Henry IV Part 1

Henry IV Part 1 is the second in a series of four history plays. Following the events of the first play, Richard II, England is in a state of disarray as the current king, Henry IV, deposed and killed the former king, Richard II. (The background information section that follows will have more information about this play’s prequel and sequels!)

King Henry is worried because his son and heir to the throne, Prince Hal, spends his time cavorting and drinking, seemingly led astray by his best friend Falstaff who is delightfully witty but also an old, fat, dastardly liar. But Hal reveals in a soliloquy that he is merely pretending to be wayward so that he will seem all the more impressive when he takes his place by his father’s side and prepares to take the throne.

Meanwhile, some of Henry’s former friends are plotting a rebellion against him; chiefly, the Earl of Northumberland helped Henry rise to the throne, but now feels he is no longer valued. Northumberland has a son named Hotspur who is Hal’s age, but is much more respected than Hal. Hotspur is a valiant fighter with many military victories to his name. However, as we will come to see, he is also a fatally flawed character who believes in upholding honour and his own ideals at whatever cost. This blinds him to the political manoeuvring of other characters, and will ultimately lead to his death.

Despite the imminent rebellion, Hal seems content to delay his return, so he, Falstaff, and their friends at the tavern continue to banter and commit some petty theft. They then decide to have a pretend play where Falstaff acts as King Henry and Hal practises what he will say to explain his waywardness. But Falstaff acts silly, so Hal switches the roles and then he pretends to be his father. He chastises Falstaff for his corrosive influence on Hal, and derides him as a dishonourable and vile man (and the line between the pretend play and Hal’s true feelings blurs). Falstaff says that banishing him would be like banishing all the world, and Hal promises that he will indeed banish Falstaff one day. This sets in motion Hal’s ‘redemption arc.’

Hal eventually meets with his father and apologises, attesting that he will redeem himself by killing the rebel Hotspur. Soon enough, Hotspur and the other rebels rise up, though Hotspur’s dubious leadership abilities mean he loses some allies along the way, and is ostensibly unable to inspire much confidence in his forces. Nevertheless, all of the characters meet on the battlefield, including Falstaff who is just doing his best not to die. Falstaff also provides us with a meditation on the meaning of ‘honour,’ by the end of which he concludes honour is a futile, empty word that is worthless for both the living and the dead.
 
Tensions rise, swords clash, and the Battle of Shrewsbury commences. Henry has disguised numerous soldiers in his own king’s uniform, so there are multiple ‘counterfeit’ kings running around just to make things confusing for their enemies. Hal does indeed fulfil his promise and triumph over Hotspur in battle, saving his father’s life in the process. Henry pulls his son aside to tell him that he has redeemed himself, and earned back his father’s and his nation’s trust.
Falstaff, who survived by playing dead, then sneaks in to stab Hotspur’s corpse and then take credit for his death. Hal sees through Falstaff’s lie, but agrees to go along with it for the sake of his old friend.
The play ends with Hal graciously letting an enemy prisoner go free, foreshadowing the sequels in which he will grow into a benevolent and admired king.

I would highly recommend seeking out a video performance of the play. Shakespearean plays were meant to be performed, and as such this is one of the best ways to solidify your understanding of the text. Your teacher may show you various versions in class, such as the Hollow Crown BBC series, but in my opinion the best one is Shakespeare’s Globe performance from 2010. You can find excerpts online, but the whole recording is a fantastic rendition, and even gives you a sense of what it would have been like to attend one of these plays at the Globe Theatre in Shakespeare’s era. Most importantly, it’s funny! And we usually miss out on the humour when we just try and read the script of the play, which is a real tragedy for this text!

For the best possible experience, read through the play while watching the perfor- mance – this will bring the lines to life and make both the amusing and more poignant, emotional moments in this play much more memorable!