This collection of essays seeks to explore the many new and cutting-edge directions surrounding the scholarship of Henry V, especially related to global, transnational, and other approaches that connect the play to wider contexts than those in which it has been traditionally read. Henry V is a play that has long been read in terms of internal self-fashioning: both England’s and Henry’s own. What happens to the play as we look outwards from it towards the wider world, both early modern and contemporary, with which it engages? This collection looks to explore how we read Henry V now, both as an artifact of the past and as a living work still available for adaptation, interpretation, and re-use. What do we make of the play’s framing of Henry’s invasion of France and its aftermaths? How do we respond to the national, multi-national, and imperial themes in the play? Where do we see the play interacting with other texts, from Shakespeare’s own work and other early modern drama to any number of other potential sources and contexts? How do we understand Henry, Katherine, and their marriage at the end of the play? How do we perform and adapt the play, or how have others done so over the years? All critical approaches are encouraged. Approaches that might be particularly appropriate include:

Nationalism, imperialism, and cartography

Language, culture, and racial/ethnic issues in Henry V

Gender and sexuality, especially in relation to the play’s depiction of the French and of homosocial relationships

Marriage, especially dynastic marriage

Performance, both contemporary and early modern

Adaptation and appropriation: into various media and across cultures

Pedagogical approaches to Henry V in the secondary or post-secondary classroom

Religion and religiosity

The Green World and eco-criticism

Please submit a 250 word abstract by May 1, 2025 to W. Reginald Rampone, Jr. at wrampone@scsu.edu and to Philip Goldfarb Styrt at goldfarbstyrtphilip@sau.edu