the play (for those of us who are not scholars already). The photocopy of the original Quatro text in the appendix is also very interesting. All in all, well worth it! I recommend that you buy ALL of Shakespeare's work from Arden's critical editions.
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Summary: We Few, We Happy Few
Review: I looked long and hard (and asked many a scholar) for the "perfect" Shakespeare publication that I might purchase to study "King Henry V" (for a experiential education requirement, I had undertaken the translation of Henry V into American Sign Language). The Arden Shakespeare came highly recommended by everyone, and has lived up entirely to all its rave reviews. I will never buy Shakespeare from another publisher. While these books may be slightly more expensive than a "mass market" edition, I believe that if you are going to take the time to read and understand Shakespeare, it is well worth the extra dollar or two. The Introduction, the images, and plethora of footnotes are irreplaceable and nearly neccessary for a full understanding of the play (for those of us who are not scholars already). The photocopy of the original Quatro text in the appendix is also very interesting. All in all, well worth it! I recommend that you buy ALL of Shakespeare's work from Arden's critical editions.
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Summary: A brilliant play
Review: Required to read Henry for my AP English Language class, I came into the play with a bias. I honestly felt that it would be a boring political play. I was utterly wrong! A huge fan of Shakespeare, I found Henry V to be a formidable match for the Bard's more critically acclaimed plays, such as Hamlet and Macbeth. Henry has it all! Shakespeare's attitude toward Henry the King is certainly one of admiration. By communicating the fact that an effective monarch must have a complete understanding of the common subjects (Pistol and Bardolph and Quickly), Shakespeare sets up Henry to be the ideal Christian king. The controlled language of Henry's speeches, particularly his response to the Dauphin's idiotic insult, also glorifies Henry. I certainly recommend this play to anyone, fan of Shakespeare or not.
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Summary: A popular play in an edition fabulously rich in helps
Review: This play is best known for the St. Crispian's Day "Band of Brothers" speech given by King Henry just before the battle at Agincourt. It is a powerful speech that rallies people at all times and everywhere. Sir Lawrence Olivier made a film version in 1944 during WWII and Kenneth Branagh made another as recently as 1989. You can count on there being more versions. Epecially so when computers can help them make spectacular battle scenes (that aren't really in the play) with less expense. Audiences love this play and they should. There is a lot to like and enjoy. I think upon repeated readings Henry becomes a more equivocal character than he seems at first. And readers of the King Henry IV plays will know him before he became King Henry and know something deeper about his personality. And of course there is the whole bit about the drive to France being sponsored by the Church to avoid confiscation of property by the Crown. Moreover, there is the slaughtering of the French prisoners, and his treatment of Falstaff (who dies offstage in this play). This isn't revisionist stuff, it is right there in the play, but it is easy to miss the first time you are trying to take in the play. In any case, this Arden edition is the one to buy and read from. Why? Because it has the most authoritative text, but that is only the beginning. It also shows variants between the early sources. The notes at the bottom of each page of the play are simply fabulous. The editor includes not only helpful notes explaining what might be obscure in the text of the play, he provides sources Shakespeare probably used such as Holinshed and makes for some very interesting study. There are also some helpful notes on how various scenes have been performed over time. And to make this sound more like an infomercial, you get more! The introduction provides great background material on the play, its sources, and how it has been performed throughout history. After the play, there is a photo reproduction of the first Quarto from 1600 and it is fairly readable. There are also a couple of maps showing the path of the English Army from Harfleur through other towns on its way to Calais and makes clear how they had to pass through Agincourt. There is also a helpful genealogical table so you can see the confusing claims used by Henry and the French nobility to make their claims. And there is a doubling chart so you can see how theater companies can perform all the roles with fewer actors. This is a great edition as are all the plays published by the Arden Shakespeare. The amount of work collected in these volumes is stunning and they will enrich your experience of the plays tremendously. I can't recommend them enough.
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Summary: I've always loved this play with its wonderful battle scenes
Review: This play more than any others in the histories glorifies Englishmen and England. His characters in this one are larger than life, but each has their own limitations and flaws. The play covers the time of the Battle of Agincourt when the French King Charles was so sure of victory that he sent a messenger to Henry to ask him to give up and to pay a ransom before the battle. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, the English were outnumbered five to one, Henry's troops were on foreign soil and riddled with disease. The scenes where Henry dons a disguise and goes out amongst his troops to bolster their confidence are great. The English managed to triumph in this battle where all was stacked against them mostly because of Henry's leadership. This is such a sweeping story that it is hard to condense in a few words, the plot of the play, but it is a wonderful example of Shakespeare's skills as a writer.
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