Henry IV, Part One

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.

The study of the language of Henry IV, Part One has included an examination of the puns used in the play as well as analyses of unfamiliar words and phrases. Criticism has largely focused on the use of prose and verse within the play. Milton Crane, Brian Vickers, and others have studied this issue. Crane shows how the use of prose and verse by the main characters in the play differentiates between the worlds of the court and the tavern and helps flesh out each character's role within the play. Vickers maintains that Falstaff's "very existence depends on prose" but that Hal...

Henry IV, Part One | Language

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