Henry IV, Part 2
Darker and more elegiac than Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 follows the dying king, Falstaff's comic excesses, and Hal's final preparation for the crown — culminating in the cold rejection of Falstaff that has disturbed audiences for four centuries.
At a Glance
- Genre: History
- Approximate date: c. 1597–1598
- Setting: England
- Source: Holinshed's Chronicles
- Acts: 5
Dramatis Personæ
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| RUMOUR | The Presenter; enters with a mouth full of tongues |
| KING HENRY THE FOURTH | Dying; unable to sleep; haunted by guilt |
| HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES (HAL) | More distant here; increasingly kingly |
| THOMAS, DUKE OF CLARENCE | Hal's brother |
| PRINCE JOHN OF LANCASTER | Treacherously defeats the Archbishop's rebels |
| PRINCE HUMPHREY OF GLOUCESTER | |
| EARL OF WARWICK | Henry IV's counsellor |
| EARL OF WESTMORELAND | |
| LORD CHIEF JUSTICE | Embodies Law; Hal will confirm him in power |
| HENRY PERCY, EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND | Still plotting rebellion |
| SCROOP, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK | Leads the northern rebellion |
| LORD MOWBRAY | Rebel |
| LORD HASTINGS | Rebel |
| LORD BARDOLPH | Rebel |
| SIR JOHN COLEVILLE | Rebel; surrenders to Falstaff |
| TRAVERS and MORTON | Northumberland's retainers |
| SIR JOHN FALSTAFF | The play's primary presence; in the country recruiting |
| PAGE | Falstaff's page; small and comic |
| BARDOLPH | Falstaff's red-nosed companion |
| PISTOL | New companion; absurdly theatrical soldier |
| POINS | Hal's companion |
| PETO | |
| SHALLOW and SILENCE | Country justices; provide comic depth in Gloucestershire |
| DAVY | Shallow's servant |
| MOULDY, SHADOW, WART, FEEBLE, BULLCALF | Recruits (grotesquely comic) |
| FANG and SNARE | Sheriff's officers trying to arrest Falstaff |
| LADY NORTHUMBERLAND | |
| LADY PERCY | Hotspur's widow; rebukes Northumberland |
| MISTRESS QUICKLY | Hostess; suing Falstaff for breach of promise |
| DOLL TEARSHEET | Tavern prostitute; Falstaff's companion |
| A DANCER | Speaker of the epilogue |
Plot Summary
Act I: Rumour spreads false news of Hotspur's victory. Northumberland learns the truth of Shrewsbury. The rebel lords meet; the Archbishop of York steps into military leadership. Falstaff is being sued by Mistress Quickly; he wriggles free and is sent to the war.
Act II: Hal and Poins disguise as drawers (waiters) to spy on Falstaff at the tavern; Falstaff speaks disparagingly of Hal, not knowing he's present. Falstaff woos Doll Tearsheet. The scene is the most domestic and tender in the histories.
Act III: Henry IV cannot sleep: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." He reviews the civil war with Warwick. Falstaff visits Shallow and Silence in Gloucestershire, where old men reminisce and recruit hapless men.
Act IV: Prince John tricks the rebels into disbanding their army by promising redress of their grievances — then arrests them. Falstaff captures Coleville through bluster. Henry IV collapses; Hal, believing his father dead, takes the crown. Henry wakes and reproaches Hal bitterly; they are reconciled. The King dies; Hal becomes Henry V.
Act V: Henry V confirms the Lord Chief Justice in his role (a symbol of the rule of law over the self). Falstaff, having rushed from Gloucestershire to greet his old friend now King, is publicly rejected: "I know thee not, old man... I have long dreamt of such a kind of man, / So surfeit-swelled, so old, and so profane; / But being awaked I do despise my dream." Falstaff is banished from the King's presence. He and his companions are imprisoned.
Key Themes
- Time and mortality — disease, aging, and death pervade; England is sick
- The rejection of Falstaff — a defining moment: political necessity vs. human loyalty
- Justice and law — the Lord Chief Justice as the principle Hal embraces
- Memory and nostalgia — Shallow and Silence's scenes are Shakespeare's most affecting portraits of old age and lost time
Notable Quotations
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." *(Henry IV, III.i)*
"I know thee not, old man. Fall to thy prayers. / How ill white hairs becomes a fool and jester!" *(Henry V, V.v)*
"We have heard the chimes at midnight, Master Shallow." *(Falstaff, III.ii)*
LibriVox Recording
Henry IV, Part 2 audiobook on LibriVox — Free public domain recording.
Cross-references
- Histories — genre context
- Henry IV, Part 1 — directly continued from Part 1
- Henry V — Hal becomes the ideal king
- The Merry Wives of Windsor — Falstaff's comic adventures continue