The play is set in various locations in England and France during the early 15th century. The opening scene is set in the royal palace in London, where King Henry V receives an insulting gift of tennis balls from the Dauphin of France, prompting him to declare war. The action then moves through various locations in London, from the halls of royal power to dingy public taverns, taking the audience on a journey through the various classes of medieval England. In Acts III, IV, and V, the play follows Henry’s army to France; major settings in France include the coastal town Harfleur, the battlefield at Agincourt, and the French court in Rouen. In the play’s finale, Henry returns triumphantly to England after his surprising defeat of the French army.
These settings provide a backdrop for the Hundred Years' War and the fierce political and military tensions between England and France during that century. Writing almost two centuries after the historical events depicted in the play, Shakespeare uses the Hundred Years’ War to reflect upon European politics of his own time. Audiences in Shakespeare’s day would have heard echoes of England’s ongoing conflict with Spain, now known to historians as the Anglo-Spanish War, when King Henry speaks of the importance of defending England from its rivals on the European continent. As in his other history plays, Shakespeare looks to the past in order to better understand his own present.
