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Teaching Henry V

The best V since Johnny Five.

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 220

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Though written about the early 1400s, audiences have found the historical play Henry V disturbingly relevant for hundreds of years. Shakespeare's play has given rise to endless debates about the parallels between Henry V's military campaign and modern warfare. And when it comes down to it, Henry V is also the ultimate (maybe even the original) underdog war story.

And who doesn't love an underdog story?

In this guide, you'll find

  • an exploration of the different ways people and companies try to use persuasion techniques in the modern day, compared to Henry V's key speech in Act IV.
  • a look at how Henry just might be a classic underdog.
  • an analysis of the key theme of war in the play, and how that theme is more relevant today than ever.

Our guide to Henry V should get your high schoolers hankering for more Hank.

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Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students.
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching Henry V?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: Who doesn't love a good underdog story? Come on—it's the American dream. The guy/girl is cast out/beaten down by society, faces an "invincible" adversary, pulls off the upset, and is victorious in the battle/fight/game and ends up winning in life. Good stuff!

Henry V is a great underdog story. This play has all the classic components of a compelling "against the odds" story. Students will explore the story looking for quotes and examples of how Shakespeare takes a partying prince and transforms him into a unlikely victorious leader. They'll then compare Henry V to a classic underdog story.

This lesson will take about 90 minutes, plus time for homework.

Materials Needed: Text of Henry V

Step 1: Begin by discussing the idea of underdogs. Allow for about five minutes for discussion and consider using the following questions to get the conversation rolling:

  1. When I refer to a story as an underdog story, what does that mean? (The hero wins a battle against all odds.)
  2. Why do you think people love underdog stories? What is it about an underdog story that resonates with everyone? (While it is fun to see the unlikely hero win against all odds, in a way it is psychologically motivating for all of us: it instills a glimmer of hope that we, too, can possibly "win" when logic and conventional wisdom indicates we will not.)
  3. What are some famous Underdog/Against All Odds stories that you're familiar with? (There are tons of movies and stories that they can site. David and Goliath is the classic; Malala Yousaf Zai is a more contemporary and real-life example. US hockey team against the Russians at the 1980 Olympics—though a bit before the students' time, the story is well chronicled.)

Step 2: Tell your students: Let's create a list of characteristics of underdog stories. First, partner up with your neighbor and think of ten qualities/characteristics of someone fighting against all odds to win. You have five minutes to come up with your list. We'll share some of them with the class.

Below is a partial list of ideas the students should generate:

  1. Hero is ordinary or even disadvantaged.
  2. Group or society tends to be against the hero and doesn't believe in his/her ability.
  3. Hero must face a seemingly impossible task.
  4. Opponent is cast as the "bad guy."
  5. The task is paramount and relative to the situation (win the game, save the country, not get killed, etc.).
  6. The underdog wins the task.
  7. The underdog usually "wins" in life.

Step 3: Spend about 15 minutes gathering thoughts and listing underdog story characteristics. Write these on the board as the class will need to refer back to them throughout the exercise.

Step 4: Let's dive into the text and see how Henry V fits the mold of an underdog story. You may begin with a quick introduction prior to the exercise.

Here's a suggestion: "We're going to take a look at how Henry V fits the typical underdog story. But before we do that, why would Shakespeare choose to present one of the greatest kings in British history as an underdog?"

Some possible answers:

  • The play is being presented to a British audience and is about one of the most glorious monarchs. Not only does it promote a bit of flag waving and pride, but it can be very motivating to think of a king who everyone thought of as weak actually turning out to be one of the most fearless and successful leaders ever.
  • Henry V in his younger days was the quintessential (another good SAT word) partying prince. People rightfully questioned his ability. He needed to prove his worth.

Divide the class into five groups and assign each group one of the acts. Using the list of characteristics that the class came up with, they should find examples/quotes that support the underdog theme. Depending on class size, you may suggest that each group further divides their assigned act into scenes. They should consider not just what the king says and does but also others' assessments of him and the situation. Give the class no more than 30 minutes to work on this.

If you need to provide an example:

  • Act I, Scene II (ll. 245b–257)—The French nobility mock Henry V. The emissary from France references the king's early days and tells him that he can't win a war by dancing like a fool. The dauphin (the son of the king and the heir apparent) sends "treasure" to Henry in the form of tennis balls, implying that he should go back to playing games and let real leaders rule the country. Oh, snap.
  • How this supports the underdog theme:
    • Hero is ordinary or even disadvantaged—because of his past behavior, he is perceived as an incapable leader.
    • Group or society tends to be against the hero and doesn't believe in his/her ability—the French do not take him seriously and insult him.

Step 5: Review the different examples that the class found in the text. Like in the example you provided to the class, the students should refer to the scene and the line numbers, as well as explain how it supports the "beating the odds" theme.

Step 6: Conclude the activity with a compare/contrast essay that students will complete outside of class. Here's the prompt:

Most people love a good underdog story. Choose a contemporary underdog movie and compare/contrast it to Henry V. How are their plot structures similar? What are there major difference between the two?

This assignment is a formal essay and should adhere to these guidelines:

  • It should contain a formal introduction and conclusion.
  • It should consist of 900 to 1100 words.
  • It should contain at least three specific quotes and examples from both the movie and the play.

If they need some help with the comparison/contrast essay, tell 'em to Shmoop it up by consulting these pages.

Some classic underdog movies (consider the age of the class and edit accordingly): Rocky, Miracle, The Fighter, Braveheart, Remember the Titans, Slumdog Millionaire, Cool Runnings, Hoosiers, Hunger Games.

Instructions for Your Students

Who doesn't love a good underdog story? Come on—it's the American dream. The guy/girl is cast out/beaten down by society, faces an "invincible" adversary, pulls off the upset, and is victorious in the battle/fight/game and ends up winning in life. Good stuff!

Henry V is a great underdog story. This play contains the classic components of a compelling "against the odds" story. In this assignment, you'll explore the story looking for quotes and examples of how Shakespeare takes a partying prince and transforms him into an unlikely victorious leader. You'll then compare Henry V to a classic underdog story.

Step 1: Chop it up a bit with the entire class. Here are a few questions to chew on:

  • What is meant by an "underdog story"?
  • Why do you think people love underdog stories? What is it about an underdog story that resonates with everyone?
  • What are some famous Underdog/Against All Odds stories that you're familiar with?

Step 2: Partner up with your neighbor and think of ten qualities/characteristics of someone fighting against all odds to win. You've got five minutes to come up with your list, which you'll share with the class.

Step 3: As a class, you'll combine the different ideas from all the groups and make a list of characteristics that define "an underdog story." Note these ideas because you'll need to use them again later on (hint, hint!).

Step 4: You're going to dive into the text and see how Henry V fits the mold of an underdog story. But before doing that, think about this for a minute: Why would Shakespeare choose to present one of the greatest kings in British history as an underdog?

Your teacher will divide the class into five groups, with each group focusing on one only one act. Using the list of characteristics that the class came up with, find examples/quotes that support the underdog theme in your assigned act. Be sure to consider not just what the king says and does but also others' assessments of him and the situation. You get about 30 minutes.

Need an example? We got you covered:

  • Act I, Scene II (ll. 245b–257)—The French nobility mock Henry V. The emissary from France references the king's early days and tells him that he can't win a war by dancing like a fool. The dauphin (the son of the king and the heir apparent) sends "treasure" to Henry in the form of tennis balls, implying that he should go back to playing games and let real leaders rule the country. (Oh, SMACK!)
  • How this supports the underdog theme:
    • Hero is ordinary or even disadvantaged—because of his past behavior, he is perceived as an incapable leader.
    • Group or society tends to be against the hero and doesn't believe in his/her ability—the French do not take him seriously and insult him.

Step 5: Now you'll bring it all together and review the different examples that the class found throughout the five acts.

Step 6: Next comes the part you've been waiting for—some homework!

Most people love a good underdog story. Choose a contemporary underdog movie and compare/contrast it to Henry V. How are their plot structures similar? What are the major difference between the two?

This assignment is a formal essay and should adhere to these guidelines:

  • It should contain a formal introduction and conclusion.
  • It should consist of 900 to 1100 words.
  • It should contain at least three specific quotes and examples from both the movie and the play.

If you need some help with the comparison/contrast essay, Shmoop it up by consulting these pages.

Some classic underdog movies: Rocky, Miracle, The Fighter, Braveheart, Remember the Titans, Slumdog Millionaire, Cool Runnings, Hoosiers, Hunger Games.