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Title: Henry IV, Part I
Author:
William Shakespeare
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Play
Pages: 89
Words: 25K
From Wikipedia
Henry Bolingbroke—now
King Henry IV—is having an unquiet reign. His personal disquiet at
the usurpation of his predecessor Richard II would be solved by a
crusade to the Holy Land, but trouble on his borders with Scotland
and Wales make leaving unwise. Moreover, he is increasingly at odds
with the Percy family, who helped him to his throne, and Edmund
Mortimer, the Earl of March, Richard II's chosen heir.
Adding to King Henry's
troubles is the behaviour of his son and heir, the Prince of Wales.
Hal (the future Henry V) has forsaken the Royal Court to waste his
time in taverns with low companions. This makes him an object of
scorn to the nobles and calls into question his royal worthiness.
Hal's chief friend and foil in living the low life is Sir John
Falstaff. Fat, old, drunk, and corrupt as he is, he has a charisma
and a zest for life that captivates the Prince.
The play features three
groups of characters that interact slightly at first, and then come
together in the Battle of Shrewsbury, where the success of the
rebellion will be decided. First there is King Henry himself and his
immediate council. He is the engine of the play, but usually in the
background. Next there is the group of rebels, energetically embodied
in Henry Percy ("Hotspur") and including his father, the
Earl of Northumberland and led by his uncle Thomas Percy, Earl of
Worcester. The Scottish Earl of Douglas, Edmund Mortimer and the
Welshman Owen Glendower also join. Finally, at the centre of the play
are the young Prince Hal and his companions Falstaff, Poins,
Bardolph, and Peto. Streetwise and pound-foolish, these rogues manage
to paint over this grim history in the colours of comedy.
As the play opens, the
king is angry with Hotspur for refusing him most of the prisoners
taken in a recent action against the Scots at Holmedon. Hotspur, for
his part, would have the king ransom Edmund Mortimer (his wife's
brother) from Owen Glendower, the Welshman who holds him. Henry
refuses, berates Mortimer's loyalty, and treats the Percys with
threats and rudeness. Stung and alarmed by Henry's dangerous and
peremptory way with them, they proceed to make common cause with the
Welsh and Scots, intending to depose "this ingrate and cankered
Bolingbroke."[3] By Act II, rebellion is brewing.
Meanwhile, Henry's son
Hal is joking, drinking, and thieving with Falstaff and his
associates. He likes Falstaff but makes no pretense at being like
him. He enjoys insulting his dissolute friend and makes sport of him
by joining in Poins' plot to disguise themselves and rob and terrify
Falstaff and three friends of loot they have stolen in a highway
robbery, purely for the fun of hearing Falstaff lie about it later,
after which Hal returns the stolen money. Rather early in the play,
in fact, Hal informs us that his riotous time will soon come to a
close, and he will re-assume his rightful high place in affairs by
showing himself worthy to his father and others through some
(unspecified) noble exploits. Hal believes that this sudden change of
manner will amount to a greater reward and acknowledgment of
prince-ship, and in turn earn him respect from the members of the
court.
The revolt of Mortimer
and the Percys very quickly gives him his chance to do just that. The
high and the low come together when the Prince makes up with his
father and is given a high command. He vows to fight and kill the
rebel Hotspur, and orders Falstaff (who is, after all, a knight) to
take charge of a group of foot soldiers and proceed to the battle
site at Shrewsbury.
The battle is crucial
because if the rebels even achieve a standoff their cause gains
greatly, as they have other powers awaiting under Northumberland,
Glendower, Mortimer, and the Archbishop of York. Henry needs a
decisive victory here. He outnumbers the rebels,[4] but Hotspur, with
the wild hope of despair, leads his troops into battle. The day wears
on, the issue still in doubt, the king harried by the wild Scot
Douglas, when Prince Hal and Hotspur, the two Harrys that cannot
share one land, meet. Finally they will fight – for glory, for
their lives, and for the kingdom. No longer a tavern brawler but a
warrior, the future king prevails, ultimately killing Hotspur in
single combat.
On the way to this
climax, we are treated to Falstaff, who has "misused the King's
press damnably",[5] not only by taking money from able-bodied
men who wished to evade service but by keeping the wages of the poor
souls he brought instead who were killed in battle ("food for
powder, food for powder").[6] Left on his own during Hal's
battle with Hotspur, Falstaff dishonourably counterfeits death to
avoid attack by Douglas. After Hal leaves Hotspur's body on the
field, Falstaff revives in a mock miracle. Seeing he is alone, he
stabs Hotspur's corpse in the thigh and claims credit for the
kill.[7] Though Hal knows better, he allows Falstaff his disreputable
tricks. Soon after being given grace by Hal, Falstaff states that he
wants to amend his life and begin "to live cleanly as a nobleman
should do".[8]
The play ends at
Shrewsbury, after the battle. The death of Hotspur has taken the
heart out of the rebels,[9] and the king's forces prevail. Henry is
pleased with the outcome, not least because it gives him a chance to
execute Thomas Percy, the Earl of Worcester, one of his chief enemies
(though previously one of his greatest friends). Meanwhile, Hal shows
off his kingly mercy in praise of valour; having taken the valiant
Douglas prisoner, Hal orders his enemy released without ransom.[10]
But the war goes on; now the king's forces must deal with the
Archbishop of York, who has joined with Northumberland, and with the
forces of Mortimer and Glendower. This unsettled ending sets the
stage for Henry IV, Part 2.
This really should have been entitled “Henry V, the Early Years”.
While Henry IV is the titular character, he seems to do little
besides provide a reason for more kingdom drama. Everyone is going
off to war at a moments notice on what seems pretty much like a whim.
During all of this, young Prince Harry (by the by, WHY does the name
Henry spawn the nickname Harry? It's not even shorter for goodness
sake) is carousing it up and being a blot upon his father's name. He
is unfavorably compared to the other Harry, the one leading the
rebellion against the King.
In the final battle Harry shows his royal colors and mans it up
perfectly. He seems to have set his rascally youthful ways behind him
and to take his responsibilities seriously. Of course, all his old
low friends are sure they are going to be sitting pretty once Harry
becomes King, so they do what they want. Oh ye evil men, Judgement is
coming!
Once again, I am loving these history plays. I was actually looking
forward to reading this when Shakespeare rolled around in my reading
rotation. What a change from earlier plays where that word
“Shakespeare” brought dread and dismal despair to my heart. In
fact, I seriously thought about just reading Part II of Henry IV but
thankfully calmer and wiser heads prevailed (ie, my rational self
instead of my emotional self).
★★★★☆
