Introduction to the play
Henry V is Shakespeare’s most famous “war play”; it includes the storied English victory over the French at Agincourt. Some of it glorifies war, especially the choruses and Henry’s speeches urging his troops into battle. But we also hear bishops conniving for war to postpone a bill that would tax the church, and soldiers expecting to reap profits from the conflict. Even in the speeches of Henry and his nobles, there are many chilling references to the human cost of war.
The Folger Shakespeare
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Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once
more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead!
—King Henry
Act 3, scene 1, lines 1–3
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers
—King Henry
Act 4, scene 3, line 62
Henry V in our collection
A selection of Folger collection items related to Henry V. Find more in our digital image collection
Essays and resources from The Folger Shakespeare
Henry V
Learn more about the play, its language, and its history from the experts behind our edition.
About Shakespeare’s Henry V
An introduction to the plot, themes, and characters in the play
Reading Shakespeare’s Language
A guide for understanding Shakespeare’s words, sentences, and wordplay
An Introduction to This Text
A description of the publishing history of the play and our editors’ approach to this edition
Graphic: The Line of Edward III
Textual Notes
A record of the variants in the early printings of this text
Appendix: First Folio readings of French passages
A Modern Perspective
An essay by Michael Neill
Further Reading
Suggestions from our experts on where to learn more
Shakespeare and his world
Learn more about Shakespeare, his theater, and his plays from the experts behind our editions.
Shakespeare’s Life
An essay about Shakespeare and the time in which he lived
Shakespeare’s Theater
An essay about what theaters were like during Shakespeare’s career
The Publication of Shakespeare’s Plays
An essay about how Shakespeare’s plays were published
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Teaching Henry V
Use the Folger Method to teach any of Shakespeare’s works. Become a Teacher Member to get exclusive access to lesson plans and professional development.
Early printed texts
Henry V was first published as a quarto in 1600 with the title The Chronicle History of Henry the fift (Q1). This version of the play differs substantially from the play we know today: it is much shorter; it is missing entire scenes, including all of the chorus; some scenes are in a different order; and the Duke of Bourbon appears in the Agincourt scenes, rather than the Dauphin. Q1 was reprinted with no substantial changes in 1602 (Q2). It was reprinted again in 1619 (Q3) with some modifications that anticipate the later Folio text, although the source of those changes is unclear (this is one of the “Pavier Quartos” that were printed in 1619 with a false imprint date of 1608). The play was included in the 1623 First Folio (F1) as The Life of Henry the Fift, and this is the version on which most modern editions, including the Folger edition, are based.
