The audience is offered no information as to what Catherine herself wants, or whom she would like to marry.
Henry's tactics as far as Catherine are very interesting. Although he knows that she cannot refuse marriage, Henry gives the impression that he wants Catherine to want to marry him. In reality, what she wants is completely irrelevant because the King of France, her father, is willing to use her is order to ensure the position of his kingdom. In this sense the audience might have some difficulties in understanding the reasons behind Henry's words. He addresses his future wife seeking her consent despite the fact that the latter is neither needed, nor required by anyone. However, it appears that Henry wants to reassure Catherine that he will take on the role of husband with the same commitment and courage with which he has assumed the role of king of England.
Act V and the epilogue transform the play into somewhat of a comedy. Language, but also the actual events contribute to this change in the sense that the play ends with the promise of a marriage between Henry and Catherine, and most of Shakespeare's comedies have the same ending. The union of Henry and Catherine is, similarly to that of England and France, soon destroyed: "Henry the Sixth, in infant bands crown'd King / Of France and England, did this king succeed; / Whose state so many had the managing, / That they lost France and made his...
Moreover, Shakespeare ends his play by creating a fictional outcome which is never fully realized in reality, namely a fake peace between the kingdoms.
The chorus enters at the beginning of the epilogue, and tells the audience that King Henry conquered France, and passed it on to his son, Henry VI. However, Henry VI was an infant king, so the kingdom was managed to a great extent by lords. These lords were extremely unsuccessful in managing the kingdom; they were unable to hold on to France, or to avoid civil war in England. The play ends on a dark note, with the chorus asking the audience to judge what they have heard on stage: "Which oft our stage hath shown; and, for their sake, / In your fair minds let this acceptance take." In many ways, the ending of the play is the most realistic and historically accurate depiction of what truly happened. The heir of King Henry V managed to lose France, as well as the control over England; moreover, Henry V's reign was far from exceptional whereas Shakespeare builds an immaculate moral profile for Henry V. The epilogue invites the audience to evaluate what was shown on stage, and to draw their own conclusions.
Shakespeare, William. (2003). Henry V. Courier Dover Publications.
