The Chorus opens Act IV by painting a vivid picture of the night before the Battle of Agincourt. He describes the two opposing camps—the confident French forces and the outnumbered, weary English army—as they prepare for the coming battle. The Chorus depicts the French as boastful and certain of victory, already gambling for English prisoners they expect to capture, while the exhausted English soldiers sit quietly by their fires, contemplating their likely doom. The night is filled with the sounds of both armies: the neighing of horses, the clanking of armor being prepared, and the cocks crowing to herald the approaching dawn.

The Chorus then focuses on King Henry, who moves through the English camp in the darkness, visiting his soldiers tent by tent. Henry greets each man with a cheerful demeanor, calling them brothers and friends, offering words of encouragement despite their desperate situation. The Chorus describes how the King’s presence and noble bearing lift the spirits of his frightened men, giving them comfort and courage as they face overwhelming odds. The Chorus apologizes for the theater’s inability to properly represent the scale of the battle to come, and invites the audience to use their imagination to fill in what the stage cannot show, before the action of Act IV begins.

Henry V follows the young English king as he transforms from the wayward Prince Hal into a decisive military leader. The play opens with Henry’s court debating his claim to the French throne through his great-great-grandmother’s lineage. When the French Dauphin mockingly sends Henry tennis balls as a gift, suggesting he should stick to games rather than warfare, Henry uses this insult as justification to invade France. He sentences three conspirators - Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey - to death for plotting against his life, then sets sail for France with his army.

The English forces land in France and lay siege to Harfleur, which Henry captures after his famous “Once more unto the breach” speech. However, his army is weakened by disease and casualties. Meanwhile, we follow the tavern companions from Henry’s youth - Pistol, Nym, Bardolph, and Hostess Quickly, who reports the death of Falstaff. The English army, vastly outnumbered, faces the French at Agincourt. On the eve of battle, Henry disguises himself and walks among his soldiers to gauge their morale, engaging in philosophical discussions about kingship and responsibility.

The Battle of Agincourt proves to be a decisive English victory despite overwhelming French numerical superiority. Henry orders the killing of French prisoners when he believes the French are regrouping, and becomes enraged when he discovers French forces have killed the English boys guarding the baggage train. The English suffer minimal casualties while French losses are enormous. The play concludes with Henry’s courtship of Princess Katherine of France, conducted partly in broken French and English. Their marriage seals the Treaty of Troyes, which names Henry as heir to the French throne, though the Chorus epilogue reminds the audience that Henry’s son would later lose these French territories.