Information provided about the play
William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 ( a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed
It is believed that the play was first performed between 1598 and 1599. In the Elizabethan era 
there was a huge demand for new entertainment and Henry V would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date first printed
It is believed that the script was first printed in 1600. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

Theme of Henry V
The play is categorised as a History

Number of words
The number of words in the script, according to the Complete Public Domain Text is 27,684.

Most important characters
The most important characters are:
Henry V, King of England introduced as Prince Hal and Katherine

Famous Quotes / Quotations
The quotes from Henry V are amongst Shakespeare's most famous including 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends' and 'Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'. Details of these famous quotes follow, complete with information regarding the Act and the Scene, allowing a quick reference to the section of the play that these quotations can be found in. Please click here for the full text of the script of the play.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers . . ." (Act IV, Scene III)

"This star of England: fortune made his sword . . ." Chorus (Epilogue)

"Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ " (Act III, Scene I)

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more / Or close the wall up with our English dead!" (Act III, Scene I)

History
Henry V was based on real people and events taken from English history. The characters are from the royal Houses of Lancaster and York.
House of Lancaster
Henry IV ("Bolingbroke," son of the Duke of Lancaster), 1399-1413. 
Henry V (son of Henry IV), 1413-1422.
Henry VI (son of Henry V, deposed), 1422-1471. 
House of York:
Edward IV (son of duke of York), 1461-1483.
Edward V (son of Edward IV), 1483.
Richard III ("Crookback," brother of Edward IV) 1483-1485. 

We recommend the following link to access facts, information, a biography and timeline of
King Henry V