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The Life Of King Henry The Fifth

by William Shakespeare

3.82 · rating details · 10,735 ratings · 279 reviews

CHORUS. O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene 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, gentles all, The flat unraised ...more

120 pages

Published (first published 1599)

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Apr 14, 2010

Jake rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: drama

Thanks to Kenneth Branagh, this Henry history play was the cool Shakespeare movie when I was in high school. Eat your heart out Franco Zeffirelli. Mr. Branagh acted and directed his butt off. There were lots of arrows flying between England and France. The French were portrayed as snobs, a testament to the Bard’s high research standards. The original score was majestic. Did I mention the cool arrows?

Honestly, I’m still not sure why England and France were fighting—something about te...more

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May 04, 2008

Jordan rated it

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"For God, Harry, and St George!"

Lord, what a play. Shakespeare is often times enjoyable, but I love to refer to this as the ultimate coming of age story. Every young man in the world deserves to see this performed.

The play is really, in my opinion, a cluster of insecurities facing young men. From his mockery at the hands of the Dauphin, to his proving his worth in combat, to the pressure put on him as king, the judgments he is forced to make, and maybe even a l...more

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Jul 12, 2007

Joseph rated it

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Recommends it for: erybody

Shakespeare is a monster I guess. I used to be all types of caught up on the inspirational speeches...."we few, we happy few, we band of brothers"....but it is pretty clear that Shakespeare was smarter than that.....

Now I can't get away from the quarrel between Williams and King Henry on the eve of the battle:

BATES: He may show what outward courage he will, but I believe, as cold a night as 'tis, he could wish himself in Thames up to the neck; and so I would h...more

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Jan 29, 2009

Valerie rated it

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Recommended to Valerie by: Audrey Stanley

Shelves: cypresslibrary, shakespearian-plot-line

My favorite reading of this book was as part of small (10 people maybe class) with a bunch of my best college friends and Professor Audrey Stanley. We wandered around campus, declaiming the lines instead of just reading them, and then we would discuss the text and the context. It was the most marvelous class. I'd always liked Shakespeare, but I didn't really get Shakespeare until I took that class.

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Feb 04, 2012

Esdaile rated it

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Shelves: renaissance-drama, politically-committed, theatre

Henry V is an immense work of course and a play to be seen not merely read (but that is true of all Shakespeare plays). It is,in more ways than one, an incomplete work. When I say "in more ways than one" I mean this: structurally, the play is lop-sided but also the play had the potential to offer a new political vision. The last scenes with the French queen seem to me to work bathetically and to be a poor end after the high point of the battlöe scenes of Agincourt. It seems likely to m...moreHenry V is an immense work of course and a play to be seen not merely read (but that is true of all Shakespeare plays). It is,in more ways than one, an incomplete work. When I say "in more ways than one" I mean this: structurally, the play is lop-sided but also the play had the potential to offer a new political vision. The last scenes with the French queen seem to me to work bathetically and to be a poor end after the high point of the battlöe scenes of Agincourt. It seems likely to me that someone else other than Shakespeare had a hand in the last scenes, some of it is thrid rate writing (not that Sahkespeare was necessarily incapable of third-rate writing) The final scene desperately neeeds rewriting, (en passant, the punning on the word "foot versus French fouter" suggests that the writer really spoke French). What I mean by "new political vision" is foreshadowed in the lines of Act V Scene II, "Shall not thou and I, between Saint Denis and Saint George, compound a boy, half French half English, that shall go to Constantinople and take the Turk by the beard?" A Christian alliance against the Turk or more than an alliance, the restoration of the Angevan Empire, the return of France to England and England t France, this is monumental! It remains in this play however(and in history!), as nothing more than an ehco, an attenuated ideal, a piece of wishful thinking, a vision of a dreamer. In this play it is entirely overshadowed by the propagandas of the whole and the propaganda is one of nationalist heroics and a hard to justify attack on France by English kings whose far from disinterested lawyers interpret Salic law for their own aggressive ends. The use of Salic law as a pretext for war is a pretext of the kind beloved by tyrants down the ages. The Romans were past masters of the art. I confess that I am not uncomfortable with Shakespeare's history plays, or at least not with that part of them which cry out so very loudly against the French. It would interest me to know whether the account in this play of the French massacring the children at the back of the English army "expressly against the law of arms" is based in historical fact. Be that as it may, Shakespeare sees nothing wrong with cutting the throat of every Fremnch prisoner, which I should have thought was also "expressly against the law of arms". In Henry's rousing and well known speech, "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers.." there is promise of the comradship of arms "gentling the condition" of every English soldier on the battlefield "be he ne're so vile" but when the role call of the dead is made after the battle of Agincourt the herald announces, ""Edward Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk,Sir Richard Ketley, Davy Gam esquire,; None else of name; and of all other men but five and twenty." In the Brannach film (I cannot recall how it is in the Olivier film) the mentioning of the cutting of the throats of the prisoners is cut out. Obviously the writer's inclusion of what today would be called an English "war crime" attenuated the propaganda effect, and this is propaganda and was used as such during the Second World War in the film Henry V starring Lawrence Olivier. One can almost be envious. In earlier times, people were convinced of the righteousness of their cause down to the marrow of their bones, none of the effeminite shillyshallying of today, that discomfort and misgiving which this writer feels confronted with Shakespearean nationalist propaganda. One last point relevant to the authorship debate-sofar as I know anyone who has been a soldier confirms if they know this piece, wheoever else Shakespeare was or was not, he must have gone to war in his time. He has an instinctive grasp of the military. This man served under colours and heard "the blast of war" blow in his ears, and, it must be said, seems to have relished the experience, all the horror, mayhem and suffering of war notwithstanding.(less)

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Jan 30, 2012

Martin rated it

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I taught this play for 18 years, but not because I thought it was Shakespeare's best history, but because of Branaugh's wonderful cutting of it. The two Henry IV plays are better with their complicated politics, the tension between the King and his wayward son, wonderful characters like Hotspur, and, of course, his best comic creation in Falstaff. But they're harder to read mainly because of the use of low class slang in the Falstaff scenes. Henry V is easier to read especially in cuttings and i...more

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Nov 22, 2011

Bob rated it

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Picked up a handful of these Signet Classic editions off my building's trade shelf, especially useful for the the supplemental scholarly material, in this case the segment of Raphael Holinshed's 1587 "Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland" which shows how Shakespeare got all the tricky historical background (including a lot of explanation that he places directly in his dialog without paraphrase) from that reference work and then got on to shaping the characters.
The play is ...more

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Nov 01, 2011

James rated it

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I went and saw Anonymous the other day and was surprised that I liked the film, especially since I find the central thesis of the film utterly repugnant. But then, having watched the film, I realized something. I wondered what if the whole point of the film, which tries to overturn what is essentially an unassailable fact, that Shakespeare wrote the plays traditionally attributed to him, and not the Earl of Oxford (who in the film is played by the same guy who is Hugh Grant's flat mate in Nottin...moreI went and saw Anonymous the other day and was surprised that I liked the film, especially since I find the central thesis of the film utterly repugnant. But then, having watched the film, I realized something. I wondered what if the whole point of the film, which tries to overturn what is essentially an unassailable fact, that Shakespeare wrote the plays traditionally attributed to him, and not the Earl of Oxford (who in the film is played by the same guy who is Hugh Grant's flat mate in Notting Hill, but a completely different, rather somber, eloquent fellow in this film) or Marlowe or Francis Bacon or any other elitist stand in for a very obscenely pretentious hypothesis, which simply fails to acknowledge that genius comes in all forms, and is not something intractably reserved for the upper classes--that maybe the point of this very excessively revisionist plot was to say something about truth: that truth is tied to the stories we tell and, more to the point, how well they are told. I enjoyed this film in spite of myself. And left with all these strange things happening in my mind, the sheer allure of the premise taking on its own impressive luster, I suppose, once I'd been relaxed into a half-credulous viewing. And let me tell you: there's some strange stuff--atrociously incestuous ties, courtly intrigue, etc.--that goes on in the film, with very little of it having to do with Will Shakespeare, who's portrayed as a bumbling, illiterate oaf.

Anyway, I felt in the mood for Shakespeare and so I picked up Henry V again. It's been a while, and I can't help thinking how much better both parts of Henry IV are in comparison. Yet this play still brings to fruition the promise of young Hal, the ironic student of Falstaff's socratic tomfoolery--who completely comes to terms, in this installment, with his destiny and leaves behind the dissolute world of pubs and ne'er-do-wells, and becomes the great warrior king. Personally, this one doesn't have enough humor, and what humor it has feeds off of the legacy of Falstaff, who haunts the play, especially the beginning when he dies, brokenhearted backstage. This play's almost purely about politics. And we're supposed to take note of Harry's new set of virtues and his capacity to relate to his men and also be a full on commander. It's impressive, and Shakespeare is, in the end, the greatest writer humanity has ever produced, so one must read and savor, and learn and be edified by the wondrous verse that slips in and out of charging metaphors and charming word play. But, personally, I prefer the Falstaffs, the Hamlets, the Richard the IIIs, and even the King Lears in comparison to the fully grown, mature Prince Hal. And perhaps that is Shakespeare's point. The great leader has to become something more than we expect, even if that means a slightly colorless personality. (less)

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Aug 16, 2011

Marty rated it

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Shelves: bedroom-bookshelf, kindle

As far as Shakespeare's King histories, this one probably ranks among his most well known--though Richard III must also be acknowledged as a contender. And it is a good one, certainly. It has some interesting side characters/situations, clever banter and set ups, a strong, patriotic message based on a great underdog military story. Besides that, there is the famous (to me) St. Crispin's Day speech, which was part of the impetus that got me to read King Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 before getting ...more

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Aug 05, 2011

Trevor rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: literature

What I thought would happen in this play – the fourth in the sequence of ‘prequels’ Shakespeare wrote to his three Henry VI plays and Richard III – was that young Hal, now King Henry V, would show he had come of age, finally become a real hero and fulfilled his promise from Henry IV part I – “And like bright metal on sullen ground, / My reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault / Shall show more goodly, and attract more eyes, / Than that which hath no foil to set it off.” All this I had expected – ...moreWhat I thought would happen in this play – the fourth in the sequence of ‘prequels’ Shakespeare wrote to his three Henry VI plays and Richard III – was that young Hal, now King Henry V, would show he had come of age, finally become a real hero and fulfilled his promise from Henry IV part I – “And like bright metal on sullen ground, / My reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault / Shall show more goodly, and attract more eyes, / Than that which hath no foil to set it off.” All this I had expected – and in some ways that is what happens as you skim across the surface of this play. A young king goes off and creates one of the most astonishing military victories in history – the play estimates ten thousand French to only twenty-five English dead. A somewhat one-sided affair by any estimation. Given that the English were also outnumbered five to one and yet this was still such a rout – you might expect (and I did expect) this play to be a kind of nationalistic blood-fest and yo-ho back-slap. I expected Henry to be glorified and lauded and made nearly godlike.

And in part it is just that. The famous speeches in this – “Once more into the breech” and the remarkably moving “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” could hardly fail to lift spirits and to almost make you believe while expecting to be slaughtered that, “gentlemen in England, now a-bed, / Shall think themselves accursed they were not here”.

The problem is that I’m almost certain Shakespeare isn’t at all fond of young Hal – even as he has becomes King Henry and I think that despite his having a Chorus sing his praises, to the point where “the warlike Harry, like himself, / Assume the port of Mars.” The problem is that Henry takes his country into a war – but in the play Henry more or less blames the Archbishop of Canterbury for deciding him on this course. He warns Canterbury that he must be completely upfront with him and make it clear why he (Henry) has a right to become King of France, as it will be that if Canterbury incites Henry to war with France on false grounds then the blame for all of the blood that will be spilt will fall on Canterbury’s head. This is bitterly ironic. Not least because later in the play Henry disguises himself as a common soldier and goes about chatting with various other soldiers before the battle of Agincourt –this kind of deception is a bit of a constant theme to his character. One of the soldiers he chats with says that if the king’s reasons for going to war are not just that it will be the king that will pay for it come judgement day. Hard to argue against that - and as Henry’s soldiers are just following their duty you would think that if anyone was to blame for the war you would have to blame the leader who got them to fight in the first place – but Henry tells the soldier he is wrong and that the king won’t be responsible at all. His argument is hardly convincing or even to the point and is followed by Henry literally setting up this soldier for a kind of practical joke to come to light at the end of the play.

This play really ought to have been about one of England’s greatest victories and one of England’s greatest heroes, but Henry still comes across as an arse. We are promised more Falstaff at the end of Henry IV part 2 – and we don't get any more of him in this play at all, although, we get reports of him pining and then dying just before Henry sets off for France and immortality. Henry’s treatment of Falstaff is not really worthy in any sense. His treatment of Bardolph – who is executed in this play for looting after being Henry’s acquaintance throughout the previous two plays is also troubling. Not that Bardolph didn’t deserve to be punished, but he is sent here to be hanged without a second thought – it is quite remarkable. Like I said, it is hard to really warm to Henry.

There are lots of jokes involving confusion caused between French not speaking English and English not speaking French and many of these jokes are quite sexual at times. The scene at the end of the play with Henry telling the king of France’s daughter he wants to marry her – despite her not speaking any English and him speaking no French, had a very deep and uncomfortable irony to it. His professed love rings a very hollow and sounds very much more like politics than like love at first sight. Her saying effectively, I’ll do what I’m told to do and then him making sexual jokes with Burgundy immediately after this and in front of her father and mother might even be considered by some to be a little tasteless, even in Elizabethan times.

I must try to track down the Olivier and the Branagh versions of this to watch at some stage. Maybe I just need to see this with Henry shining as radiantly as the sun, who knows?
(less)

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Jul 22, 2011

David Sarkies rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: historical

I originally read this play because it was set during the Hundred Years War and I wanted to use it as a primary source. Unfortunately it is not a primary source, since it was written 150 years after the events depicted, and the essay was about the English Parliament's influence on the war, which this play has nothing to do with. This is another example of why I would love to go back and redo those classes to see how well my essays come out now that I know a lot more. I am still surprised that I...more I originally read this play because it was set during the Hundred Years War and I wanted to use it as a primary source. Unfortunately it is not a primary source, since it was written 150 years after the events depicted, and the essay was about the English Parliament's influence on the war, which this play has nothing to do with. This is another example of why I would love to go back and redo those classes to see how well my essays come out now that I know a lot more. I am still surprised that I managed to pass the essay.
This play is a piece of propaganda. It depicts Henry V as a hero. Well, to the English people he is a hero as he revived the flagging war against France with a number of decisive victories, the greatest being Agnincourt, the battle which the play is focused. The play forms part of Shakespeare's War of the Roses cycle which begins with Richard II and ends with Richard III.
I won't go into too many details about whether Henry V deserves his title as a hero, because, as mentioned, to the English he is, he defeated the French and almost conquered France (though this was really an extension of the Norman Conquest, because when the Normans conquered England, they retained their capital and Rouen, and as the nation developed, the Norman lands became part of England). Further, this play focuses only on Agnincourt, the lead up to the battle, the battle itself, and it aftermath. Also in this play we see Shakespeare's rather crude humour with the French Princess attempting to learn English (and failing). The play ends with Henry taking his prize, the French Princess.
Really, there isn't all that much to this play. It is simply a retelling of history by the victors, and even though the French did end up kicking the English out of France, England still ended up as the victors, and were able to write the history of the war to suit their own purposes. It was only because of the intervention of God, through Joan of Arc, that the English lost, though it is interesting to note that England probably could never have controlled France, simply because every bit of France that they took, there would always be more France to take, and the further they move, the more dispersed their forces became and thus the more difficult it become to put down rebellions.(less)

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May 31, 2011

Rachel M. rated it

· review of another edition

This play is good, although not as interesting as some of Shakespeare's other history plays, like Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1. My favorite parts of this play are the speeches that King Henry gives to his men before they go into battle, especially the often-quoted St. Crispin's Day Speech. However, some of the non-war related speeches can get longwinded. This play focuses more heavily on the consequences and nature of war than the other history plays I've read. In fact, this is supposed t...more

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Feb 12, 2011

Tyson Adams rated it

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It just doesn't get any better than this!!

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of th...more

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Apr 09, 2010

Billie Pritchett rated it

· review of another edition

Young Prince Henry of Wales from Henry IV grows up to be Henry V, king of England, and goes to war with France because he can. Fans of this play argue that Henry is a model king, because he judges people on their character and considers himself one of the people, among other things. However, Henry is no ideal I admire, namely because he goes to war for no reason. Being an equal opportunity critic, one would have to say that then as now no war should be fought unless it is just, and, just wars be...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Phil rated it

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Shelves: drama

Of the Richard II-Henry V collection, I think this and Richard II are simply the best written. For the most part, the Henry IV plays don't seem as powerfully and masterfully poetic as the first and last play of the series. Like Richard II, Henry V has some really great speeches, which are more stirring and beautiful than almost anything in Henry IV.

However, the tone of Henry V's great speeches is very different than those in Richard II, largely because Shakespeare got to play the nationalist car...more

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Jan 16, 2012

Rachelccameron added it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, theatre-books

As a theatre student, I have a read a fair share of Shakespeare and mostly enjoyed the challenge. However, this particular play fell far below my expectations. Henry V seemed to follow history quite exactly (except for the jump in time), and from the notes, I gather that many of the lines were recorded in documents and used in his play. That said, overall NOTHING happens. There is a whole question about a war, and then the war happens (but you don't really see any action) and there is some soldi...more

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Nov 17, 2011

Tom rated it

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The final part of Shakespeare's second (and superior) tetraloguy, the play is the story of England's great warrior king, who has finally grown out of his irresponsible Prince Hal stage, as seen in the two Henry IV plays, and become a king. As much as the play is a celebration of Henry's victory over the French in the Battle of Agincourt, something no true English patriot of Shakespeare's time would dispute, the play does actually make some issues with the war itself. Henry's justification for ...more

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Oct 20, 2010

Steve rated it

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Shelves: shakespeare, plays

A lot of fun. The first two Acts seem like straight propaganda, but Shakespeare is Shakespeare, and so he manages to turn what seems to be a dumb action movie into a meditation on political power.

At first, Henry is a superman, as indeed all heroes were until modernity (until Shakespeare's contemporary Cervantes). And while Shakespeare certainly doesn't seem to be satirizing here, he does at least allow for moral complication.

DAUPHIN

My most redoubted fath...more

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Aug 16, 2007

Anna rated it

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Recommends it for: intelligent people that are into battles and coming of age stories

Shelves: characterbuildingbooks

It's a coming of age / battle story. I think one who reads with a classically masculine eye will be drawn to the battles and those who read with a more feminine eye will see the development of Harry.

If you're more of a historical person, too, it's a revealing look about the way battles were conducted and people were viewed during that time.

I'm only giving it a 3 because its not the easiest read, but you're a better person for reading it.

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Jul 28, 2011

Mark Woodland rated it

· review of another edition

Henry V is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and arguably the best of the histories. This edition has an authoritative text (as do many other editions), and the introduction, footnoting, and commentaries are above average. Signet editions make good working scripts; the surrounding material is accessible and not overly academic, and we've successfully used Signet editions that even novices to Shakespeare found useful. As for the play itself, it's a must-read. The characters are well-draw...more

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Feb 16, 2008

Jeffery added it · review of another edition

We few, we happy few. We band of brothers...

The St. Crispen's day speech alone is well worth the price of admission! Other books have similar calls to arm, but I have read none so stirring as those in Henry V.

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

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May 09, 2011

Kate rated it

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Shelves: classics, drama, heroines-named-katherine, literature

Honestly, this is probably my least favorite Shakespeare. I don't like Henry V. He's so...bipolar. He isn't really very admirable. Realistic, maybe, but that's not a great endorsement.

Also, it's very very long with more scenes than you can shake a stick at. Little, awkward scenes with an annoying array of one-dimensional characters spouting a lot of lines that aren't memorable or eloquent or historic or anything. Just low comedy fodder.

The war itself with France wasn't ve...more

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May 29, 2009

Jen Chough rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Jen by: Inspired to read due to music from the movie

This is perhaps my favorite work of Shakespeare. When given the choice to read and write about ANTYHING (even a comic) as my last senior paper in AP English, it was a no-brainer to pull this play out. It's got it all - action, humor, drama, politics, and probably some of the most stirring and inspirational pre-battle speeches known to mankind. I mean, the stuff in here blows anything in Braveheart out of the water. "Once more unto the breach" and "St. Crispin's Day" will inst...more

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Sep 28, 2011

Matthew Collins rated it

· review of another edition

I liked it a lot, the story is interesting and I liked the characters. I had trouble with the long, drawn out speeches that King Harry gives on every other page, without those it would have been really fun. I also did not really like the ending. Shakespeare presents it in such a way that, if I were in the audience (obviously I am thinking too 21st century but whatever) in his time period, (or especially if I were one of the soldiers in Henry's army) I would have felt extremely shafted about th...more

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Feb 20, 2011

James Mcgann rated it

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Prince Harry finally becomes king, and what a king, outwitting traitors in his midst, laying seige to French cities, and eventually rallying his tired and hungry army to ultimate victory at Agincourt. Sounds like it would be a lot more exciting than it was, though it could be a fun one to watch rather than read. Oh, and did you know tennis balls are a huge insult?

Famous quotes from Henry V:
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, or close the wall up with our English dead....more

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Nov 11, 2010

Norain MT rated it

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It was a pain to start reading Henry V but now I think this is my favourite of all Shakespeare’s works. Not that I had read many actually. This play was catogerised as History, but Shakespeare put elements of comedy and romance in it with so much ease, and I really like it that way. Unlike in the Winter’s Tale where the tragedy and comedy was blatantly separated (except for the scene in the middle where Antigonus abandoned the baby Perdita), one act in Henry V could be a tragedy at one moment, a...more

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Feb 11, 2010

Kelly rated it

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Shelves: brit-lit, theatre, shakespeare, 1500-1700, great-and-terrible-men

Feeling frustrated?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAvmLDkAg...

Now are you?

You're welcome!

(Just in case anyone forgot how awesome this is for a minute.)

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Apr 07, 2009

The Gatekeeper rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-read-for-school

This was my favourite Shakespeare play so far. One reason is that I really understood it and could follow the story better than with the other ones. It also had some great speeches and interesting characters. One thing that I've missed in all 4 of the Shakespeares I've read so far, though, is a really strong hero. There's never a character (or at least not a main character) whose virtues outweigh his faults, or who even acknowledges and confronts his faults. There's never someone I can just admi...more

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Sep 15, 2008

Ron rated it

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Shelves: drama, historical-fiction

I love the Bard's historical dramas. This one's one of the best. Henry's speech on the even of Agincourt, of course, is among Shakespeare's best known.

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Jul 26, 2011

John Harder added it · review of another edition

Young Hal has fully matured as he grows into his kingship. There are some particularly insightful moments prior to the battle of Agincourt. Henry visits his troops and shows his full recognition of the meaning and repercussions of war.

While recognizing the merit of this work, act five has always disturbed me – it is the longest denouement if the history of literature. The war is won and all the problems have been solved, and then Mr. Shakespeare spends an entire act in a romantic scene in w...more

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. Hi...moreWilliam Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.
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Trivia About King Henry V

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Quotes from Henry V

“[Thine] face is not worth sunburning.” — 153 people liked it

“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;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.” — 94 people liked it

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The Life Of King Henry The Fifth

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