Henry IV, Part One Criticism

Henry IV, Part One | Criticism

  • Overviews

    In the first excerpt, Maynard Mack provides basic information about the play. Mack points out some of the historical facts that Shakespeare alters in writing Henry IV, Part One, and explains why topics covered in the play were of interest to Elizabethan audiences. In the second excerpt, Norrie Epstein offers a definition of the history play, comments on the themes typically covered in history plays, and offers an account of the events that take place in Shakespeare's histories.

  • Language

    In the first excerpt, Milton Crane examines the use of prose and verse in the play and shows how the two modes of speech differentiate between the world of the court and Falstaff's world. Crane shows how Hal moves easily from one world to the other. Crane also analyzes Hotspur's speech, arguing that he speaks the best verse in the play. In the second excerpt, Ronald R. MacDonald explores the use and manipulation of language in Henry IV, Part One. He shows how the use of oaths indicates the moral superiority of characters in the play and how the exploitation of language has become a necessity in the world created when Henry usurped Richard II.

  • Honor

    In the first of these two excerpts, Moody E. Prior examines the place of honor in the disorderly world of Henry IV, Part One. He discusses how Hotspur, Hal, Henry and Falstaff perceive honor. In the second excerpt, G. M. Pinciss bases an examination of honor and courtesy on two books, The Courtier and The Governour, that were commonly read at the time Shakespeare wrote Henry IV, Part One. Pinciss argues that while Hotspur is primarily concerned with honor throughout the play, Hal represents a comparable virtue: courtesy.

  • Fathers and Sons

    First, Ernst Kris observes that the conflict between fathers and sons appears in three different versions in Henry IV, Part One: Henry and Hal, Henry and Hotspur, and Falstaff and Hal. Kris discusses how, in order to present the conflict in this manner, Shakespeare deviated from his historical sources. Second, Robert B. Pierce maintains that personal, familial order is presented as a way of understanding the larger, political structure in the play. Pierce shows how the basic conflicts in the play—the struggle of Henry, and the nation, to create harmony from civil war, the struggle of Prince Hal to mature from a careless youth into an independent king—illuminate the larger conflict—the struggle to create order from disorder.

  • King Henry IV

    Henry IV's role in the play is debated in these two excerpts. First, Anne Marie McNamara examines Henry IV, Part One as a history play and argues that if the work is seen as such, there can be no debate over who the protagonist is; it must be Henry IV. In the second excerpt, however, Robert J. Fehrenbach argues that Henry is not the protagonist of the play. Fehrenbach states that, unlike Hal, Hotspur, and Falstaff, the King is characterized by indirect means. He urges the reader not to take anything Henry says at face value and maintains there is much to learn about Henry by examining what he doesn't say.

  • Prince Hal

    In the first of three excerpts, Garth Lloyd Evans asserts that Hal's reformation is a carefully planned event. Evans discusses the two worlds of the play: that of kingship and ceremony, and the natural world, and argues that Hal is the connection between these worlds. Next, Herbert Weisinger argues that Hal is "the ideal hero" and that his reformation is calculated. In the last excerpt, Charles Mitchell offers a detailed account of Hal's education, drawing attention to the characters Hal learns from.

  • Falstaff

    These three excerpts examine Falstaff's character. In the first, A. C. Bradley maintains that Falstaff is not a coward, even though his behavior sometimes appears cowardly. In the second excerpt, Axel Clark traces Falstaff's movement in the play from his stature as the principal character in what appears to be a comedy to his role as a subordinate character wielding little power by the end of the play. In the third excerpt, Robert F. Willson argues that when Shakespeare changed Falstaff's name from Oldcastle to Falstaff he rendered the spelling as he did for specific reasons. Willson shows how Falstaff's name is symbolic of the character's cowardice and gluttony.

  • Hotspur

    In the first excerpt, E. M. W. Tillyard argues that while some may consider Hotspur to be the hero of Henry IV, Part One, he is definitely not. Tillyard comments on why people might confuse Hotspur as the play's protagonist, focussing especially on the fact that Shakespeare gave Hotspur's character the play's best poetry to speak. In the second excerpt, Colin Gardner attempts to show how critics have misunderstood Hotspur. Recognizing Hotspur's flaws, Gardner also argues that Hotspur possesses extremely attractive and heroic qualities.

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