Henry IV, Part I
by William Shakespeare
AIthough he may have learned some aspects of successful play writing from other dramatists of his time, William Shakespeare remains a major innovator of the ...
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Biography Essay"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer,...
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The English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of English writers and one of the most extraordinary creators in human history.The ...
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Considered by critics, scholars, and the theater-going public the most important dramatist in the history of English literature, William Shakespeare occupies a unique position in the pantheon of great...
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"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer, in English or ...
Read more
William Shakespeare's reputation is based primarily on his plays. With the partial exception of the Sonnets (1609), quarried since the early nineteenth century for autobiographical secrets allegedly ...
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In the following essay, originally published in 1965, Bradbrook offers an overview of Henry IV, Parts I and II, contending that they are political plays that address contemporary political issues.
...
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In the following essay, originally published in 1984, Watson proposes that the Henry IV plays, in addition to being morality plays, also allow Shakespeare to present an analysis of ambition in the pri...
Read more
In the following essay, Dean compares Shakespeare's treatment of historical fact and politics in his history plays, focusing on Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.
If there is one view about Shakespear...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1974, Gottschalk presents an analysis of Prince Hal's character by examining the tavern scene in Henry IV, Part I, noting that this scene is cruc...
Read more
In the following essay, Everett explores the origin and development of Falstaff's character in Shakespeare's history plays, with an emphasis on the political significance of his appearan...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1984, Macdonald traces the development and use of language in Shakespeare's history plays, focusing on Henry IV, Parts I and II, and examines the...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1970, Palmer points to several instances in the Henry IV plays that anticipate Prince Hal's reformation at the end of Part II, drawing parallels ...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1978, Hunter theorizes that the rejection of Falstaff in the Henry IV plays dramatizes the victory of the Protestant ethic, presenting the evolution of ...
Read more
In the following essay, Crewe disputes critical thinking that denies substantive reformation in Prince Hal's character. Instead, Crewe proposes, the subject of reform is continuously revisited ...
Read more
In the following essay, Hunt offers an account of the coexisting Catholic and Protestant elements characterized in Falstaff, King Henry IV, and Prince Hal, arguing that this mixture of traits does not...
Read more
In the following unfinished essay, originally composed in 1970, Berryman presents a comparison between the two parts of Henry IV, stressing that he does not agree with those who see the two plays as a...
Read more
In the following essay, Middleman discusses the apparent disunity of conception in Henry IV, Part I, noting that the action focuses equally on the political rebellion confronting Henry IV and the priv...
Read more
In the following essay, Bowers details the thematic structure of Henry IV, Part 1, noting that a central concern of the play is the triumph of the centralized royal power over the feudal system—...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Melchiori identifies a number of structural components in Henry IV, Part 2, including qualities of the morality play, comedy of humors, city/country play, and psychodrama, as...
Read more
In the following essay, Davis studies Henry Bolingbroke as an unsympathetic object of satire in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.
“For now a time is come to mock at form”
2 Henry IV, IV.v....
Read more
In the following essay, Meyers contends that Shakespeare's Hal is a developing, subtle, and complex character who assumes many roles in the Henriad.
The first problem is what to call him...
Read more
In the following essay, Findlay evaluates the figure of Falstaff with reference to classical models and contemporary theory regarding economic exchange, pedagogy, and homoeroticism.
Although I hope...
Read more
In the following essay, Krims offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of Hotspur, examining his extreme intolerance for so-called feminine principles and traits—including inconstancy, submissive...
Read more
In the following review of David Giles's production of the Henriad for BBC television, Pilkington notes the strong focus on Hal in the series, which served as a unifying force in the plays and ...
Read more
In the following review of Ron Daniels's 1993 back-to-back staging of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, Brantley examines the director's anachronistic American Civil War setting and comments on t...
Read more
In the following review of Barbara Gaines's 1999 staging of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 at the Chicago's Shakespeare Repertory Theater, Henning praises the outstanding performances of nearly...
Read more
In the following excerpted review of the 2000 Shakespeare season at Stratford-upon-Avon, Jackson describes the relatively “somber” mood of Michael Attenborough's Henry IV, the pro...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1983, Blanpied contrasts the two parts of Henry IV, finding an “organic unity” in Part I that doesn't exist in Part II.
Open you...
Read more
In the following essay, Mackenzie examines the mythological allusions in Henry IV, Part 1, and finds that the play lacks a truly heroic protagonist and presents a vision of England as both “tra...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Ryan analyzes Henry IV in terms of Frederic Jameson's Marxist theory of literature, finding that Shakespeare's plays demystify the hierarchical assumptions and ...
Read more
In the following essay, Reid maintains that the four principal characters of Henry IV, Part 1 depict the varied and relational psychological temperaments associated with the classical, Galenic system ...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Bevington discusses the structural unity and major themes of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and considers the dramas' exposition of identity, honor, cowardice, father-son re...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Wood surveys critical estimations of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and examines the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff.
Falstaff and Historical Order
The critical hist...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1972, Quinones traces the development of Hal's character.
The shadow of Richard II hangs over the waywardness of Hal in 1 Henry IV. The young ...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1979, Krieger analyzes Hal's political instincts and moral ambivalence in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, particularly as these qualities are demonstrat...
Read more
In the following essay, Kern compares Falstaff with the archetypal trickster figure.
Carl Jung defined the trickster figure as a “‘psychologem’, an archetypal psychic structure...
Read more
In the following essay, Grossman points to Hal's ambivalent search for his own identity as the wayward prince's primary characteristic.
I know you all, and will a while uphold The uny...
Read more
In the following review of Michael Attenborough's 2000 production of Henry IV, Part 1 at The Swan Theatre in Stratford, Carnegy comments on the shift from a modern-dress Richard II to this more...
Read more
In the following review of a 2000 staging of Henry IV, Part 1 at The Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Wall notes that this intimate venue lent itself more to the subtleties of Desmond Barrit...
Read more
In the following review of a 2000 production of Henry IV, Part 2 directed by Michael Attenborough, Carnegy praises Desmond Barrit's immensely comic Falstaff and David Troughton's emotion...
Read more
In the following review of Michael Attenborough's Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 with the Royal Shakespeare Company at London's Barbican Theatre, Neill lauds the balanced, believable performanc...
Read more
In the following essay, Peat considers contemporary stage interpretations of Act V, scene iii of Henry IV, Part 1 in which Hal is to throw a bottle of sack at Falstaff, arguing that postwar production...
Read more
In the following essay, Forker examines how Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and the remaining plays of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy promote a cyclical, providential, ironic, and tragicomic...
Read more
In the following essay, Cohen assesses the perception of history in the Henry IV plays, emphasizing a turbulent process of nation-building that survives both the murder and usurpation of Richard II an...
Read more
In the following essay, Lander presents an economic reading of Henry IV, Part 1 as the dramatic representation of a crisis of value in which monetary concerns exert their influence on monarchical auth...
Read more
In the following essay, Tiffany maintains that Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 represent Shakespeare's ironic commentary on the religious and sociopolitical rhetoric propagated by contemporary Puritans...
Read more
In the following essay, Taylor considers Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 within the context of the entire second tetralogy (which includes Richard II and Henry V), detailing how key scenes thematically imitat...
Read more
In the following essay, Council examines how Prince Hal, Falstaff, and Hotspur each respond to the code of honor documented in various Renaissance texts. The critic asserts that while Hotspur rigidly ...
Read more
In the following essay, Kastan discusses the circumstances surrounding the martyrdom of Sir John Oldcastle, the historical inspiration for Shakespeare's Falstaff, and recounts the controversy t...
Read more
In the following essay, McAlindon agrees with literary scholars who maintain that Falstaff is a parody of both Sir John Oldcastle and contemporary Puritans. The critic also contends that in addition t...
Read more
In the following review, Macaulay provides a generally favorable assessment of Michael Attenborough's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) rendering of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, particularly focusing...
Read more
In the following review, Billington praises Michael Attenborough's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) staging of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 for capturing the moral ambiguity inherent in Shakespeare&#...
Read more
In the following review, Brantley censures Richard Maxwell's Next Wave Festival production of Henry IV, Part 1, asserting that its intentional avant-garde affectlessness rendered the play ...
Read more
In the following essay, Levine discusses how Shakespeare employed the concept of credit and mercantile exchange in the Henry IV plays as a metaphor for the Lancastrian dynasty's claim to the En...
Read more
In the following essay, Ruiter demonstrates how in Henry IV, Part 2 Prince Hal shrewdly manipulates the progression from feasting and festivity to the restoration of political order in an effort to ma...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1965, Bradbrook offers an overview of Henry IV, Parts I and II, contending that they are political plays that address contemporary political issues.
...
Read more
In the following essay, Hunt offers an account of the coexisting Catholic and Protestant elements characterized in Falstaff, King Henry IV, and Prince Hal, arguing that this mixture of traits does not...
Read more
In the following unfinished essay, originally composed in 1970, Berryman presents a comparison between the two parts of Henry IV, stressing that he does not agree with those who see the two plays as a...
Read more
In the following essay, Middleman discusses the apparent disunity of conception in Henry IV, Part I, noting that the action focuses equally on the political rebellion confronting Henry IV and the priv...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1984, Watson proposes that the Henry IV plays, in addition to being morality plays, also allow Shakespeare to present an analysis of ambition in the pri...
Read more
In the following essay, Dean compares Shakespeare's treatment of historical fact and politics in his history plays, focusing on Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.
If there is one view about Shakespear...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1974, Gottschalk presents an analysis of Prince Hal's character by examining the tavern scene in Henry IV, Part I, noting that this scene is cruc...
Read more
In the following essay, Everett explores the origin and development of Falstaff's character in Shakespeare's history plays, with an emphasis on the political significance of his appearan...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1984, Macdonald traces the development and use of language in Shakespeare's history plays, focusing on Henry IV, Parts I and II, and examines the...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1970, Palmer points to several instances in the Henry IV plays that anticipate Prince Hal's reformation at the end of Part II, drawing parallels ...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1978, Hunter theorizes that the rejection of Falstaff in the Henry IV plays dramatizes the victory of the Protestant ethic, presenting the evolution of ...
Read more
In the following essay, Crewe disputes critical thinking that denies substantive reformation in Prince Hal's character. Instead, Crewe proposes, the subject of reform is continuously revisited ...
Read more
In the following essay, Bowers details the thematic structure of Henry IV, Part 1, noting that a central concern of the play is the triumph of the centralized royal power over the feudal system—...
Read more
In the following excerpted review of the 2000 Shakespeare season at Stratford-upon-Avon, Jackson describes the relatively “somber” mood of Michael Attenborough's Henry IV, the pro...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1983, Blanpied contrasts the two parts of Henry IV, finding an “organic unity” in Part I that doesn't exist in Part II.
Open you...
Read more
In the following essay, Mackenzie examines the mythological allusions in Henry IV, Part 1, and finds that the play lacks a truly heroic protagonist and presents a vision of England as both “tra...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Ryan analyzes Henry IV in terms of Frederic Jameson's Marxist theory of literature, finding that Shakespeare's plays demystify the hierarchical assumptions and ...
Read more
In the following essay, Reid maintains that the four principal characters of Henry IV, Part 1 depict the varied and relational psychological temperaments associated with the classical, Galenic system ...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Melchiori identifies a number of structural components in Henry IV, Part 2, including qualities of the morality play, comedy of humors, city/country play, and psychodrama, as...
Read more
In the following essay, Davis studies Henry Bolingbroke as an unsympathetic object of satire in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2.
“For now a time is come to mock at form”
2 Henry IV, IV.v....
Read more
In the following essay, Meyers contends that Shakespeare's Hal is a developing, subtle, and complex character who assumes many roles in the Henriad.
The first problem is what to call him...
Read more
In the following essay, Findlay evaluates the figure of Falstaff with reference to classical models and contemporary theory regarding economic exchange, pedagogy, and homoeroticism.
Although I hope...
Read more
In the following essay, Krims offers a psychoanalytic interpretation of Hotspur, examining his extreme intolerance for so-called feminine principles and traits—including inconstancy, submissive...
Read more
In the following review of David Giles's production of the Henriad for BBC television, Pilkington notes the strong focus on Hal in the series, which served as a unifying force in the plays and ...
Read more
In the following review of Ron Daniels's 1993 back-to-back staging of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, Brantley examines the director's anachronistic American Civil War setting and comments on t...
Read more
In the following review of Barbara Gaines's 1999 staging of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 at the Chicago's Shakespeare Repertory Theater, Henning praises the outstanding performances of nearly...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Bevington discusses the structural unity and major themes of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, and considers the dramas' exposition of identity, honor, cowardice, father-son re...
Read more
In the following review of Michael Attenborough's Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 with the Royal Shakespeare Company at London's Barbican Theatre, Neill lauds the balanced, believable performanc...
Read more
In the following essay, Peat considers contemporary stage interpretations of Act V, scene iii of Henry IV, Part 1 in which Hal is to throw a bottle of sack at Falstaff, arguing that postwar production...
Read more
In the following essay, Forker examines how Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and the remaining plays of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy promote a cyclical, providential, ironic, and tragicomic...
Read more
In the following essay, Cohen assesses the perception of history in the Henry IV plays, emphasizing a turbulent process of nation-building that survives both the murder and usurpation of Richard II an...
Read more
In the following essay, Lander presents an economic reading of Henry IV, Part 1 as the dramatic representation of a crisis of value in which monetary concerns exert their influence on monarchical auth...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Wood surveys critical estimations of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 and examines the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff.
Falstaff and Historical Order
The critical hist...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1972, Quinones traces the development of Hal's character.
The shadow of Richard II hangs over the waywardness of Hal in 1 Henry IV. The young ...
Read more
In the following essay, originally published in 1979, Krieger analyzes Hal's political instincts and moral ambivalence in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, particularly as these qualities are demonstrat...
Read more
In the following essay, Kern compares Falstaff with the archetypal trickster figure.
Carl Jung defined the trickster figure as a “‘psychologem’, an archetypal psychic structure...
Read more
In the following essay, Grossman points to Hal's ambivalent search for his own identity as the wayward prince's primary characteristic.
I know you all, and will a while uphold The uny...
Read more
In the following review of Michael Attenborough's 2000 production of Henry IV, Part 1 at The Swan Theatre in Stratford, Carnegy comments on the shift from a modern-dress Richard II to this more...
Read more
In the following review of a 2000 staging of Henry IV, Part 1 at The Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Wall notes that this intimate venue lent itself more to the subtleties of Desmond Barrit...
Read more
In the following review of a 2000 production of Henry IV, Part 2 directed by Michael Attenborough, Carnegy praises Desmond Barrit's immensely comic Falstaff and David Troughton's emotion...
Read more
In the following essay, Tiffany maintains that Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 represent Shakespeare's ironic commentary on the religious and sociopolitical rhetoric propagated by contemporary Puritans...
Read more
In the following essay, Ruiter demonstrates how in Henry IV, Part 2 Prince Hal shrewdly manipulates the progression from feasting and festivity to the restoration of political order in an effort to ma...
Read more
In the following essay, Taylor considers Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 within the context of the entire second tetralogy (which includes Richard II and Henry V), detailing how key scenes thematically imitat...
Read more
In the following essay, Council examines how Prince Hal, Falstaff, and Hotspur each respond to the code of honor documented in various Renaissance texts. The critic asserts that while Hotspur rigidly ...
Read more
In the following essay, Kastan discusses the circumstances surrounding the martyrdom of Sir John Oldcastle, the historical inspiration for Shakespeare's Falstaff, and recounts the controversy t...
Read more
In the following essay, McAlindon agrees with literary scholars who maintain that Falstaff is a parody of both Sir John Oldcastle and contemporary Puritans. The critic also contends that in addition t...
Read more
In the following review, Macaulay provides a generally favorable assessment of Michael Attenborough's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) rendering of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, particularly focusing...
Read more
In the following review, Billington praises Michael Attenborough's Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) staging of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 for capturing the moral ambiguity inherent in Shakespeare&#...
Read more
In the following essay, Levine discusses how Shakespeare employed the concept of credit and mercantile exchange in the Henry IV plays as a metaphor for the Lancastrian dynasty's claim to the En...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Goldberg examines representations of male homosocial relations and normative masculinity in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, particularly with regard to Hotspur and Falstaff. The cri...
Read more
In the following essay, Cohen views the combat between Hal and Hotspur in Act III, scene ii of Henry IV, Part 1 as a ritual purification of the violence that has engulfed England.
Hotspur is a char...
Read more
In the following essay, Grossman reads Prince Hal's “I know you all soliloquy” in Henry IV, Part 1 (I.ii) not as a promise to reform but as the prince's attempt to justify ...
Read more
David Willbern, State University of New York, Buffalo
One of the earliest criticisms of Shakespearean character is Maurice Morgann's well-known but rarely read "Essay on the Dra...
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Honour, in historical times, is usually depicted by the allusion of the `knight in shining armour'. However, in the play, 1 Henry IV, Shakespeare opposes this cliché by presenting multiple views ...
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The King is troubled by the pressures of ruling a kingdom; `uneasy lies the head that wears a crown'. Many speculate that this is because he doesn't have divine right kingship, at the time Kings belie...
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Teaching Henry IV, Part 1
All teaching products sold separately.
King Henry IV, Part I Lesson Plans contain 130 pages of teaching material, including:
Shakespeare's plays are thought-provoking and complex texts that explore the human themes of romance, deceit, tragedy, and comedy, and revenge. These activity guides are designed by teachers for t...
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was there at the double-super-secret rehearsal. And my reaction was: Do it, Kevin!
I would have kept silent if word hadn’t leaked (in Michael Riedel’s piece in the Post of June 23), ab...
Read more
was there at the double-super-secret rehearsal. And my reaction was: Do it, Kevin!
I would have kept silent if word hadn’t leaked (in Michael Riedel’s piece in the Post of June 23), a...
Read more
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