Act 3, Scene 5 — Henry V — Study Shakespeare

The argument The French court erupts in shame and fury: Henry has crossed the Somme and is marching through France unopposed. The nobles outbid each other in expressions of outrage. The French King orders all his nobles to the field — but pointedly keeps the Dauphin back in Rouen.

Enter the King of France, the Dauphin, the Duke of Bourbon, the

Constable of France and others.

FRENCH KING

’Tis certain he hath pass’d the river Somme.

’Tis certain he has pass’d the river Somme.

’T's certain he has pass’d the river Somme.

’tis certain he has pass’d the river somme.

Why it matters The French King's opening line is a statement of fact so alarming it requires no embellishment. Henry has crossed the Somme. The question now is what France does about it.

CONSTABLE ≋ verse

And if he be not fought withal, my lord,

Let us not live in France; let us quit all

And give our vineyards to a barbarous people.

And if he be not fought withal, my lord, Let us not live in France; let us quit all And give our vineyards to a barbarous people.

And if he be not fought withal, my lord, Let us not live in

DAUPHIN ≋ verse

_O Dieu vivant_! shall a few sprays of us,

The emptying of our fathers’ luxury,

Our scions put in wild and savage stock,

Spirt up so suddenly into the clouds,

And overlook their grafters?

_O Dieu vivant_! shall a few sprays of us, The emptying of our fathers’ luxury, Our scions put in wild and savage stock, Spirt up so suddenly into the clouds, And overlook their grafters?

_O Dieu vivant_! shall a few sprays of us, The emptying of o

BOURBON ≋ verse

Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman bastards!

_Mort de ma vie_, if they march along

Unfought withal, but I will sell my dukedom,

To buy a slobbery and a dirty farm

In that nook-shotten isle of Albion.

Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman bastards! _Mort de ma vie_, if they march along Unfought withal, but I will sell my dukedom, To buy a slobbery and a dirty farm In that nook-shotten isle of Albion.

Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman bastards! _Mort de ma v

CONSTABLE ≋ verse

_Dieu de batailles_, where have they this mettle?

Is not their climate foggy, raw, and dull,

On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale,

Killing their fruit with frowns? Can sodden water,

A drench for sur-rein’d jades, their barley-broth,

Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat?

And shall our quick blood, spirited with wine,

Seem frosty? O, for honour of our land,

Let us not hang like roping icicles

Upon our houses’ thatch, whiles a more frosty people

Sweat drops of gallant youth in our rich fields!

Poor we may call them in their native lords.

_Dieu de batailles_, where have they this mettle? Is not their climate foggy, raw, and dull, On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale, Killing their fruit with frowns? Can sodden water, A drench for sur-rein’d jades, their barley-broth, Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat? And shall our quick blood, spirited with wine, Seem frosty? O, for honour of our land, Let us not hang like roping icicles Upon our houses’ thatch, whiles a more frosty people Sweat drops of gallant youth in our rich fields! Poor we may call them in their native lords.

_Dieu de batailles_, where have they this mettle? Is not the

"Can sodden water, / A drench for sur-rein'd jades, their barley-broth, / Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat?" The Constable is deploying a version of climate theory — the Elizabethan idea that diet and weather shaped national character. His argument is that the English, eating poorly in a cold wet climate, shouldn't be producing this kind of valor. The fact that they demonstrably are is what confounds him.

Why it matters The Constable's speech is involuntary praise — he's so baffled by English courage that his attempt to belittle it keeps having to acknowledge how impressive it is. The harder he argues that England shouldn't be producing this, the more he establishes that it is.

DAUPHIN ≋ verse

By faith and honour,

Our madams mock at us, and plainly say

Our mettle is bred out, and they will give

Their bodies to the lust of English youth

To new-store France with bastard warriors.

By faith and honour, Our madams mock at us, and plainly say Our mettle is bred out, and they will give Their bodies to the lust of English youth To new-store France with bastard warriors.

By faith and honour, Our madams mock at us, and plainly say

Why it matters The Dauphin's addition to the shame spiral is the most extreme: not just that France is losing, but that French women have noticed and are switching sides. It's a rhetorical excess that reveals how far gone the crisis of masculine honor feels.

BOURBON ≋ verse

They bid us to the English dancing-schools,

And teach lavoltas high, and swift corantos;

Saying our grace is only in our heels,

And that we are most lofty runaways.

They bid us to the English dancing-schools, And teach lavoltas high, and swift corantos; Saying our grace is only in our heels, And that we are most lofty runaways.

They bid us to the English dancing-schools, And teach lavolt

FRENCH KING ≋ verse

Where is Montjoy the herald? Speed him hence.

Let him greet England with our sharp defiance.

Up, princes! and, with spirit of honour edged

More sharper than your swords, hie to the field!

Charles Delabreth, High Constable of France;

You Dukes of Orleans, Bourbon, and of Berry,

Alençon, Brabant, Bar, and Burgundy;

Jacques Chatillon, Rambures, Vaudemont,

Beaumont, Grandpré, Roussi, and Fauconbridge,

Foix, Lestrale, Boucicault, and Charolois;

High dukes, great princes, barons, lords, and knights,

For your great seats now quit you of great shames.

Bar Harry England, that sweeps through our land

With pennons painted in the blood of Harfleur.

Rush on his host, as doth the melted snow

Upon the valleys, whose low vassal seat

The Alps doth spit and void his rheum upon.

Go down upon him, you have power enough,

And in a captive chariot into Rouen

Bring him our prisoner.

Where is Montjoy the herald? Speed him hence. Let him greet England with our sharp defiance. Up, princes! and, with spirit of honour edged More sharper than your swords, hie to the field! Charles Delabreth, High Constable of France; You Dukes of Orleans, Bourbon, and of Berry, Alençon, Brabant, Bar, and Burgundy; Jacques Chatillon, Rambures, Vaudemont, Beaumont, Grandpré, Roussi, and Fauconbridge, Foix, Lestrale, Boucicault, and Charolois; High dukes, great princes, barons, lords, and knights, For your great seats now quit you of great shames. Bar Harry England, that sweeps through our land With pennons painted in the blood of Harfleur. Rush on his host, as does the melted snow Upon the valleys, whose low vassal seat The Alps does spit and void his rheum upon. Go down upon him, you have power enough, And in a captive chariot into Rouen Bring him our prisoner.

Where 's Montjoy the herald? Speed him hence. Let him greet England with our sharp defiance. Up, princes! and, with spirit of honour edged More sharper than your swords, hie to the field! Charles Delabreth, High Constable of France; You Dukes of Orleans, Bourbon, and of Berry, Alençon, Brabant, Bar, and Burgundy; Jacques Chatillon, Rambures, Vaudemont, Beaumont, Grandpré, Roussi, and Fauconbridge, Foix, Lestrale, Boucicault, and Charolo's; High dukes, great princes, barons, lords, and knights, For your great seats now quit you of great shames. Bar Harry England, that sweeps through our land With pennons painted in the blood of Harfleur. Rush on h's host, as does the melted snow Upon the valleys, whose low vassal seat The Alps does spit and void h's rheum upon. Go down upon him, you have power enough, And in a captive chariot into Rouen Bring him our pr'soner.

where is montjoy the herald? speed him hence. let him greet england with our sha

"Charles Delabreth, High Constable of France [and the long list of names]" The roll call of French nobles is one of the play's most theatrical moments — a litany of great names and titles that establishes the enormous size of the French force. Shakespeare is showing the audience the army that Henry will face at Agincourt. The contrast with Henry's 'poor soldiers' from 3-6 will be stark.

Why it matters The French King's roll call is the moment the French military machine gets mobilized. It's also the scene's turn from emotion to action — the king stops the competitive shame-talking and issues actual orders. The audience now knows the confrontation is coming.

CONSTABLE ≋ verse

This becomes the great.

Sorry am I his numbers are so few,

His soldiers sick and famish’d in their march;

For I am sure, when he shall see our army,

He’ll drop his heart into the sink of fear

And for achievement offer us his ransom.

This becomes the great. Sorry am I his numbers are so few, His soldiers sick and famish’d in their march; For I am sure, when he shall see our army, He’ll drop his heart into the sink of fear And for achievement offer us his ransom.

This becomes the great. Sorry am I his numbers are so few, H

"He'll drop his heart into the sink of fear" The Constable's confident prediction that Henry will panic at the sight of the French army. The dramatic irony is total — the audience has seen Henry deliver 'Once more unto the breach' and will shortly see him address his soldiers before Agincourt. Henry does not drop his heart into any sink.

Why it matters The Constable's contempt for Henry's reduced army is the dramatic setup for Agincourt. He is not entirely wrong about the facts — Henry's army is sick and depleted. What he is catastrophically wrong about is the conclusion. The scene is building dramatic irony at its most pointed.

🎭 Dramatic irony The Constable's prediction that Henry will 'drop his heart into the sink of fear' and offer ransom is one of the play's most ironic statements. The audience, having watched Henry's 'Once more unto the breach,' already knows this will not happen. The Constable's confident contempt is building toward its own reversal.

FRENCH KING ≋ verse

Therefore, Lord Constable, haste on Montjoy,

And let him say to England that we send

To know what willing ransom he will give.

Prince Dauphin, you shall stay with us in Rouen.

Therefore, Lord Constable, haste on Montjoy, And let him say to England that we send To know what willing ransom he will give. Prince Dauphin, you shall stay with us in Rouen.

Therefore, Lord Constable, haste on Montjoy, And let him say

Why it matters The French King's order to keep the Dauphin in Rouen is the scene's most consequential decision. It means the Dauphin will not be at Agincourt — a fact that haunts him and the other French nobles throughout Act 3-7. His absence from the battle becomes a source of shame that sharpens the satire of the camp scene.

DAUPHIN

Not so, I do beseech your Majesty.

FRENCH KING ≋ verse

Be patient, for you shall remain with us.

Now forth, Lord Constable and princes all,

And quickly bring us word of England’s fall.

Be patient, for you shall remain with us. Now forth, Lord Constable and princes all, And quickly bring us word of England’s fall.

Be patient, for you shall remain with us. Now forth, Lord Co

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

If 3-4 was a comedy scene showing us French private life, 3-5 shows us French political life — and it's not flattering. The French nobility are in a competitive spiral of shame and bluster, each trying to out-express the others' outrage at what the English are doing to their country. The Constable thinks Henry will surrender when he sees the French army. The Dauphin wants to fight and is kept back. Nobody in this scene has a clear-eyed view of what's coming. The dramatic irony is total: we have just watched Henry take Harfleur; we know his army is sick and depleted; and we know Agincourt is coming. The French, strutting and fuming, have no idea.

If this happened today…

The executive team meeting where they've just got bad Q3 numbers and everyone is competing to sound the most urgent and serious about it, while the CEO is quietly keeping the one person who might actually fix things off the response team for political reasons. 'Our vineyards! Our honor! Our women are mocking us!' Meanwhile someone should probably be looking at the logistics spreadsheet.

Continue to 3.6 →