Will Henry V Ever Be Free of Shakespeare's Tyranny?

Henry V is, for the English, one of the best-loved figures of their history and very nearly the champion of screen adaptations, rivalled only by Richard the Lionheart, Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth. But what makes this not especially distinguished, yet so celebrated, ruler so attractive? Talent! And a Shakespearean one at that. It is to Shakespeare that we owe the image of the people's king, so important to English patriotism.

As it happens, the historical drama released in September 2019 by the Australian director David Michôd, with Timothée Chalamet in the title role, once again repeats the Shakespearean reading of the medieval English ruler's biography, complete with its customary clichés and blunders.

On the whole, this plot is hard to spoil, so even those who have not yet watched Netflix's recent release may read with interest about the errors that have lurked in the classic narrative of the last Lancastrians and the war with France.

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Will Henry V Ever Be Free of Shakespeare's Tyranny?

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s