King Henry the Fifth Part 1

King Henry the Fifth.

by William Shakespeare.

PREFACE.

In the selection of my last Shakespearean revival at the Princess's Theatre, I have been actuated by a desire to present some of the finest poetry of our great dramatic master, interwoven with a subject ill.u.s.trating a most memorable era in English history. No play appears to be better adapted for this two-fold purpose than that which treats of Shakespeare's favorite hero, and England's favorite king--Henry the Fifth.

The period thus recalled is flattering to our national pride; and however much the general feeling of the present day may be opposed to the evils of war, there are few amongst us who can be reminded of the military renown achieved by our ancestors on the fields of Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt, without a glow of patriotic enthusiasm.

The political motives which induced the invasion of France in the year 1415 must be sought for in the warlike spirit of the times, and in the martial character of the English sovereign. It is sufficient for dramatic purposes that a few thousands of our countrymen, in their march through a foreign land, enfeebled by sickness and encompa.s.sed by foes, were able to subdue and scatter to the winds the mult.i.tudinous hosts of France, on whose blood-stained soil ten thousand of her bravest sons lay slain, mingled with scarcely one hundred Englishmen![*] Such a marvellous disparity might well draw forth the pious acknowledgment of King Henry,--

"O G.o.d, thy arm was here;-- And not to us, but to thy arm alone, Ascribe we all.--When, without stratagem, But in plain shock and even play of battle, Was ever known so great and little loss On one part and on the other?--Take it, G.o.d, For it is only thine!"

[Footnote *: The English authorities vary in their statements from seventeen to one hundred killed. The French historian, Monstrelet, estimates the loss of his countrymen at ten thousand men.]

Shakespeare in this, as in other of his dramatic histories, has closely followed Holinshed; but the light of his genius irradiates the dry pages of the chronicler. The play of Henry the Fifth is not only a poetical record of the past, but it is, as it were, "a song of triumph," a lay of the minstrel pouring forth a paean of victory. The gallant feats of our forefathers are brought vividly before our eyes, inspiring sentiments not to be excited by the mere perusal of books, reminding us of the prowess of Englishmen in earlier days, and conveying an a.s.surance of what they will ever be in the hour of peril.

The descriptive poetry a.s.signed to the "Chorus" between the acts is retained as a peculiar feature, connecting and explaining the action as it proceeds. This singular personage, so different from the Chorus of antiquity, I have endeavoured to render instrumental to the general effect of the play; the whole being planned with a view to realise, as far as the appliances of a theatre can be exercised, the events of the extraordinary campaign so decisively closed by the great conflict of Agincourt, which ultimately placed two crowns on the brow of the conqueror, and resulted in his marriage with Katharine, the daughter of Charles the Sixth, King of France. Shakespeare does not in this instance, as in _Pericles_ and the _Winter's Tale_, a.s.sign a distinct individuality to the Chorus. For the figure of Time, under the semblance of an aged man, which has been heretofore presented, will now be subst.i.tuted Clio, the muse of History. Thus, without violating consistency, an opportunity is afforded to Mrs. Charles Kean, which the play does not otherwise supply, of partic.i.p.ating in this, the concluding revival of her husband's management.

Between the fourth and fifth acts I have ventured to introduce, as in the case of _Richard the Second_, a historical episode of action, exhibiting the reception of King Henry on returning to his capital, after the French expedition.

It would be impossible to include the manifold incidents of the royal progress in one scene: neither could all the sites on which they actually took place be successively exhibited. The most prominent are, therefore, selected, and thrown into one locality--the approach to old London bridge. Our audiences have previously witnessed the procession of Bolingbroke, followed in silence by his deposed and captive predecessor.

An endeavor will now be made to exhibit the heroic son of that very Bolingbroke, in his own hour of more lawful triumph, returning to the same city; while thousands gazed upon him with mingled devotion and delight, many of whom, perhaps, partic.i.p.ated in the earlier reception of his father, sixteen years before, under such different and painful circ.u.mstances. The Victor of Agincourt is hailed, not as a successful usurper, but as a conqueror; the adored sovereign of his people; the pride of the nation; and apparently the chosen instrument of heaven, crowned with imperishable glory. The portrait of this great man is drawn throughout the play with the pencil of a master-hand. The pleasantry of the prince occasionally peeps through the dignified reserve of the monarch, as instanced in his conversations with Fluellen, and in the exchange of gloves with the soldier Williams. His bearing is invariably gallant, chivalrous, and truly devout; surmounting every obstacle by his indomitable courage; and ever in the true feeling of a christian warrior, placing his trust in the one Supreme Power, the only Giver of victory! The introductions made throughout the play are presented less with a view to spectacular effect, than from a desire to render the stage a medium of historical knowledge, as well as an ill.u.s.tration of dramatic poetry. _Accuracy_, not _show_, has been my object; and where the two coalesce, it is because the one is inseparable from the other.

The entire scene of the episode has been modelled upon the facts related by the late Sir Harris Nicholas, in his translated copy of a highly interesting Latin MS., accidentally discovered in the British Museum, written by a Priest, who accompanied the English army; and giving a detailed account of every incident, from the embarkation at Southampton to the return to London. The author tells us himself, that he was present at Agincourt, and "_sat on horseback with the other priests, among the baggage, in the rear of the battle_." We have, therefore, the evidence of an eyewitness; and by that testimony I have regulated the general representation of this n.o.ble play, but more especially the introductory episode.

The music, under the direction of Mr. Isaacson, has been, in part, selected from such ancient airs as remain to us of, or anterior to, the date of Henry the Fifth, and, in part, composed to accord with the same period. The "Song on the Victory of Agincourt," published at the end of Sir Harris Nicholas's interesting narrative, and introduced in the admirable work ent.i.tled "Popular Music of the Olden Time," by W. Chappell, F.S.A., is sung by the boy choristers in the Episode. The "Chanson Roland," to be found in the above-named work, is also given by the entire chorus in the same scene. The Hymn of Thanksgiving, at the end of the fourth act, is supposed to be as old as A.D. 1310. To give effect to the music, fifty singers have been engaged.

As the term of my management is now drawing to a close, I may, perhaps, be permitted, in a few words, to express my thanks for the support and encouragement I have received. While endeavouring, to the best of my ability and judgment, to uphold the interests of the drama in its most exalted form, I may conscientiously a.s.sert, that I have been animated by no selfish or commercial spirit. An enthusiast in the art to which my life has been devoted, I have always entertained a deeply-rooted conviction that the plan I have pursued for many seasons, might, in due time, under fostering care, render the Stage productive of much benefit to society at large. Impressed with a belief that the genius of Shakespeare soars above all rivalry, that he is the most marvellous writer the world has ever known, and that his works contain stores of wisdom, intellectual and moral, I cannot but hope that one who has toiled for so many years, in admiring sincerity, to spread abroad amongst the mult.i.tude these invaluable gems, may, at least, be considered as an honest labourer, adding his mite to the great cause of civilisation and educational progress.

After nine years of unremitting exertion as actor and director, the constant strain of mind and body warns me to retreat from a combined duty which I find beyond my strength, and in the exercise of which, neither zeal, nor devotion, nor consequent success, can continue to beguile me into a belief that the end will compensate for the many attendant troubles and anxieties. It would have been impossible, on my part, to gratify my enthusiastic wishes, in the ill.u.s.tration of Shakespeare, had not my previous career as an actor placed me in a position of comparative independence with regard to speculative disappointment. Wonderful as have been the yearly receipts, yet the vast sums expended--sums, I have every reason to believe, not to be paralleled in any theatre of the same capability throughout the world--make it advisable that I should now retire from the self-imposed responsibility of management, involving such a perilous outlay; and the more especially, as a building so restricted in size as the Princess's, renders any adequate return utterly hopeless.

My earnest aim has been to promote the well-being of my Profession; and if, in any degree, I have attained so desirable an object, I trust I may not be deemed presumptuous in cherishing the belief, that my arduous struggle has won for me the honourable reward of--Public Approval.

CHARLES KEAN.

KING HENRY THE FIFTH.

_Enter CHORUS._

O for a muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention,[1]

A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!

Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, a.s.sume the port of Mars;[2] and, at his heels, Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire, Crouch for employment.(A) But pardon, gentles all, The flat unraised spirit that hath dar'd On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object: Can this c.o.c.kpit hold[3]

The vasty fields of France? or may we cram Upon this little stage[4] the very casques[5]

That did affright the air at Agincourt?

O, pardon! since a crooked figure may Attest in little place, a million; And let us, cyphers to this great accompt, On your imaginary forces[6] work.

Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confined two mighty monarchies, Whose high upreared and ab.u.t.ting fronts The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:[7]

Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts; Into a thousand parts divide one man,[8]

And make imaginary puissance;[9]

For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings, Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times, Turning the accomplishment of many years Into an hour-gla.s.s: For the which supply, Admit me Chorus to this history; Who, prologue-like, your humble patience pray, Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.

[_Exit._

[Footnote Ic.1: _O, for a muse of fire, &c._] This goes, says Warburton, upon the notion of the Peripatetic system, which imagines several heavens one above another, the last and highest of which was one of fire. It alludes, likewise, to the aspiring nature of fire, which, by its levity, at the separation of the chaos, took the highest seat of all the elements.]

[Footnote Ic.2: _a.s.sume the port of Mars;_] i.e., the demeanour, the carriage, air of Mars. From portee, French.]

[Footnote Ic.3: _Can this c.o.c.kpit hold_] Shakespeare probably calls the stage a c.o.c.kpit, as the most diminutive enclosure present to his mind.]

[Footnote Ic.4: _Upon this little stage_] The original text is "within this wooden O," in allusion, probably, to the theatre where this history was exhibited, being, from its _circular_ form, called _The Globe_.]

[Footnote Ic.5: _----the very +casques+_] Even the helmets, much less the men by whom they were worn.]

[Footnote Ic.6: _----+imaginary+ forces_] _Imaginary_ for _imaginative_, or your powers of fancy. Active and pa.s.sive words are by Shakespeare frequently confounded.]

[Footnote Ic.7: _The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder._]

_Perilous narrow_ means no more than _very narrow_. In old books this mode of expression frequently occurs.]

[Footnote Ic.8: _Into a thousand parts divide one man,_] i.e., suppose every man to represent a thousand.]

[Footnote Ic.9: _----make imaginary puissance:_] i.e., imagine you see an enemy.]

ACT I.

SCENE I.--THE PAINTED CHAMBER IN THE ROYAL PALACE AT WESTMINSTER.

[Frequent reference is made in the Chronicles to the Painted Chamber, as the room wherein Henry V. held his councils.]

_Trumpets sound._

_KING HENRY(B) discovered on his throne (CENTRE)[*], BEDFORD,(C) GLOSTER,(D) EXETER,(E) WARWICK, WESTMORELAND, and others in attendance._

[Footnote *: The throne is powdered with the letter S. This decoration made its appearance in the reign of Henry IV., and has been differently accounted for. The late Sir Samuel Meyrick supposes it to be the initial letter of Henry's motto, "Souveraine." The King's costume is copied from Strutt's "Regal Antiquities." The dresses of the English throughout the play are taken from the works of Strutt, Meyrick, Shaw, and Hamilton Smith.

The heraldry has been kindly supplied by Thomas Willement, Esq., F.S.A. The Lord Great Chamberlain carrying the sword of state is De Vere, Earl of Oxford.]

_K. Hen._ Where is my gracious Lord of Canterbury?

_Exe._ (L.) Not here in presence.