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A Study Guide |
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Plot Summary By Michael J. Cummings...© 2003 ... .......As the play opens, Henry is at his palace in London. Now consumed by guilt for causing Richard’s death (even though Richard was a weak and vindictive king), Henry prepares for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to atone for his sins. However, news of another uprising against him forces him to postpone the trip. (Eight months before, Henry had suppressed a conspiracy organized by supporters of the late Richard.) .......According to the Earl of Westmoreland, rebel armies are on the march to overthrow Henry. Owen Glendower, a Welsh rebel, poses a threat in the west. Archibald, the Earl of Douglas, poses a threat in the north. Reports from the battlefield say that Edmund Mortimer, the  Earl
of March, led an English army against Glendower but that Glendower defeated
him and took him prisoner. However, another English army, led by Henry
Percy (known as Hotspur), defeated Archibald and took several important
earls as prisoner, including Mordake, the eldest son of Archibald. The
king extols Hotspur’s deeds and wishes that his own son and heir to the
throne, Prince Henry (known formally as the Prince of Wales and informally,
to his friends, simply as Hal), were more like Hotspur.
.......At that very moment, Prince Hal is busy pursuing merriment in London with his old pal and surrogate father–a fat wine-swilling, food-stuffing, good-for-nothing braggart, robber, and loafer, Sir John Falstaff, a knight of the realm. How he attained knighthood is a mystery, for he would rather run than fight–or storm a tavern than a castle. In Hal’s London apartment the two men are regaling themselves with tales of past misdeeds and making plans for another, a robbery. Poins, a drinking companion, enters just as Falstaff is leaving for Eastcheap, a seedy section of London. Poins accuses Falstaff of selling his soul to the devil on Good Friday for a cup of wine and a cold capon leg. Hal says Falstaff “will give the devil his due” (1. 2. 39). .......After Falstaff leaves, Poins suggests a mischief to Hal: They will agree to take part in the next robbery with Falstaff, but at the scene of the crime–when Falstaff is in the act of robbing–they will keep their distance. Later, when Falstaff comes away with the booty, they will wear disguises and steal it from him. .......Such are the reprehensible ways of Prince Henry: He is a carouser, a robber, a rascal, a rogue. And his father is not at all pleased. However, what King Henry IV does not realize is that young Hal is educating himself in the ways of the common people. He is also masking his true worth and talent by participating in base activities. In so doing, he will build a reputation as a wastrel and ne’er-do-well, then shock and confound everyone when, as king, he turns out to be a savvy, highly skilled leader of a men. In one of the most important passages in the play, Prince Henry reveals these thoughts after Poins leaves and Hal is alone: Yet herein will I imitate the sun,.......When Hotspur arrives fresh from battle at the king’s palace, he promotes a plan to return his captives to the enemy (Glendower) in exchange for an English prisoner, Edmund Mortimer, Hotspur’s brother-in-law. However, King Henry condemns Hotspur’s plan, for he has heard that Mortimer has found time to woo and wed Glendower’s daughter in the enemy camp. Therefore, the king says, Mortimer “hath willfully betray’d / The lives of those that he did lead to fight.” (1. 3. 84-85). Infuriated, Hotspur refuses to yield his prisoners to the king. “An if the devil come and roar for them,” Hotspur says, “I will not send them” (1. 3. 128-129). In fact, so angry is Hotspur that he decides to join the rebellion against King Henry. .......While Hotspur returns home to Warkworth Castle to make his traitorous plans, Hal and Poins play their trick on Falstaff, wearing disguises as they rob Falstaff of the money he robbed from travelers. Falstaff runs off without putting up a fight. Later, at the Boar’s Head Tavern in Eastcheap, Falstaff bemoans his loss to Hal and Poins, unaware that they were the ones who robbed him of his booty. He claims he fought with a dozen robbers for two hours before yielding his prize and escaping miraculously. “I am eight times thrust through the doublet,” he says, “four through the hose; my buckler cut through and through; my sword hacked like a hand-saw” (2. 4. 66).When Hal reveals himself and Poins as the trick-playing villains who robbed Falstaff, the fat knight says he knew all along that it was Hal who had set upon him. But, he says, he did not resist because he did not wish to injure the future king. .......One of the king’s nobles arrives at the tavern to deliver a message reporting the latest news of the rebellion and commanding Hal to return to court in the morning to see his father, the king. Falstaff, realizing that Hal must go to war, says, “Are thou not horribly afeard?” (2. 4. 147). Hal replies, “Not a whit, i’ faith; I lack some of thy instinct” (148). The next day, King Henry scolds his son for his “inordinate and low desires” (3. 2. 14) and reprimands him for the “rude society” (3. 2. 16) he keeps. Hal then promises, “I shall hereafter . . .be more myself” (3. 2. 94-95). .......After King Henry learns that some of the rebels, including Hotspur, are marshaling their forces in the west, at the town of Shrewsbury, he commissions Hal to command part of the army. The king himself will ride at the head of the army. In turn, Prince Hal commissions Falstaff to raise and lead a regiment of foot soldiers against the rebels. However, Falstaff drafts only cowards who have money, knowing full well they will offer to buy their way out of military service. When they hand over three hundred pounds each to win their right to return home, Falstaff pockets all of the money except a small portion with which to hire riffraff as stand-ins. Later, as Prince Hal inspects Falstaff’s recruits, he says, “I never did see such pitiful rascals” (4. 2. 17). Falstaff says they’ll do just fine because “They’ll fit a pit as well as better” (18). .......Meanwhile, in an eleventh-hour effort to prevent hostilities, King Henry offers the rebels a general pardon, but Hotspur and his forces come out fighting. The year is now 1403; the site of the fighting is near Shrewsbury on the Welsh-English border. As the battle rages, Hal and Hotspur seek each other out. When they find each other, Hal kills Hotspur. But Hal does not rejoice, for he recognizes that there was greatness in Hotspur. Hal salutes his fallen foe, saying “Fare thee well, great heart!” (5. 4. 94). All of Falstaff’s men die in the battle. Not wishing to meet their fate, Falstaff lies down and pretends to be dead. When he arises later, he says, “The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part, I have saved my life” (5. 4. 118). Coming upon the corpse of Hotspur, Falstaff eyes it suspiciously, wondering whether Hotspur may still be alive. In a fit of bravery he stabs the corpse and decides to take credit for having slain the warrior. He then picks up the corpse and heaves it onto his shoulder, as a hunter would a dead stag, and carries it off. .......When Prince Hal happens by, Falstaff throws the corpse down and says, “There is Percy: if your father will do me any honour, so; if not, let him kill the next Percy himself. I look to be either earl or duke, I can assure you” (5. 4. 130). Hal then announces that it was he who slew Hotspur while the fat old knight was lying in a ditch. Falstaff replies, “I grant you I was down and out of breath; and so was he: but we rose both at an instant and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may be believed, so; if not, let them that should reward valour bear the sin upon their own heads” (5. 4. 132). In the distance, a trumpet blares a retreat, and Hal declares the Battle of Shrewsbury over and the victory won. As Hal leaves for another part of the battlefield, Falstaff follows, saying, “He that rewards me, God reward him! If I do grow great, I’ll grow less; for I’ll purge, and leave sack, and live cleanly as a nobleman should do” (5. 4. 141). .......The two rebel leaders, Worcester and Vernon, are taken prisoner and summarily executed. However, a third prisoner–the valorous Archibald, Earl of Douglas–is released by the generous Prince Hal. King Henry and Hal then leave for Wales to confront rebels under the command of Owen Glendower and the Earl of March. At the same time, Prince John of Lancaster, Hal’s younger brother, heads toward York to battle rebel forces led by the Earl of Northumberland (Hotspur’s father). The play ends when King Henry declares, “Rebellion in this land shall lose his sway, meeting the check of such another day: And since this business so fair is done, let us not leave till all our own be won” (5. 5. 44-47). .  .. Protagonist: King Henry IV (It can be argued, however, that Prince Hal is the Protagonist) Antagonists: The Enemies of the King and His Son Comic Figure: Falstaff Tragic Figure: Hotspur King
Henry IV: Skilled politician who, as Henry Bolingbroke, forced Richard
II's abdication and usurped the throne. The oldest son of the Duke of Lancaster
(John of Gaunt), Henry was the first English king in the House of Lancaster,
reigning from 1399 to 1413. During this play, he battles uprisings by British
nobles.
. England in 1401 at the following sites: London, Rochester (east of London), Warkworth Castle (in northern England), Bangor (a military camp near Shrewsbury on the English-Welsh border), a public road near Coventry (in the English midlands northwest of London), and York (about halfway between London and Edinburgh, Scotland). The London locales present striking opposites–for example, the palace of the king in one scene and a slummy byway or tavern in the next. . Themes . Battlefield valor shapes tomorrow’s leaders. Prince Hal’s courageous deeds in war help mold him into a respected leader. This motif recurs throughout literature and history, as demonstrated in ancient times by Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar and in modern times by Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy. Even the best of men sometimes have checkered pasts. Like many modern politicians, Prince Hal has engaged in reprehensible and censurable conduct, thanks to his association with the disreputable Falstaff. In modern times, the media would surely vilify Hal were he a candidate for president of the United States. Hal’s conduct is, in part, excusable, for he is consciously sampling the lifestyle of the low and the infamous in order to learn about the world and thereby better prepare himself to become king. Domestic violence strikes not only families but also entire kingdoms. Henry IV uses his army to fight citizens of his own country. In modern times, governments have often done the same, rightly or wrongly, in Russia, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, and other countries. Eat, drink, and be merry. Falstaff lives for the moment–for wine, women, song, and making mischief. “I live out of all order, out of all compass” (3. 3. 5), Falstaff says of his carpe diem philosophy. Although he appears to have ensnared Prince Hal in his happy-go-lucky lifestyle, the young prince knows well his responsibilities as heir to the throne and, when the time comes, he doffs his veneer of devil-may-care merrymaker to reveal himself as a brave and wily king-to-be. .. The climax of a play or another narrative work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events. The climax in Henry IV occurs, according to the first definition, when Prince Hal renounces his wastrel lifestyle and takes up the sword to fight for England. According to the second definition, the climax occurs when Prince Hal fights to the death with Hotspur. Type
of Work
Lineage of the Houses of Lancaster and York House
of Lancaster: Henry IV ("Bolingbroke," son of the Duke of Lancaster),
1399-1413. Age at death: 47. Henry V (son of Henry IV), 1413-1422. Age
at death: 34. Henry VI (son of Henry V, deposed), 1422-1471. Age at death:
49.
Dates
and Sources
In the dialogue of Henry IV Part I and other Shakespeare plays, characters sometimes speak wise or witty sayings, or epigrams, couched in memorable language. Among the more memorable sayings in Henry IV Part I are the following: The better part of valour is discretion. (5. 4. 118)Best Play–or Worst? . Shakespeare's Best: Mark Van Doren .
Shakespeare's
Worst: George Bernard Shaw
Flawed Depiction of Prince Hal? Early in Henry IV, Shakespeare depicts Prince Hal as a fun-loving, hard-drinking, womanizing rascal who enjoys the company of commoners, a characterization that gives him a certain romantic appeal. However, this characterization clashes with Hal's own characterization of himself in a soliloquy in Act I, Scene II (a soliloquy reproduced in the plot summary above), in which Hal discloses that he is leading a life of dissipation in order to learn about the ways of commoners, including vulgar lowlifes, and thereby prepare himself to become a king who knows the minds of his subjects. In other words, Hal is spying on the common people; he is going to school on them, as it were, pretending to be friends with them when, in reality, he regards them as objects in an experiment designed to serve his selfish aims. The soliloquy makes Hal seem cold and calculating and ambitious. Later, he performs heroic deeds on the battlefield, turning him once again into an admirable character. But the attentive and perceptive viewer of the stage play, or reader of its text, cannot easily dismiss the confounding and damning earlier characterization of Hal as a crafty, disingenuous manipulator of people. He is a problem character, and Shakespeare provides no solution to him. Falstaff:
The Supreme Comic Character
Study Questions and Essay Topics 1.
Which character in the play is the most admirable? Which is the least admirable?
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