Henry V

Edited, introduced, and annotated by Cedric Watts, M.A., Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of English, University of Sussex.

The Wordsworth Classics' Shakespeare Series, with Henry V as its inaugural volume, presents a newly-edited sequence of William Shakespeare's works. The textual editing strives to incorporate recent scholarship while offering the material a careful reappraisal.

About Henry V

Henry V is the most famous and influential of Shakespeare's history plays. Its powerful patriotic rhetoric has echoed through the ages, finding eloquent expression in Laurence Olivier's renowned film.

• Henry himself:
  • Astute and charismatic
  • Led his ‘band of brothers’ to victory in the Battle of Agincourt
  • Could indeed seem to be ‘this star of England’

Shakespeare's Mastery

Henry V showcases Shakespeare's renowned ability to bring new complexity to the material he adapted. This ensures that:

• Different eras can find within his work both the familiar and the strange
• The play offers a mix of the congenial and the harsh, the sustaining and the challenging