Once More Unto the Breach… Thoughts of a Superfan
With Henry V as our Classic of the Month for September, the question quickly arose: what does Shakespeare’s 1599 history play have to say to us in 2025? It’s a text that has been pored over for centuries, analysed in classrooms, staged in countless productions. What could possibly be left?
That was when I turned to my friend Rebecca Sheidler. Tennessean, ardent Bookishly supporter, and anglophile’s anglophile, Rebecca knows more about Dickens and Doctor Who than most of us could dream of - and is no slouch when it comes to Shakespeare either. So I asked: what’s still worth saying about Henry V?
Rebecca's reply wasn’t about discovering new interpretations, but about returning to what we need to be reminded of, again and again.
First, the play asks us to look sideways, not upwards. Whether you’re a king rallying your army or a soldier warming yourself by the fire, what matters is the person next to you — your brother in arms. Mutual trust and support get us through “the thing,” whatever that thing might be. History may only remember the leaders, but survival and meaning come from holding each other up.
Second, life isn’t all solemn responsibility. For much of it, you might be “the guy in the bar with Falstaff,” cutting up and laughing. But eventually the time comes to step up, to shift perspective, to shoulder responsibility so others can have their turn at frivolity. Henry V dramatises that moment of transition, and it still resonates.
Finally, Shakespeare reminds us that collective action isn’t automatically noble. Even when united and righteous, groups can cause harm. One cause’s “good of the many” may be devastating for others. The play nudges us toward accountability: to weigh the costs of our choices, to resist the temptation of entitlement that says our justification is enough.
These aren’t new insights, but they’re ones we keep needing. That’s why Henry V endures - it pulls us back to questions of brotherhood, responsibility, and accountability, precisely when we most need reminding.
Want to give it a read? You can grab September's box here.
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