Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Written: c 1596-1597
Editor: David Bevington
Publisher: Oxford University Press (2008 Reissue)
Bought from: Book Depository
Introduction
Shakespeare wrote his most important English history plays in two tetralogies, or sequences of four plays apiece. The first series, written near the start of his career (roughly 1589–1593), consists of 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III, and covers the period between about 1422 and 1485. The second series, written at the height of Shakespeare’s career (roughly 1595–1599), covers the period from around 1398 to 1420 and consists of Richard II, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV and Henry V.
There are two other, less-celebrated history plays: King John, whose title figure ruled from 1199 to 1216, and All Is Well, about the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) as its subject.
What is it about?
Glendower
“I can call spirits from the vasty deep.”
Hotspur
“Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come when you do call for them?”
Glendower
“Why, I can teach you, cousin, to command the devil.”
Hotspur
“And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil
By telling truth. Tell truth and shame the devil.”
(3.1.51-56)
His uncle Worcester, older and wiser, tries to warn him (but to no avail):
Falstaff is very fond of Hal even though he is often abused physically and verbally by the future King. Whether this affection is genuine or Falstaff is simply making use of Hal is not clear. Falstaff's plea while he is role-playing Hal defending himself is tinged with sadness since we know that Hal will cast him aside in the future:
Themes
Shakespeare is fond of symmetries and often repeats scenes, conversations, or even characters. In 1 Henry IV, there are several examples of this. King Henry and Falstaff are fathers in their own way to Hal. Falstaff is the perfect foil for Hotspur - not only physically but also in their attitude to honor. Last but not least Hotspur and Hal are poles apart in the first half of the play and then converge in the final battle at Shrewsbury - in the end, Hal becomes Hotspur. Hal and Falstaff play the King and Hal, and switch places, in the tavern (2.4), anticipating the actual meeting between father and son (3.2).
A major theme of the play is honour as embodied in and represented by the contrasting figures of Hotspur and Falstaff. Hotspur is ever eager to rush into action in search of honour:
As the beginning of the play, Hal is living in very debauched circumstances but after civil war breaks out, he sets his mind to defeat Hotspur in combat so that all of Hotspur’s honor, glories, and achievements will become his. He vows to begin acting in a way suitable to the heir to the throne and he solemnly declares that he will carry out what he has sworn or die in the attempt:
How is the book?
Publisher: Oxford University Press (2008 Reissue)
Bought from: Book Depository
Introduction
Shakespeare wrote his most important English history plays in two tetralogies, or sequences of four plays apiece. The first series, written near the start of his career (roughly 1589–1593), consists of 1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III, and covers the period between about 1422 and 1485. The second series, written at the height of Shakespeare’s career (roughly 1595–1599), covers the period from around 1398 to 1420 and consists of Richard II, 1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV and Henry V.
The eight works are united by an overarching narrative: they form a linked series and deal with the rise and fall of the House of Lancaster (a period that historians today often refer to as the Wars of the Roses).
There are two other, less-celebrated history plays: King John, whose title figure ruled from 1199 to 1216, and All Is Well, about the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) as its subject.
What is it about?
Henry IV Part 1, commonly referred to as 1 Henry IV, is set in the period between Hotspur’s battle at Homildon against the Douglas late in 1402 and ends with the defeat of the rebels at Shrewsbury in the middle of 1403. This is nearly two centuries before Shakespeare’s own time.
The main characters are three Henrys and one Falstaff.
The eponymous Henry IV, also known as Bolingbroke, is King of England having overthrown Richard II (as told in Richard II). He was Duke of Lancaster before he became King hence he is known as the first King from the Lancaster family (the Lancaster will later fight the York family in the War of the Roses). King Henry IV stays largely in the background in this play.
The main characters are three Henrys and one Falstaff.
The eponymous Henry IV, also known as Bolingbroke, is King of England having overthrown Richard II (as told in Richard II). He was Duke of Lancaster before he became King hence he is known as the first King from the Lancaster family (the Lancaster will later fight the York family in the War of the Roses). King Henry IV stays largely in the background in this play.
The second Henry is Henry IV’s eldest son and heir, the Prince of Wales. Prince Henry is also known as Hal and Harry. He is the future King Henry V. When we first meet him, he is not with his father in the Royal Courts but living the low life with his surrogate father Falstaff in East London. But it seems he has a hidden agenda for his behavior as he makes clear in a soliloquy after his companions exit:
“I know you all, and will awhile upholdThe unyoked humour of your idleness.Yet herein will I imitate the sun,Who doth permit the base contagious cloudsTo smother up his beauty from the world,That when he please again to be himself,Being wanted, he may be more wondered atBy breaking through the foul and ugly mistsOf vapours that did seem to strangle him.If all the year were playing holidays,To sport would be as tedious as to work;But when they seldom come, they wished-for come,And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents.So, when this loose behaviour I throw offAnd pay the debt I never promisèd,By how much better than my word I am,By so much shall I falsify men’s hopes;And like bright metal on a sullen ground,My reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault,Shall show more goodly and attract more eyesThan that which hath no foil to set it off.I’ll so offend to make offence a skill,Redeeming time when men think least I will.” (1.2.183–205)
The third Henry is Sir Henry (or Harry) Percy also known as Hotspur. He and his family played important roles in putting Henry IV in the throne (as told in Richard II). In this play, cracks start to appear between the King and his erstwhile allies. The reason for this is recounted in Act 4 scene 3. Hotspur is defined, as his name suggests, primarily by a quick temper. He is impatient even with his supposed allies:
Glendower
“I can call spirits from the vasty deep.”
Hotspur
“Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come when you do call for them?”
Glendower
“Why, I can teach you, cousin, to command the devil.”
Hotspur
“And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil
By telling truth. Tell truth and shame the devil.”
(3.1.51-56)
His uncle Worcester, older and wiser, tries to warn him (but to no avail):
“In faith, my lord, you are too wilful-blame ...You must need learn, lord, to amend this fault.Though sometimes it show greatness, courage, blood -And that’s the dearest grace it renders you -Yet oftentimes it doth present harsh rage,Defect of manners, want of government,Pride, haughtiness, opinion, and disdain,The least of which haunting a noblemanLoseth men’s hearts and leave behind a stainUpon the beauty of all parts besides,Beguiling them of commendation.”Last but not least, Sir John Falstaff. He is a drunkard, braggart and liar. He is a petty criminal and sometime highwayman. He is gluttonous and lustful. He does not repay moneys he borrows. He does not think twice about sending to their certain death peasants who cannot afford to buy him off. He is sloven and fat. Yet, he is one of literature’s most celebrated characters. He is a favourite of American writer, literary critic and Shakespeare expert Professor Harold Bloom. In an interview with Vanity Fair (May 2011), Professor Bloom explained why: “For two reasons: Because more even than Hamlet—and that’s saying something—he’s the most intelligent person in all of literature. He has the best mind, the best wit, the most beautiful laughing language. As my late friend the marvelous critic George Wilson Knight said about Hamlet, he’s the embassy of death. But Falstaff is life! Falstaff is the blessing.”
(3.1.172-184)
Falstaff is very fond of Hal even though he is often abused physically and verbally by the future King. Whether this affection is genuine or Falstaff is simply making use of Hal is not clear. Falstaff's plea while he is role-playing Hal defending himself is tinged with sadness since we know that Hal will cast him aside in the future:
“But to say I know more harm in him than in myself were to say more than I know. That he is old, the more the pity, his white hairs do witness it; but that he is, saving your reverence, a whoremaster, that I utterly deny. If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked! If to be old and merry be a sin, then many an old host that I know is damned. If to be fat be to be hated, then Pharaoh’s lean kine are to be loved. No, my good lord, banish Peto, banish Bardolph, banish Poins; but for sweet Jack Falstaff, kind Jack Falstaff, true Jack Falstaff, valiant Jack Falstaff, and therefore more valiant being as he is old Jack Falstaff, banish not him thy Harry’s company, banish not him thy Harry’s company - banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.”
(2.4.449–439)
Themes
Shakespeare is fond of symmetries and often repeats scenes, conversations, or even characters. In 1 Henry IV, there are several examples of this. King Henry and Falstaff are fathers in their own way to Hal. Falstaff is the perfect foil for Hotspur - not only physically but also in their attitude to honor. Last but not least Hotspur and Hal are poles apart in the first half of the play and then converge in the final battle at Shrewsbury - in the end, Hal becomes Hotspur. Hal and Falstaff play the King and Hal, and switch places, in the tavern (2.4), anticipating the actual meeting between father and son (3.2).
A major theme of the play is honour as embodied in and represented by the contrasting figures of Hotspur and Falstaff. Hotspur is ever eager to rush into action in search of honour:
“By heaven, methinks it were an easy leapEven King Henry recognises this characteristic and observes enviously that Hotspur is indeed:
To pluck bright honour from the pale-faced moon,
Or dive into the bottom of the deep,
Where fathom-line could never touch the ground,
And pluck up drownèd honour by the locks,
So he that doth redeem her thence might wear
Without corival all her dignities To pluck bright honour from the pale-faced moon, Or dive into the bottom of the deep, Where fathom-line could never touch the ground, And pluck up drownèd honour by the locks, So he that doth redeem her thence might wear Without corival all her dignities”.
(1.3.201–207)
“A son who is the theme of honour’s tongue,Falstaff is the exact opposite. He knows honour is no use to someone who is injured or worse dies in obtaining it:
Amongst a grove the very straightest plant,
Who is sweet Fortune’s minion and her pride Amongst a grove the very straightest plant, Who is sweet Fortune’s minion and her pride”.
(1.1.80-83)
“... honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honor prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honor set to a leg? no. Or an arm? no. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honor hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honor? A word. What is in that word honor? What is that honor? Air. A trim reckoning. Who hath it? He that died o’Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. 'Tis insensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore, I’ll none of it. Honor is a mere scutcheon. And so ends my catechism.”True to his philosophy, Falstaff saves his own skin by playing dead during the battle, emerging only after the battle ends to declare: “The better part of valour is discretion” (5.4.118).
(5.1.129–140)
As the beginning of the play, Hal is living in very debauched circumstances but after civil war breaks out, he sets his mind to defeat Hotspur in combat so that all of Hotspur’s honor, glories, and achievements will become his. He vows to begin acting in a way suitable to the heir to the throne and he solemnly declares that he will carry out what he has sworn or die in the attempt:
“I shall hereafter, my thrice-gracious lord,
Be more myself. Be more myself.”
(3.2.92–93)
How is the book?
This is a volume in The Oxford Shakespeare line of the larger Oxford World’s Classics series. Each book in this series comes with a detailed introduction and on-page commentary and notes. There is also an appendix which compares certain passages in the play against Shakespeare’s sources. I feel the introduction is too long and some of the footnotes too detailed for the general reader.
Finally
Good read.
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