Henry IV, Part One | 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.
The conflict between father and son, an issue examined by many critics, is outlined by Ernst Kris. Kris points to the relationships analyzed in most discussions of this issue: the relationships between Henry and Hal; Henry and Hotspur; and Falstaff and Hal. Falstaff, many critics agree, is a father-figure to Hal in the sense that he teaches the Prince the ways of the world, or at least the ways of his (Falstaff's) world. Kris argues that Hal rejects this guidance, just as Hal rejects his own father as a paternal image. Critics such as Barabara Baines, however, attempt to show...
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