Henry the Fourth: A play by William Shakespeare

Henry iv

1. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S HENRY IV PART 2 MARY GLORY MOON GONZAGA-MIANO Reporter

2. Summary In the first years of the 15th century, England is in the middle of a civil war. Powerful rebels have assembled against King Henry IV in an attempt to overthrow him. They have just suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Shrewsbury, but several rebel leaders--including the Archbishop of York, Lord Mowbray , and Lord Hastings--remain alive and continue to wage war against the king. King Henry, aging prematurely because of his anxiety over the war and over his oldest son, Prince Hal, has recently become very ill. Prince Hal has spent most of his teenage years raising hell in taverns with a group of lowlife friends. His closest friend and mentor is Falstaff, a jovial, aging, witty criminal. Falstaff and some of Hal's other friends have won wealth and power at the Battle of Shrewsbury. We watch Falstaff, now an army captain, drink in a London tavern and travel around the countryside to recruit young men to serve in the upcoming battles. Prince Hal, meanwhile, knowing that he will have to take the reins of power when his father dies, has vowed to change his ways and become responsible. He has started to spend less time with his old friends .

3. The rebel leaders gather their forces to battle the king at the Forest of Gaultree . They are disappointed when the powerful Earl of Northumberland does not offer soldiers to support them. (This is the second time he had refused to offer aid; the first time, at the Battle of Shrewsbury, his refusal led to his son's death in battle.) Prince John, the king's second son, leads the king's army to meet them at the forest. Prince John says he will agree to all the rebels' demands, but as soon as the relieved rebels have sent their soldiers home, he arrests them for treason. The rebels protest this injustice, but the prince has them executed. Meanwhile, at his palace in London, King Henry IV grows increasingly sick. He is worried about what will happen when his wayward son becomes king. Prince Hal comes to the palace; his father gives him a tongue-lashing, and Prince Hal, in an eloquent speech, vows that he will be a responsible king. His father forgives him and then dies. Prince Hal, now King Henry V, tells the Lord Chief Justice, the highest law official in England, that he will now view him as a father figure. After the rebels have been executed, Hal is formally crowned King Henry V. Falstaff and his companions come to London to greet him, but in the middle of a public street, the king rejects Falstaff, telling him he must never come within ten miles of the king or court again. He may have a pension, but the king will have nothing more to do with him. Then the young king goes to court to lay plans for an invasion of France.  

4. SETTING England, early 1400s Henry IV, Part 2  is believed to have been written sometime between 1596 and 1599 The play was entered into the  Register  of the  Stationers' Company  in 1600 by the booksellers  Andrew Wise  and  William Aspley . The play was published in  quarto  the same year (printing by  Valentine Simmes ). Less popular than  Henry IV, Part 1 ,  this was the only quarto edition. The play next saw print in the  First Folio  in 1623. The quarto's title-page states that the play had been "sundry times publicly acted" before publication.

5. CHARACTERS & C HARACTERIZATION King Henry IV: is a man weighed down by the burdens of kingship. The reigning King of England at play’s start,  King Henry IV , falls gravely  sick  and he dies, passing the crown to his son  King Henry V . While alive, King Henry IV is wracked with anxiety about his civil war-torn kingdom and plagued by the rebels’ longstanding resentment of his unscrupulous rise to the throne. He laments the burdens of being king, and is full of anxiety about  Prince Hal 's eventual rise to the throne, given Hal's self-indulgence.

6. Prince Henry:   ( also known as Harry or Hal), is the eldest son of Henry IV and the heir to the throne. Starting the play as a drunken, rowdy, fun-loving brat boy,  Prince Hal  surprises everyone by abandoning his wild ways at his father’s deathbed and maturing into the serious, sober, and fair-minded  King Henry V . Rather than usher in an era of debauchery and corruption, as many suspect, King Henry V unsentimentally banishes his beloved old friend  Falstaff  and commits himself to building a strong and moral England.

7. Sir John Falstaff is the leader of a group of disreputable characters who hang out at the Boar's Head tavern in Eastcheap . Falstaff is also a companion of Prince Henry. Falstaff is a liar, a thief, a drunkard and a coward, but in spite of all this he wins the affection of his friends. He is extremely fat, but he compensates for his bulk by a nimble wit. His good nature makes others willing to forgive his outrageous and unscrupulous behavior, and he gets out of scrapes by using his wit and his ability to play on words. `

8. Prince John of Lancaster :  Prince John of Lancaster, the third son of Henry IV, is put in charge of the campaign against the rebels. He is a cold, calculating man. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester:  Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester is the youngest of Henry's IV's four sons. He plays only a small role in the events of the play. Thomas, Duke of Clarence :  Thomas, Duke of Clarence is the second of Henry's IV's four sons. He is close to Prince Henry, and their father, Henry IV, tells Clarence to stay close to Henry and learn how to manage his difficult personality when he becomes king. If Clarence can do this, the King says, he will be able to keep the peace between all the brothers. Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland :  Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland is part of the rebellion against the King, but he is persuaded by his family to stay away from the battle. He takes refuge in Scotland. It is later reported that he and the Scots have been defeated in Yorkshire. Archbishop of York :  The Archbishop of York is the principal leader in the rebellion against the King. He is persuaded by his advisors to go ahead with battle plans, even though Northumberland's forces will be absent.

9. Lord Mowbray :  Lord Mowbray is one of the rebel leaders. His motivation for joining the rebellion may be personal, since he repeatedly alludes to the fact that his father was banished for life by Richard II following a dispute with Bolingbroke (who later became Henry IV). Lord Hastings :  Lord Hastings is one of the rebel leaders. At a meeting of the rebels at the Archbishop of York's palace, his advice is to proceed to battle, since he believes the rebels have sufficient forces to prevail, even without Northumberland. Lord Bardolph :  Lord Bardolph is one of the rebel leaders, an associate of Northumberland. Bardolph is cautious, and advises the Archbishop and Hastings to wait until Northumberland's forces arrive before committing themselves to battle. Travers :  Travers is Northumberland's servant. He brings the news that Hotspur, Northumberland's son, was killed in the battle at Shrewsbury. Morton :  Morton is an associate of Northumberland who reports all the details of the battle of Shrewsbury to Northumberland. Sir John Coleville :  Sir John Coleville is a member of the rebel army who yields without a fight to Falstaff. He is sent away to be executed. Earl of Warwick :  The Earl of Warwick is one of the King's trusted advisors who is always optimistic about the political situation. He reassures the King that they have adequate forces to easily defeat the rebels.

10. Earl of Westmoreland :  The Earl of Westmoreland is one of the commanders of the King's army. He meets with the rebels in Gaultree Forest, where he reproaches the Archbishop of York for his part in the rebellion, but announces that Prince John is prepared to hear their grievances and grant redress if their complaints are justified. After the rebels have met with Prince John and dissolved their army, Westmoreland, acting on the orders of Prince John arrests the leaders for treason. Gower :  Gower is one of the King's men. He brings news of the King's troop movements to the crowd at the Boar's Head. Harcourt :  Harcourt is one of the King's men. He brings news of the defeat of Northumberland and the Scots. The Lord Chief Justice :  The Lord Chief Justice is Falstaff's chief antagonist, and he orders Falstaff to pay Hostess Quickly what he owes her. When Prince Henry becomes King, the Chief Justice is worried about his own position, since he once committed the Prince to prison. But the new King Henry V makes it clear that he wishes the law to be upheld in his kingdom, and he appreciates the Lord Chief Justice's commitment to law and order. The Chief Justice triumphs over his adversary Falstaff when the King asks him to ensure that the conditions of Falstaff's banishment are met. The Chief Justice also conveys Falstaff to the Fleet prison for temporary incarceration.

11. THEME rebellion power honor warfare family drama redemption and our personal favorite, growing up.

12. Politics and Morality Although Henry's legitimacy as a king is questionable, that does not mean that the rebels are right to oppose him. In fact, the play does not show them in a flattering light. They lack cohesion, since once again Northumberland reveals himself to be an unreliable ally, and are willing to plunge the kingdom into disorder without good cause. The hinge on which the action of the play turns, as far as the civil war is concerned, is a controversial maneuver by Prince John. He meets with the rebel leaders and tells them he will grant their demands. Then he persuades them to disband their army. After they have done so, he arrests them and sends them to execution. The theme seems to be that in politics and statecraft, the means justify the ends. No one reproaches Prince John for his actions, or suggests that he behaved dishonorably.

13. Law versus Anarchy and Disorder The kingdom of England is in a state of disorder because of the series of rebellions against the King. The rebels threaten to bring chaos and anarchy to the land. When they are defeated, a measure of order can return to England. This contest reaches its climax when Falstaff rides to London following the ascension of Henry V to the throne. He is confident that the laws of England are at his command. But the Lord Chief Justice has the last word, when at the King's instruction, he conveys Falstaff to prison. The theme occurs again in the personal development of Prince Hal. From being a man who consorts with lawbreakers and rogues of all kinds, he becomes an impressive King, dedicated to the rule of law. This theme reaches its climax in Act 5, scene 2. The Lord Chief Justice is fearful of what may be in store for him, since he once had to imprison the wild Prince Hal for striking him. But when challenged by Henry V, the Lord Chief Justice sticks to his guns, speaking nobly in defense of the rule of law. He finds to his surprise that the new King agrees with him, and allows him to keep his post.

14. The Personal Development of Prince Henry In Henry IV, Part 1, Prince Hal lives a reckless, irresponsible life, consorting with Falstaff and the other rogues who frequent the Boar's Head tavern. He is the despair of his father. But he reforms himself sufficiently to play an outstanding role in the battle of Shrewsbury, killing Hotspur, the rebel leader, and thereby winning his father's approval. In Henry IV, part 2, however, it is almost as if those events had not happened, since at the beginning of the play, Prince Hal is still consorting with Falstaff, and his father is still distressed about his irresponsible son. But in this play, Shakespeare shows the Prince already tired of his indolent lifestyle, and ready to distance himself from Falstaff. Falstaff is unaware of this change in the Prince, but it is brought home emphatically when the Prince is crowned Henry V. He decisively rejects all his previous companions and makes it clear that he will rule his kingdom by law and will live up to the dignity of the office he holds. This final transformation of the Prince prepares the way for his role in the final play of this cycle of history plays, Henry V, in which he emerges as an inspiring and successful military leader.

15. Symbolism THE CROWN is always a visual symbol of a monarch's power but in  Henry IV Part 2  it comes to mean even more. T hink about the moment when King Henry IV refers to his crown when he tells us how exhausted he has become. When he says "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" (3.1.31), he makes it sound as if the crown is so heavy and uncomfortable that it prevents him from getting any sleep. Of course, Henry doesn't actually wear his crown to bed. The "crown" is a metaphor for the king's  weighty  responsibilities and the burden that comes with his power .

16. Soon after, Hal takes the crown (prematurely) when he mistakenly thinks his father has died. When King Henry awakens from his nap and figures out what's happened, Hal's possession of the crown seems to be evidence that Hal wants his father dead. "Thy life did manifest thou loved'st me not," says Henry, "And thou wilt have me die assured of it" (4.3.258, 259). For King Henry, Hal's possession of the crown represents a lifetime of Hal's disobedience, selfish desire for power, and hatred of his father.   Of course, we know that Henry fails to recognize that his son cares for him deeply but, we also wonder if there isn't just a bit of truth in Henry's claim. When Hal returns the crown and father and son reconcile, the crown is not just a symbol of political power or responsibility, but of the complicated father-son relationship that builds tension throughout the both parts of  Henry IV .

17. Criticism and analysis Part 2  is generally seen as a less successful play than  Part 1 . Its structure, in which Falstaff and Hal barely meet, can be criticized as undramatic. Some critics believe that Shakespeare never intended to write a sequel, and that he was hampered by a lack of remaining historical material with the result that the comic scenes come across as mere "filler". However, the scenes involving Falstaff and Justice Shallow are admired for their touching elegiac comedy, and the scene of Falstaff's rejection can be extremely powerful onstage.

18. REFLECTION Its not the type of man that you say that you are, but the type of man that your actions convince people who you are. Like Prince Hal, we’ve all made mistakes, and most of us also know what its like to feel as though we’ve disappointed or let down those whose opinions matter the most. So, imagine all that pressure you’ve felt over the years and multiply it by an entire, war-torn kingdom that’s pinned all its hopes and dreams for the future on you. That’s a whole lot of pressure. Just like us, teachers we had these pressure that is our students future/success depends on us, it depends on the learnings that we impart to them or how are we effective as a teacher and how to dealt with the differences of our students.