The play was first performed in London in 1599 and is the last of the trilogy 'Richard II' and 'Henry IV'. Shakespeare drew information from Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland and composed this work—a hymn to the abilities of Henry V, who, with his famous victory at Agincourt, crushed feudal France and created a united England, a strong and liberal state.

It is a dramatic, historical epic that presents the monarchy in England freed from the dark practices of the Middle Ages. Here we clearly see the course and evolution of social life and state power from the feudal regime to modern forms of political and governmental authority.

[Excerpt from the publisher's or edition's presentation text]