Act I

This play, the first of a tetralogy which includes the three parts of Henry the Sixth and Richard HI, opens with the funeral of Henry V. The English nobles bemoan the death of the king, squabble among themselves, and discuss the fate of the English cause in France. A series of messengers enter and announce that most of France has been lost and Lord Talbot, England's great champion, has been captured by the French. The English nobles vow to fight and defeat the French in order to regain that country for the young king, Henry VI. The scene switches to the city of Orleance, where the French have been driven back by the English. Joan de Pucelle (Joan of Arc) rallies the dispirited French and promises that she will raise the siege. Back in London, the duke of Gloucester's and the bishop of Winchester's men fight...