Upon opening their expensive new book in 1623, buyers of the folio collection of William Shakespeare’s plays were promised The Life of Henry the Fift. What they went on to read, however, was not a full “life” in the modern biographical sense. The battle of Agincourt is not an addendum, but the play’s main event; every scene leads up to or follows directly from the climax of England’s most one-sided and famous victory. The play’s ambiguous portrayal of war has spurred critical debate for centuries, and its performances have reflected shifting political and cultural views