Shakespeare’s King Henry V
Shakespeare wrote this play as a culmination to his cycle of history plays. Focused on Henry’s conquest of France, the play is patriotic to a heroic king mingled with frank moments examining the realities of war, ranging from mundane to cruel. The play covers events during the Hundred Years War immediately before and after the battle of Agincourt. Soon after he becomes King, Henry V considers making a claim to rule France as well as England. He asks the Archbishop of Canterbury about how strong his claim is but he insults the king and that’s when Henry decided to invade France. The French king receives the English ambassador but finally rejects Henry’s claim to the crown. They begin to retreat but Henry rejects the French Hernald’s offer of ransom and the two armies prepare to fight. After the battle, Henry woos and wins Katherine to ensure the linking of the two countries through marriage.
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 36 in 1422. He was the second English monarch of the House of Lancaster.
The Bishop of Ely appears only within the first act of Henry V. He is seen with the Archbishop of Canterbury as the two men discuss whether the king will renew the wars with France, distracting him from putting a law into effect that would severely drain the incomes of many men in religious positions.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury Michael Williams is a character in William Shakespeare’s Henry V. He is one of three soldiers visited by King Henry before the Battle of Agincourt. While walking among his troops on the eve of battle, the King arrives incognito upon a trio of soldiers.
There was a movie filmed about King Henry called “The Life of King Henry the Fifth”. The movies was filmed in 1989 were you can find it on YouTube or other websites. Some main characters in the movie were: Duke of Bedford, Michael Williams, King Henry, Bishop of Ely, Earl of Warwick, etc. There hasn’t been a different version of the movie there was only one filmed that was in 1989.
