What was William Shakespeare's view of King Henry V of England and was his portrayal of King Henry V accurate?Introduction:King Henry V is arguably one of England's best-known English monarchs. the history of the country, but this knowledge often comes from a single source, the works of William Shakespeare, namely King Henry IV (part 1 and part 2) or the more famous King Henry V. Public knowledge of King Henry With V often coming from this source alone, it is important to examine Shakespeare's perspective and the social and political climate in which he worked. William Shakespeare depicted King Henry V as a hero, but the accuracy of this perspective may be questioned, due to accounts of war crimes committed by the king during his campaigns in France. This investigation will examine the actual historical facts that can be established about King Henry V, the climate in which Shakespeare wrote, the differences between his depiction and that of modern historians and also of course the actual details of his depiction of King Henry V. However, where would any debate about the accuracy of a literary representation be without the historical facts, free from the trappings of flavored language. The context of any historical figure is very important in understanding any subsequent literary recreation of it, for example the facts may be changed. to make the reader or viewer more sympathetic to a character, or conversely, they can become more hostile through manipulation of the facts. King Henry V was born on August 9, 1387 at Monmouth Castle, located in what is now Wales. , near the English border. His parents, King Henry IV (formerly Henry of Bolingbroke) and Marie de Bohun were...... middle of paper...... a little over a year, King Henry V returned to France and , at the beginning of 1419, had taken Rouen, with the city's 70,000 inhabitants surrendering to the forces of King Henry. In 1420, King Henry V had met with King Charles VI and together they negotiated that upon Charles' death, Henry would become King of France. This treaty was further solidified by Henry's marriage to King Charles VI's daughter, Catherine of Valois. While consolidating his position by attacking the Dauphin-held town of Meaux, King Henry V fell ill and, after attempting to recover, died, possibly of dysentery, at the Bois de Vincennes on August 31, 1422. at the age of 35. King Henry V was succeeded by his son King Henry VI, who, upon the death of King Charles VI, became King of France a few months later, although this actually only concerned northern France, due to the resistance of the Dauphin in the south..