Read as part of CBR17 Bingo: play.
Say this much for Shakespeare: he had a sense of humor. And an irreverent one at that.
There’s no other way you can possibly appreciate Henry V without it. Considered the last great English king of the Plantagenet line (or maybe not, depending on how you feel about Edward IV) before dying an untimely death and giving rise to the Wars of the Roses that brought his family down and gave us the Tudors, this play starts off not at all with a testimony to the greatness of the king but with the chorus complaining that the stage is too small. How are they supposed to recreate the mythic Agincourt in such a tiny space!
After that, the first scene is two high ranking church officials speaking worriedly about the fate that befalls them if their land is consumed. They therefore set off to convince Henry that he is the true heir to the French throne and that he should invade France.
Henry immediately agrees and what follows is a kind of comedic examination of war and the monarchy. It seems like Shakespeare really couldn’t help himself on this one. I’m not enough of an expert on the Bard or English history to comment on the times but I imagine he is putting his finger in the eye of some high ranking English royalists whose political ambitions are climbing a step too far.
There’s also Captain Macmorris, a fictional Irish officer in Henry’s army, with the line of 2025: “Enough with the discourse. The day is already hot, with the weather and the wars…”
Amen brother.
It’s lesser Shakespeare but still an amusing hang.