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Henry V
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Act IIChapter Summaries & Analyses
Act II, Prologue (Chorus) Summary
The Chorus returns to tell the audience that the population of England is preparing for war with France. He also reveals that the French monarchy has approached a number of disloyal English noblemen and bribed these corrupt men to act as agents on France’s behalf. The Chorus identifies these traitors as Richard, Earl of Cambridge, Lord Henry Scrope of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey of Northumberland. King Henry is preparing to travel from London to the port town of Southampton (from where his force will sail to France); the traitors’ plot is to assassinate King Henry before he can set sail. The Chorus tells the audience that the action will move to Southampton “till the King come forth” (i.e., invades France) (2.Prologue.41).
Act II, Scene 1 Summary
In a Southampton tavern, Lieutenant Bardolph and Corporal Nym discuss the imminent invasion, of which they will form a part. They are common soldiers and Bardolph has a criminal past. Nym argues with Ensign Pistol, another soldier who is recently married to the Hostess Quickly, the landlady of the tavern, although she had previously promised to marry Nym. The men are drunk and exchange insults. Nym challenges Pistol to a duel and they draw swords. Bardolph and Hostess Quickly intervene to calm the situation.
A pageboy arrives with a message from Sir John Falstaff who is lodging in the tavern. Falstaff (a famous tragic-comic figure from English folklore) is “very sick” (2.1.79). Hostess Quickly visits his room (off stage) and returns to confirm that his condition is worsening. She says “the King has killed his heart” (2.1.184), alluding to the great friendship previously between Falstaff and Prince Hal in the Henry IV plays, which Henry dropped when he became King at the end of that play. The other characters also comment on this. The soldiers settle their dispute and exit to visit Falstaff together.
Act II, Scene 2 Summary
In Southampton, the Lords Exeter, Gloucester, and Westmorland talk together, revealing that the King has uncovered the assassination plot by Scrope, Grey, and Cambridge. They discuss how the King is pretending not to know.
King Henry enters the stage with the three traitors at his side. Scrope, Grey and Cambridge make speeches praising and flattering the King and his war plans. Henry asks them for advice in the case of a man who has publicly criticized him in the streets; he is inclined to mercy as the man was drunk. The three traitors recommend severe punishment. Henry asks how, if this man deserves such harsh treatment, he should treat those who plot far worse crimes. He reveals that he knows of their treachery. They beg for mercy but Henry cites their earlier calls for harsh justice. He is shocked at their hypocrisy and that they would sell their loyalty for money, calling them “these English monsters” (2.2.82). Scrope and Cambridge especially have been in the King’s inner circle, his trusted friends. The men are arrested and each confesses; Henry notes that they will be subject to the law and condemned to death. They are led away.
Henry believes that his success in uncovering the plot is a sign from God that his cause is just and that they will have a “fair and lucky war” (2.2.181). Henry gives the order for the English army to sail for France.
Act II, Scene 3 Summary
In Hostess Quickly’s tavern, Pistol, Nym, Bardolph and the pageboy gather to grieve Falstaff, who has died. Hostess Quickly and the boy describe his final moments. In an ironic satire of the Catholic practice of final confession, the friends debate whether he could have rejected alcohol and women as “devils incarnate” before he died (2.3.30). The men and the pageboy leave to join the troops, taking their leave of Hostess Quickly, all of them kissing her goodbye except Nym, who still feels rejected.
Act II, Scene 4 Summary
At the French court, Charles VI discusses the imminent English invasion with the Dauphin and his advisors. The Dauphin is still convinced that King Henry is a “vain, giddy, shallow, humorous” (2.4.28) young man and is confident of French success. He does not believe that Henry has matured and thinks they should engage him immediately. King Charles and the Constable of France do not share the Dauphin’s opinion of Henry and are more cautious. The warriors of England, King Charles says to his son, have always fought well, especially against the French. He reminds them of previous English warrior-kings who have defeated the French in famous battles.
An Ambassador from Henry is announced: the English have landed in the north. Lord Exeter enters and delivers an ultimatum from Henry: the French must cede the throne or prepare to fight. Henry will take the “crown and kingdom” (2.4.94) of France by force. Exeter’s message to King Charles is courteous but to the Dauphin Henry sends “Scorn and defiance, slight regard, contempt” (2.4.117). King Charles promises to have a response by the following morning.
Act II Analysis
While the plays shows the audience that Henry has changed since his appearances in the earlier plays, Act II introduces characters from his past who have not matured accordingly. The common soldiers such as Nym and Bardolph are still living reckless, drunken, and criminal lives. Act II also reintroduces (off-stage) a key figure from the previous plays, Falstaff, who is dying. In the past, he was a key friend and mentor of the young Henry and he was the important link between Henry and these characters; he was also a bad influence on him and unfit company for a Prince to keep. In this way, Falstaff’s death is symbolic of Henry’s rejection of that life, necessary to his development into a character who personifies The Nature of Kingship. As Henry ascends to greatness, the other reappearing characters move in the opposite direction, and this vindicates Henry’s desertion of them. Of his old friends who take to the stage at the beginning of Act II, two will eventually be executed, one will die, one will be killed, and one will be humiliated and turn to crime. The friends discuss Henry’s rejection of Falstaff and themselves with sadness but seem to forgive and understand that his decision is a part of his identity as king.
The Southampton plot is another plot device that explores the theme of kingship. Even though Henry was friends with the traitors and exposes them to a moral test around the application of mercy, on their failure of this test he acts swiftly. If he were to spare their lives, he would undermine his authority. He prioritizes the country over his friendships, doing what he believes must be done to ensure that the institution of the British monarchy is respected. Henry is not only executing these men; he is trying to kill future treachery in his ranks. This order sends a message at a great cost, warning the world that King Henry is to be taken seriously. In this way, Henry is even more alone than ever; his kingship means that he can’t trust even his closest friends. His authority also demands that he make difficult but necessary decisions that conflict with his personal feelings.
The depiction of the French court is key to the play’s theme of War and Conquest setting up the juxtaposition of the two sides. Through setting up the competing perspectives of the English and French, the play is able to reinforce a clear preference for the English perspective. While the French King Charles is wise, his English counterpart, the Dauphin, is insolent and rash. The antagonist of the play is not the rival king, but the Dauphin. His hubris contrasts with Henry’s humility, making the Dauphin the natural narrative antagonist to Henry’s protagonist. Whereas the audience has now come to understand that Henry has matured, the Dauphin is still operating under the delusion that he knows Henry. This dramatic irony explains why the French are doomed to lose, as they are led by a man who is too privileged and hubristic to change his perspective or update his beliefs.
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By William Shakespeare
