Henry V (play)

Henry V, also called The Life of Henry the Fifth, is a play written by William Shakespeare around 1599 set during the Hundred Years' War during the events before and after Henry V's military campaign at the Battle of Agincourt in northern France.

Oberon quotes Act III, scene i from the play (and by extension, references Sherlock Holmes) when he declares, "The game's afoot", before he begins his bout with Goliath, Angela, and Gabriel. ("Ill Met By Moonlight")

Real World Background

As with most of Shakespeare's history plays, the primary source that he is believed to have consulted the 1587 edition of Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Shakespeare notably speeds up the timeline of Henry V's military campaign, particularly between the seige at Harfleur and the Battle of Agincourt, which history suggests took as long as a month apart from one another. Further, the final negotiations between the English and the French (and the wedding of Henry V with Catherine of Valois) takes place in 1420, five years after the Battle of Agincourt. Despite the chronological changes, other details from Holinshed carried over to the play – according to Raphael Holinshed (and his fellow collaborators), there is even an account of an English solider being executed for robbing a church, matching the play's character Bardolph in Act III, Scene vi. [1]

When the play was first performed, audiences would have already been familiar with the titular king, having seen his adventures and journey in the plays Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. Although not in this play, the recently deceased Falstaff from both Henry IV plays and The Merry Wives of Windsor is mentioned in Act II, scene iii.

Production Background

Unlike Gargoyles characters that are direct adaptations from other Shakespeare plays (most notably from Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream), Henry V's characters have been reinterpreted in the character analogues of Dingo, Pistol, Bardolph, and Mistress Quickly. It is understood that, for example, Dingo is not the historical Henry V of the Gargoyles Universe, although he does share the non-regnal name of Harry (of) Monmouth. Valois is another Gargoyles character connected to Henry V, but it is not yet clear if his name alone is the intended reference, or if there is more in play.

See Also

• Henry V (play) at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia