Jerry Brotton offers expert insights into what the playwright’s much-quoted history play tells about nationalism and nationhood at the time it was first performed

By Matt Elton

Published: Thursday, 16 November 2023 at 07:54 AM


Telling the story of the build-up to and aftermath of the 1415 battle of Agincourt, William Shakespeare’s Henry V has sometimes been linked to the nationalistic glorification of war. Yet, as Jerry Brotton reveals, the play also contains more nuanced and complex views of nationhood.