Henry IV, Part 1
The first of the two great "Henriad" plays centered on Prince Hal's education for kingship. Balancing heroic and comic registers, it contrasts three visions of honor: Hotspur's reckless military glory, Falstaff's anarchic mockery, and Hal's calculating synthesis.
At a Glance
- Genre: History
- Approximate date: c. 1596–1597
- Setting: England and Wales
- Source: Holinshed's Chronicles; Samuel Daniel's Civil Wars
- Acts: 5
Dramatis Personæ
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| KING HENRY THE FOURTH | Burdened by guilt of Richard II's deposition; wishes for a pilgrimage |
| HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES (HAL) | The King's heir; apparently dissolute; secretly testing himself |
| PRINCE JOHN OF LANCASTER | Hal's younger brother |
| EARL OF WESTMORELAND | Henry IV's loyal counsellor |
| SIR WALTER BLUNT | Henry IV's loyal knight; killed at Shrewsbury |
| THOMAS PERCY, EARL OF WORCESTER | Hotspur's uncle; leads the rebellion; deceptive |
| HENRY PERCY, EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND | Hotspur's father; rebels but fails to appear at Shrewsbury |
| HENRY PERCY (HOTSPUR) | Northumberland's son; impetuous military hero; Hal's foil |
| EDMUND MORTIMER, EARL OF MARCH | The legitimate claimant; captured by Glendower |
| SCROOP, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK | Joins the rebellion |
| SIR MICHAEL | Friend to the Archbishop |
| ARCHIBALD, EARL OF DOUGLAS | Fierce Scottish warrior; fights for the rebels |
| OWEN GLENDOWER | Welsh rebel; Mortimer's father-in-law; believes himself magical |
| SIR RICHARD VERNON | Rebel; reports Hal's transformation before Shrewsbury |
| SIR JOHN FALSTAFF | Old, fat, cowardly knight; Hal's tavern companion |
| POINS | Hal's friend; co-conspirator of the Gadshill robbery |
| GADSHILL | Thief |
| PETO | Hal's companion |
| BARDOLPH | Falstaff's companion; red-nosed |
| LADY PERCY | Hotspur's wife; "Kate" |
| LADY MORTIMER | Mortimer's Welsh wife; speaks no English |
| MISTRESS QUICKLY | Hostess of the Eastcheap tavern |
Plot Summary
Act I: Henry IV longs to go on crusade but is prevented by domestic rebellion. Hotspur, who has refused to hand over his Scottish prisoners, quarrels with the King. The rebels — Northumberland, Worcester, Hotspur, Mortimer, and later Glendower and Douglas — form their alliance. Hal is in the Eastcheap tavern with Falstaff. In soliloquy, Hal reveals his plan: he is performing idleness deliberately, so that when he reforms, his transformation will seem more brilliant.
Act II: The Gadshill robbery: Falstaff, Poins, and others rob travelers; Hal and Poins then rob Falstaff. At the tavern, Falstaff tells increasingly outrageous lies about how many men attacked him. Hal and Falstaff play-act the coming interview with the King. Hal is summoned to court.
Act III: Hal reconciles with his father and promises to reform. At Bangor, the rebels divide England with comic squabbling; Hotspur and Glendower quarrel over the proportion of their shares; Hotspur mocks Glendower's magic and poetry. The rebellion is ready. Falstaff, charged with raising recruits, takes bribes from those who can pay to be exempted, filling his company with the worst men available.
Act IV: The rebels receive bad news: Northumberland is ill and won't march; Glendower's forces are not ready. At Shrewsbury, Hal's transformation is confirmed by Vernon's admiring report of how he vaults onto his horse "like feathered Mercury." Falstaff's recruits are "food for powder."
Act V: The Battle of Shrewsbury. Worcester conceals from Hotspur the King's offer of pardon, fearing his own punishment. Hal offers single combat to Hotspur; Douglas nearly kills the King until Hal rescues him. Hal kills Hotspur in a famous duel. Falstaff, feigning death, stabs the already-dead Hotspur to claim the kill. Douglas is freed. Worcester and Vernon are executed.
Key Themes
- Honor — Hotspur's obsessive honor vs. Falstaff's "What is honour? A word."
- Education for kingship — Hal's deliberate self-staging for his transformation
- Father and son — Henry IV's disappointment in Hal; his admiration of Hotspur
- The tavern vs. the court — two worlds, two value systems; Hal belongs to both and neither
Notable Quotations
"Honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honour set to a leg? No." *(Falstaff, V.i)*
"I know you all, and will awhile uphold / The unyoked humour of your idleness." *(Hal, I.ii)*
"By heaven, methinks it were an easy leap / To pluck bright honour from the pale-faced moon." *(Hotspur, I.iii)*
LibriVox Recording
Henry IV, Part 1 audiobook on LibriVox — Free public domain recording. (Multiple versions available)
Cross-references
- Histories — genre context
- Richard II — the usurpation that haunts Henry IV
- Henry IV, Part 2 — continuation; Hal's final break with Falstaff
- Henry V — Hal's completion as king