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In Henry V, William Shakespeare attempts to tell the history of King Henry V and his invasion of France as an inspirational and patriotic story in order to both please his English audiences and to inspire them to patriotism in their own day. It is believed to have been written during, and in response to, an Irish uprising against the English crown, known as Tyrone's Rebellion. As such, the play tells of the English victories at Harfleur and Agincourt during the Hundred Year's War, when Henry V was fighting to establish his claim to the French throne. The most famous scene shows the young king addressing his forces on the morning of the battle of Agincourt, bolstering their spirits and encouraging them to fight and fight well, despite the fact that his army is terribly outnumbered. Because he speaks to them not only as their king, but as a fellow soldier he establishes a camaraderie with them. This, coupled with his use of religious words and allusion to the Saints' day upon which this battle is to be fought, establishes his ethos with his men, and persuades them to fight honorably and valiantly for him.

The scene opens with a few of Henry's noble generals discussing the prospects for battle. The Duke of Exeter reports that, "There's five to one, besides they are all fresh" (Line 3) and we see the fearful odds" (line 4) that Henry's army is to face. Against such odds, and in such conditions as Henry's army finds itself, namely that they are tired and worn from marching across France, while their enemy sits warm and well-fed within the walls of Agincourt, it is only natural that the English soldiers begin to complain and fear for their lives. Coupled with this is the fact that the day of battle is known as St. Crispin's Day, and is a holiday in England, a day on which no work is done. This leads the Earl of Westmoreland to wish, "O that we now had here but one ten thousand of those men in England who do no work today!" (Lines 16-18), which is the catalyst for Henry's speech.
Henry must first establish an ethos with his audience. He must give his men a reason to listen to him and to trust what he tells them; being their king is not enough, he must establish a more personal relationship with them. And he accomplishes this through a repeated use of the first person plural pronoun we', and by referring to them as his brothers. "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother" (Lines 60-62), he declares, making

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