Summary: Act III, scene iii
Captain Fluellen enters with Captain Gower, his fellow
officer and friend. Gower and Fluellen discuss the “mines,” or tunnels,
that the English side has dug in order to get under the walls of
Harfleur (III.iii.4). Fluellen, who is well
informed about the ancient Roman tactics of war, thinks that the
mines are being dug incorrectly. In his characteristically amusing
and very wordy manner, Fluellen expresses his scorn for Captain
MacMorris, the Irish officer in charge of digging the mines, and
his admiration for Captain Jamy, the officer in charge of the Scottish
troops.
Captain MacMorris and Captain Jamy enter, and Fluellen
offers MacMorris some advice about digging the tunnels. The hotheaded MacMorris
takes offense, and they begin to quarrel. But they are all responsible
officers, and there is much work to be done, so after some philosophizing
about the hazards of war and the inevitability of death, all four
head back into the battle.
With a flourish of trumpets, King Henry appears before
the gates of the French town of Harfleur. The town has sounded a
parley—in other words, its inhabitants have asked for a cease-fire
in order to negotiate. The governor of Harfleur stands on the town
walls. King Henry addresses him, advising him to surrender immediately. Henry
declares that if the governor surrenders, the people of the town
will be allowed to live; if he makes the English fight their way inside,
however, the English will destroy the town, rape the women, and
kill the children. The governor replies that although he would rather
not surrender, he has just received word from the Dauphin that no
army can be raised in time to rescue Harfleur. He declares that
he will therefore open the gates. Henry orders Exeter to fortify Harfleur
as a citadel from which the English can fight the French. He says
that he himself will take his forces onward to Calais the next day.
Read a translation of
Act III, scene iii →
Summary: Act III, scene iv
In King Charles’s palace, Charles’s daughter, Catherine,
speaks with her maid, Alice. Catherine speaks no English, and this
scene is spoken almost entirely in French. Alice has spent some
time in England and knows some English, and so Catherine asks Alice
to teach her the language. Catherine seems to suspect, wisely, that
she may soon need to be able to communicate with the king of England.
They begin by learning the names of parts of the body. Catherine
mispronounces them amusingly, but she is eager to learn them anyway—that
is, until the final two words, “foot” and “cown” (gown), which sound
like French obscenities.
Read a translation of
Act III, scene iv →
Summary: Act III, scene v
Elsewhere at the French court, King Charles, the Dauphin,
and his advisors—including the Constable of France and the Duke
of Bourbon—are having an urgent meeting to discuss King Henry’s
swift advance through France. The French exclamations that pepper
their English conversation signify the degree of their distress.
They cannot figure out how the English got to be so courageous,
since they come from such a damp, gloomy climate. They feel their
national honor has been outraged by the British successes, and they
are determined to turn the tables. Worst of all, their wives and
mistresses have started to make fun of them for being beaten by
King Henry’s forces.
King Charles, more sensible and decisive than his followers, orders
all his noblemen to raise troops for the army. He calls on about
twenty noblemen by name, and presumably there are many more. Charles
and his men are confident that with this great number of troops
raised, they can intimidate King Henry, conquer his army, and bring
him back as a defeated prisoner.
