Henry V Act 3, Scene 5 Summary

Read the full text of Henry V Act 3 Scene 5 with a side-by-side translation HERE.


  • Meanwhile, King Charles, the Constable, and the Dauphin discuss the fact that Henry is marching through France unchecked.
  • The Constable worries that they'll have to hand over their French vineyards to the "barbarous" English.
  • Bourbon calls the English a bunch of "bastard Normans" and the Dauphin declares that the English are nothing but "a few sprays of us." (This is a crude way of saying that the English nobility are offshoots of the French, because their ancestors are the Normans, who invaded England back in 1066.)
  • The Dauphin claims that some of the French people (especially women) are rooting for the English. He worries that their women will "give their bodies to the lust of the English youth." (Hmm. It sounds like someone isn't too happy about the fact that his sister will likely be married off to Henry V.)
  • King Charles orders the troops to pummel the English and take Henry prisoner.
  • Meanwhile, Henry's soldiers are lagging – the English troops are exhausted and sick, so the French think it's likely that they'll soon back down.