Director's Choices in Shakespeare's "Henry V"

Henry V: "Once more unto the breach"

The title role of William Shakespeare's Henry V should be played as a people's king, respected by his subjects and not made proud by their admiration. Not only is there ample textual evidence to support this portrayal, but it plays excellently on the stage as well, charming audiences with a hero they can really like. In act III, scene i we see a monologue by the title character in which he urges his army to rush the city they are attacking. This scene should be played in such a way as to portray King Henry as someone who cares deeply about his citizens, and is encouraging them not for gain, but for their own sakes. He is brave and excited, majestic but humble, the truest of friends and a real man's man.

The scene will begin in near darkness, against a red backdrop silhouetting the walls of Harfleur. Faintly we can hear sounds of fighting going on offstage, and growing louder. There are shouts of "retreat" and "fall back," and Harry will run onstage with half a dozen of his men, pursued by French forces. Frenchmen are dressed in simple, dark colored clothes without device. They are the nameless faceless minions that are "enemy." It is important that Harry be given no more than about six of his own soldiers in this scene, as their scant numbers will emphasize Henry's courage, and his status as a humble ruler, not here taking on the role of "monarch," but of moral support. He says in scene iii of the same act, "I am a soldier." Note then that he should not enter the stage before or after his men, but at approximately the same time; they are his equals.

The lights come up a little but remain one step short of full. Harry takes center stage and gives his speech under a spotlight, and his men fight off the French soldiers. Lights are high enough that we can see the action taking place around the king, but he remains the focus. Were it not for his positioning on the stage and the "heavenly" spotlight upon him, it would be difficult to determine who he was, as there is nothing in his clothing that suggests nobility.

The walls of Harfleur shall remain silhouetted in the background, but the lighting on the back wall will change very slowly, over the course of the scene, from red to blue; this must be done subtly so that the audience will not realize they are seeing it. Near the end of his speech, in lines 32 and 33, Henry will point out to his men that "there is none of you so mean and base / That hath not noble luster in your eyes"; a luster that was not there at the beginning of the scene. The effect of the lighting trick will be to experience the same emotions as the men in the play: to begin with a feeling of blood and battle, of darkness and death, but by the end to be possessed with a determined hope that matches that of King Henry himself.

Also important are the uniforms of the king and his soldiers. No one carries a shield. Henry's men will be wearing close-fitting white tunics over their mail, with red crosses similar to those worn in the Crusades. The pattern is familiar to modern-day audiences who will recognize the white as a symbol of goodness, and the cross of Christianity. It will bring to mind images of those holy wars on Jerusalem, which mirror this holy war on France. Henry himself will be a young man, dressed almost exactly the same as his men. In act V, scene ii Harry says that he will speak "plain soldier," and refers to himself as "such a plain king." The spirit of these statements will be made visible through his physical appearance in the battle, where his clothes are nearly identical to those of the other soldiers. The major difference between Harry and the others will be that the cross on his chest is in black rather than red, in order to set him apart for the audience's benefit, and to help contrast the blood with which he will be sprayed. There is enough blood to be seen by the audience, but not to consider him "bathed" in it. King Henry is a hero, let us remember, not a tyrant. The blood is bright in color so that it may show up well against his clothes, and will seem to idealize the glories of war rather than to cast Harry as cruel or vicious, for he is someone who remembers that "In peace there's nothing so becomes a man / As modest stillness and humility" (lines 4 and 5). He also has drops of blood flecked across his face, and his sword is the only one on stage which is glimmering red.

Despite being pushed back, King Henry is very excited at this point, and urges his discouraged men to show the same enthusiasm. Before he begins his speech, Harry will be rushed by a French soldier. The English king quickly dispatches his opponent, and then turns to his beleaguered men. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends!" he shouts as his several soldiers, each locked in individual combat, begin to force back the French. "Once more, or close the wall up with our English dead!" (lines 1-3). Here one of Harry's men shall slash at his enemy, killing him. The victorious Englishman moves to help one of his comrades, and the skirmishes continue, with the French now on the defensive. Henry's army is tired, but they have not lost hope. The king's presence strengthens them.

Just after line 6, a few more French charge onstage. Again, Henry kills his man easily, at the end of line 9. He looks again to his soldiers, now struggling. He does not interfere with their personal battles, but paces the center of the stage observing them. He believes in them. He will not insult their honor. "Lend the eye a terrible aspect," he growls in a low voice. Through the following 5 lines his voice gets steadily louder, more commanding, as he describes the features of a true warrior. One by one, the king's men cut down their foes and turn to face their general. By line 16 there are only two French soldiers left, both fighting the same man on the audience's right-hand side. Henry walks slowly to where they are; as he continues addressing his champions, his eyes never leave the two Frenchmen. His voice takes on a low, almost cruel tone as he approaches these two enemies, these two men without honor, who dare to threaten his soldiers. "Now set the teeth," he says in line 16, "and stretch the nostril wide, hold hard the breath -- " Here Harry raises his voice, alerting the fighting men to his presence: "and bend up every spirit to his full height!" One Frenchman spins to confront the king, and is slashed across the chest. The other is immediately killed by the English soldier. Henry never lost faith in his army, and while he does not rejoice in bloodshed, we saw in act II, scene ii that he cannot tolerate those who would harm his people: "Touching our person, seek we no revenge, / But we our kingdom's safety must so render -- that to her laws / We do deliver you" (lines 183-186). King Henry may forgive those who threaten his life, but never those who threaten his people.

The stage is scattered now with French bodies, and the English, some of them wounded or on their knees, all turn their eyes to King Henry. As the background continues fading slowly from red to blue, and as Henry takes his place again under the heavenly light in the center of the battlefield, the kneeling soldiers look like men in prayer. They serve King Henry, and King Henry serves God. The cross on his chest is still visible between the blood-spatters. His rage is gone at once upon the death of his last foe. His care is for his citizens: his children.

After a second of silence the king smiles and claps one of his men on the shoulder. "On," he encourages; "on, you noblest English." His voice becomes strong as he walks among his soldiers, reminding them that the day is theirs for the taking. They rise, still watching him. "Dishonor not your mothers," Henry quips in a mock-accusing tone in line 23; "now attest that those whom you called fathers did beget you." One of the soldiers grunts "ha!" and nudges his companion. Harry grins and they all glance at each other for a moment before he changes tracks, and says roughly, "Be copy now to men of grosser blood -- And teach them how to war!" shouting the last part. His men are excited now, ready for battle: pumped. The skirmish is won, and there is a town to be sieged.

Harry's speech quickens as he shoots his men full of more adrenaline, telling them that this is the chance to prove themselves. He is speaking as much of himself as he is of them, allowing his own enthusiasm to flow into his army. As he will happily admit later on, in act IV, scene iii, "If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive." He, too, is longing to prove himself. His men lean forward, eager for his words because they come from his heart. All are eager: eager for the battle to come.

"I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start," Henry taunts, egging them on. Just as Julius Caesar "let slip the dogs of war," Harry refers to his men as greyhounds, tugging violently against their ropes. When he sees the state his men, that their strongest desire is to go into war, he finally gives them the green light: "The game's afoot!" he shouts at line 35, and throws his hands in the air. His men cheer and draw their swords, desperate to rush Harfleur, desperate for the climax that is battle. Henry will draw his own sword and call to his men that they follow their spirits: the spirit of battle. "Upon this charge cry 'Æ'†'" '"Æ'''¹ -- "God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'" The English king shall charge off stage followed by his cheering men, released to wage war upon the city of Harfleur.

Without King Henry's presence, the English would have suffered a crushing defeat. They were pushed back from the wall time and time again, but in every instance they had someone to look to for encouragement. Henry truly feels the excitement he is showing, and inspires his men to either break wide the breach in Harfleur's wall or else let it be filled with their own dead bodies. He is a king who not only understands his subjects, but loves them; and is loved by them in return. At the end of the scene, while Henry and his soldiers charge headlong into the deathtrap that is Harfleur, the sounds of battle clash in our ears, and the lights fade to darkness as we listen to the cheering of the English forces.