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Act 1, Scene 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Henry V, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Kingship
Warfare
England
Appearances
Language
Summary
Analysis
The Chorus enters and recounts the current state of affairs: all England’s youth are excited to go to war. France, fearful of England’s attack, has found three corrupt Englishmen (Lord Scroop of Masham, Earl of Cambridge, and Sir Thomas Grey) to take French money in exchange for murdering Henry V before he leaves England. The Chorus asks for the audience’s patience as the play’s “abuse of distance” transports the play, now, to Southampton and soon to France and back again.
Once again, the Chorus apologizes for the play’s insufficiencies, specifically for failing to observe “unity of place”—a classical belief that all dramatic action in a play should occur in the same physical location.
Themes
Literary Devices
