Part I was written in 1597. This history play had begun to
appear on the London stage around a decade before. The play gained
such an enormous popularity, that Shakespeare produced a sequel to it
- Henry IV - Part II . These two plays were very much amusing to the
public, having many of the same characters, and are therefore usually
discussed together by the critics.
Shakespeare mainly tried basing most of his characters on real people,
and later adapting them to their role. This happened with Falstaff
himself, but it is said that Falstaff is "the child of Shakespeare's
creative imagination, and, like most children of most fathers, must
have given Shakespeare considerable trouble and great joy."(1)
Falstaff is a character based on a real person, who goes by the name
of Sir John Oldcastle, and this can also be concluded from scene ii of
Act I, when Henry, Prince of Wales, who is the King's son puns:
"As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of the castle;" (A.I.ii.41) (2)
Sir John Oldcastle's wife's descendant, William, Lord Cobham, who was
Lord Chamberlain of England, was putting pressure on Shakespeare,
telling him to change the name, as it was seemed to be offensive to
his family. One book states the following:
"In the epilogue to Part II of Henry IV, Shakespeare underlines the
alteration by denying any connection between Oldcastle and Falstaff -
For Oldcastle died a martyr, and this is not the man.
So Oldcastle became Falstaff, by what exact process we do not know."
(3)
The Queen herself was very fond of Falstaff, and requested from
Shakespeare that he writes another play set around this, and other
comic charatcters from Henry IV, and adjust them to a contemporary
late-Elizabethan setting. She wished him to show Falstaff in love, and
this resulted in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Even though Henry, Prince of Wales, the King's son, who throughout the
play is referred to as Hal, is the hero of this history play, Sir John
Passage Analysis - Act 5 Scene 1, lines 115-138. Shakespeare’s ‘King Henry IV Part I’ centres on a core theme: the conflict between order and disorder. Such conflict is brought to light by the use of many vehicles, including Hal’s inner conflict, the country’s political and social conflict, the conflict between the court world and the tavern world, and the conflicting moral values of characters from each of these worlds. This juxtaposition of certain values exists on many levels, and so is both a strikingly present and an underlying theme throughout the play.
rebellion within the tavern setting as he becomes an adult with the political prowess to
truth as possible he also had to make sure that he did not upset the
The father and son relationship is one of the most important aspects through the youth of a young man. In Shakespeare’s play Henry IV, he portrays the concept of having "two fathers". King Henry is Hal’s natural father, and Falstaff is Hal’s moral father. Hal must weigh the pros and cons of each father to decide which model he will emulate. Falstaff, who is actually Hal’s close friend, attempts to pull Hal into the life of crime, but he refuses.
then when your next in line for the throne, to bare the weight of a
Shakespeare, William. Henry IV: part two. Ed. P. H. Davison, New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
In I Henry IV and II Henry IV, William Shakespeare brings together drama and comedy to create two of the most compelling history plays ever written. Many of Shakespeare's other works are nearly absolute in their adherence to either the comic or tragic traditions, but in the two Henry IV plays Shakespeare combines comedy and drama in ways that seem to bring a certain realism to his characters, and thus the plays. The present essay is an examination of the various and significant effects that Shakespeare's comedic scenes have on I Henry IV and II Henry IV. The Diversity of Society
In order for one to keep their political status and please their country, there are some qualities, traits and skills required. For some, political skills may be a natural or intuitive trait. For others, it feels uncomfortable and takes excessive effort. In either case, political skills must be practiced and honed in order to recap its benefits. For instance, one may naturally possess skills such as listening to others, communicating and commitment. On the other hand, one may not possess those skills and it may require excessive effort to possess those skills. Prince Hal realizes that he must learn to possess these characteristics if he wants to be a successful king. Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare deals with the struggle of King Henry IV to maintain his control of the English throne which he usurped from Richard II. The play deals with the conflict between King Henry IV and his son, Prince Harry, and their tense relationship. King Henry is the ruling king of England. He is worn down by worries and guilty feelings about having won his throne through a civil war. Hal, the Prince of Wales who demonstrates his ability to manipulate others to complete his selfish goals. Hal is an effective leader because unlike his father, his mastery of language shows that he will be a virtuous ruler, able to understand lower and upper class and manipulate them to believe his words.
William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, tells the story of too unfortunate lovers caught up in their family’s hatred which in the end leads to the tragic deaths of both lovers. Classical Greek tragedy influenced Renaissance writers greatly Shakespeare was no exception. According to the dictionary, fate is ‘the supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines event.’ Which means that it is out of our hands.
issue of war and while on the surface it puts England and Henry in a
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
One of the most famous scenes in Henry IV: Part I is the scene in which Prince Hal and Falstaff put on a play extempore. This is often cited as the most famous scene because it is Hal’s turning point in the play. However, the scene is much more than that. The play extempore is a moment of prophecy, not epiphany because is cues the reader in to the play’s major themes, and allows readers to explore the possibilities of the play’s continuance.
The famed saying goes, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". While this is true, an unwavering belief in the impenetrability of that power can be just as corruptive. In William Shakespeare's Richard II, the plays titular character faces exactly this dilemma. Believing his claim to the throne to be ironclad and divinely mandated, Richard finds himself at odds when he returns from war to find he has lost his power over England.
There is no more exalted ranking than the above. Richard A. Lanham in the essay “Superposed Plays” maintains that no other English tragedy has generated the literary comment which this play has produced: “Hamlet is one of the great tragedies. It has generated more comment than any other written document in English literature, one would guess, reverent, serious comment on it as a serious play” (91).
In Shakespeare's Henry IV, the complex Prince Harry is known for being a wastrel. He hangs around crimminals, highwaymen, and prostitutes. However, he is the son of the honorable King Henry IV. Harry holds the title of Prince of Wales, but his friends call him Prince Hal. During the course of the play, he uses his intelligance to continue is acting out so that when the time is right, and he is to become king, he will transform to appear as a noble and ambitious person and win over his subjects hearts. Prince Harry's main role in the play is to help unite to two plotlines that are the serious life of King Henry and Hotspurs and the comical life of Falstaff and the Boar's Head Tavern.