*

NOTES ΤΟ

KING HENRY V.

*This play was writ (as appears from a passage in the chorus to the fifth Act) at the time of the Earl of Essex's commanding the forces in Ireland in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and not till after Henry the Sixth had been played, as may be seen by the conclusion of this play. POPE. The transactions comprised in this historical play commence about the latter end of the first, and terminate in the eigth year of this King's reign when he married Katharine Princess of France, and closed up the differences betwixt England and that crown. THEOBALD.

This play, in the quarto edition, 1608, is styled The Chronicle History of Henry, &c. which seems to have been the title anciently appropriat→ ed to all Shakspeare's historical dramas. So, in The Antipodes, a comedy, by R. Brome, 1638: "These lads can act the Emperors' lives all

over,

"And Shakspeare's Chronicled Histories to boot."

The players likewise in the folio edition, 1623, rank these pieces under the title of Histories.

It is evident, that a play on this subject had been performed before the year 1592. Ñash, in

Pierce Penniless his Supplication to the Devil, dated 1592, says: what a glorious thing it is to have Henry the Fift represented on the stage, leading the French King prisoner, and forcing both him and the Dolphin to sweare fealte." STEEVENS.

The piece to which Nash alludes, is the old anonymous play of King Henry V. which had been exhibited before the year 1589, Tarlton, the comedian, who performed in it both the parts of the Chief Justice and the Clown, having died in that year. It was entered on the Stationers' books in 1594, and, I believe, printed in that year, though I have not met with a copy of that date. An edition of it printed in 1598, was in the valuable collection of Dr. Wright.

The play before us appears to have been written in the middle of the year 1599. See An Attempt to ascertain the Order of Shakspeare's Plays.

The old King Henry V. may be found among Six old Plays on which Shakspeare founded, &c. printed for S. Leacroft, 1778. MALONE.

Page 3, line 2.3. O, for a muse of fire, that

would ascend

The brightest heaven of invention!] This goes upon the notion of the Peripatetic system, which imagines several heavens one above another; the last and highest of which was on fire. WARBURTON.

It alludes likewise to the aspiring nature of fire, which, by its levity, at the separation of the chaos, took the highest seat of all the elements. JOHNSON.

P. 3, 1. 4. 5.

Princes to act,

And Monarchs to behold &c.] Shakspeare does not seem to set distance enough between the performers and spectators. JOHNSON, this wooden 0,]

P. 3, 1. 16. Nothing shows more evidently the power of custom over language, than that the frequent use of calling circle an O could so much hide the meanhess of the metaphor from Shakspeare, that he has used it many times where he makes his most eager attempts at dignity of style. JOHNSON.

Johnson's criticism on Shakspeare's calling a circle an O, is rather injudiciously introduced in this place, where it was evidently the poet's intention to represent the circle in which they acted in as contemptible a light as he could.

M. MASON. An allusion to the theatre where this history was exhibited, being, from its circular form, called the globe.

I know not whether Shakspeare calls the Globe playhouse a cock-pit, from its being a round building; or else from it's serving that purpose also: the latter appears probable, from his styling the floor an unworthy scaffold, which suggest the idea of its being temporary, and that the edifice answered both turns, by means of a slight alteration. HENLEY,

This theatre, like all our ancient ones, was denominated from its sign, viz. The Globe, and not from its shape. Had playhouses been named with reference to their form of construction, what fort of building could have corresponded with the title of a Red Bull, a Curtain, a Fortune, Cross Keys, a Phoenix, &c.?

Shakspeare, meaning to degrade the stage he

was describing, may call it a cock-pit, because a cock-pit was the most diminutive enclosure present to his mind; or, perhaps, because there was a playhouse called The Cock-pit, at which King Henry V. might first have been acted. N. B. From Mr. Henley's own drawing of the Globe, the outside of it, at least, appears to have been octagonal. STEEVENS, i. e

P. 3, 1. 16.

casques,

helmets.

JOHNSON

The very casques, does not mean the identical casques, but the casques only, the casques alone. M. MASON.

The very casques, are even the casques or helmets; much less the men by whom they were worn. MALONE.

P. 3, 1. 21. Imaginary for imaginative, or your powers of fancy. Active and passive words are by this author frequently confounded.

JOHNSON

P. 3, 1. 25. Perilous narrow in burlesque and common language, meant no more than very In old books this mode of expression occurs perpetually. A perilous broad brim to a hat, a perilous long sword, &c. STEEVENS.

narrow.

The present reading is right, but there should be a comma between the words perilous and narrow, as it was by no means Shakspeare's intention to join them together, and to make a burlesque phrase of them, such as Steevens descri→ bes. The perilousness of the ocean to be passed by the army, before the meeting of the Kings, adds to the grandeur and interest of the scene; and it is well known that narrow seas are the most perilous. So the Chorus in the next act insinuates that it was necessary; ›

"

To charm the narrow seas "To give them gentle pass. And in The Merchant of Venice, the narrow seas are made the scene of shipwrecks, where Salarino says, "Antonio hath a ship of rich lading wrecked on the narrow seas; the Goodwins I think they call the place; a very dangerous flat, and fatal, " &c. M. MASON.

P. 3, last but one 1. Into a thousand parts divide one man,]The meaning of this is, Suppose every man to represent a thousand; but it is very ill expressed. M. MASON.

P. 3, last 1. And make imaginary puissance:] This shows that Shakspeare was fully sensible of the absurdity of showing battles on the theatre, which indeed is never done but tragedy becomes farce. Nothing can be represented to the eye, but by something like it, and within a wooden O nothing very like a battle can be exhibited. JOHNSON.

P. 4, 1, 4—6. For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our Kings, Carry them here and there ;] We may read King for Kings. The prologue relates only to this single play. The mistake was made by referring them to Kings, which belongs to thoughts. The sense is, your thoughts must give the King his proper greatness; carry therefore your thoughts here and there, jumping over time, and crouding years into an hour.

JOHNSON. I am not sure that Dr. Johnson's observation is just. In this play, the King of France as well as England makes his appearance; and the sense may be this: It must be to your imagi