CRITICISM

Barker, Roberta. “Tragical-Comical-Historical Hotspur.” Shakespeare Quarterly 54, no. 3 (2003): 288-306.

Reevaluates the character of Hotspur, arguing that while modern productions of Henry IV, Part 1 generally portray him as either a comic foil to Prince Hal or a feudal holdover, playgoers in earlier centuries would have seen him as a more complete character, who moves “from tragic to comic to historical modes in order to accommodate shifting theatrical conditions and shifting constructions of heroism.”

Fike, Matthew. “Dives and Lazarus in The Henriad.” Renascence 55, no. 4 (summer 2003): 279-91.

Assesses Jesus's parable of Dives and Lazarus in relation to Falstaff, asserting that the fat knight is a dynamic character who possesses the negative, gluttonous characteristics of Dives and his brothers, but who also becomes a contrite Lazarus-figure when he is banished by Hal.

Hodgdon, Barbara, ed. The First Part of King Henry the Fourth: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997, 419 p.

Provides the text of Henry IV, Part 1, along with extracts from early modern narratives, eyewitness accounts of performances, maps, and woodcut prints, in an effort to elucidate the cultural milieu that shaped Shakespeare's writing of the play.

Hoegberg, David E. “Master Harold and the Bard: Education and Succession in Fugard and Shakespeare.” Comparative Drama 29, no. 4 (winter 1995-96): 415-35.

Perceives several thematic and ideological similarities between Athol Fugard's Master Harold … and the Boys (1982) and Shakespeare's Henry IV plays.

Kastan, David Scott, ed. Introduction to King Henry IV Part 1, by William Shakespeare, pp. 1-132. London: The Arden Shakespeare, 2002.

Presents a comprehensive survey of the principal themes, structure, characters, and stage history of Henry IV, Part 1.

Maguire, Laurie E. “Political Life: Shakespeare and Government.” In Studying Shakespeare: A Guide to the Plays, pp. 88-139. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Examines the tension between the private and public lives of the characters who maneuver for political supremacy in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, including Hotspur, Prince Hal, and King Henry.

Toliver, Harold E. “Falstaff, the Prince, and the History Play.” Shakespeare Quarterly 16 (winter 1965): 63-80.

Maintains that Shakespeare sought to transform the neoclassical history play by creating psychologically complex characters such as Falstaff and Prince Hal in order “to engage more profoundly the raw stuff of the human psyche and its institutions and rituals imitated in the form.”

Weis, René, ed. Introduction to Henry IV, Part 2, by William Shakespeare, pp. 1-112. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.

Provides a comprehensive overview of Henry IV, Part 2, including an analysis of the play's composition date, sources, characters, major themes, structure, language, and performance history.