1 Henry 4

1. 1 Henry 4 is in many ways a study of contrasting characters, including Harry, Hotspur, Falstaff, and King Henry. Does the play have a single protagonist or many characters of equal importance? Why is the play named after King Henry?

2. 1 Henry 4 explores the qualities of a king and how a king ought to bear himself in relation to other people. Consider the various candidates for kingship in the play (King Henry IV himself, Prince Harry, Hotspur) and discuss what qualities the main contenders would bring to bear on kingship. Do these qualities help the eventual winners defeat the losers, or is it merely a question of luck? 

3. The play contains many instances of symmetry, in which scenes or even people seem to be slightly altered reflections of other scenes or people. Look for scenes where you think that a previous event is being repeated or transformed or for characters who are explicitly contrasted or compared. Which scenes or characters are these? Why might Shakespeare use this technique? 

4. 1 Henry 4 mixes prose and poetry to an extraordinary degree. Consider the places in which the two modes occur in the play. Why did Shakespeare choose to write his play this way? Do you think that some of the characters “demand” to speak in prose or in poetry? How would the character of Falstaff, for instance, be different if he spoke in iambic pentameter or that of King Henry if he always spoke in prose? Can you see Harry’s shifts from poetry to prose and back again as an indication of changes in his frame of mind, his environment, or his ambitions over the course of the play? 

5. Many critics see in 1 Henry 4 a complicated pattern of displacement. Hotspur displaces Harry in his father’s eyes, for instance, and Harry must win back the place he has lost (by killing Hotspur). Similarly, Falstaff has displaced King Henry IV as Harry’s father figure. What choices lead to these displacements? Why do you think Shakespeare created them? How (and why) are they resolved—if they are resolved? 

6. Many critics have found Falstaff more fascinating than any other character in the play. The critic Harold Bloom, for instance, takes a cue from Hegel in claiming that Falstaff and Hamlet are Shakespeare’s two most intelligent characters: they are, as Hegel claims, “free artists of themselves,” self-aware beings who invent themselves through their own self-descriptions; in fact, they are “men made out of words.” What do you think Bloom means by this? Consider the way in which Falstaff uses words, humor, and punning not only to negotiate the world around him, but also to constantly describe and redescribe himself. What is the impression of Falstaff that we ultimately come away with, and where (or with whom) does it originate? 

7. Think about 2.4 in which Hotspur is confronted by his wife about his plans for the rebellion. What does this scene tell us about Hotspur’s character? What does it tell us about Renaissance marriage and the role of women in general? How does Shakespeare connect this analysis to the forward motion of his plot? 

8. What role does honor play in 1 Henry 4? 

9. What is the relationship between the worlds of the court and the tavern in the play? 

10. How does Shakespeare guide your feelings about the rebels?

11. Trace one of the major imagery patterns (counterfeiting, disorder, or horsemanship) through the play. 

12. Discuss the education of Prince Hal. 

13. Discuss how Hotspur and Falstaff serve as models for Prince Hal. 

14. What is the relationship between King Henry and Falstaff? 

15. Compare the various speeches on Henry's usurpation of the crown. 

16. Discuss the motives for the Percy rebellion. 

17. Honor is one of the most frequently occurring words in the play. Focus on three characters- most likely Hotspur, Falstaff, and Prince Hal- and discuss what honor means to each. Pay particular attention to: Hotspur's reactions in 1.3, and throughout Act 4; to Falstaff's speeches on honor in Act 5; and to Prince Hal's discussion of the drawers in 2.4 and his promises to King Henry in 3.2. Then you could focus on the battle of Shrewsbury, where the honor of all three characters is tested. Explain how this is done, and what you learn about the characters as a result. Talk about how the pursuit or avoidance of honor guides the characters' action. In your summing up, discuss the relationship between kingship and honor, and between politics and honor. How does Shakespeare's exploration of the many definitions of honor affect your interpretation of the plot? 

18. Start by describing each world separately. Who lives in the court, and who in the tavern? Talk about the fact that only Prince Hal lives in both, and why. What are the characters' professions and interests? How do they talk? Then discuss the relationship between court and tavern. What is common to both worlds? (How are rebellion and robbery related in the play?) What is different about the two worlds? Talk about Shakespeare's episodic structure and its series of contrasts and comparisons. Look at the sequence of scenes, and their nature or character. Find images common to both worlds, like crowns, stealing, and counterfeiting. Discuss how the imagery relates the two worlds. How are the common themes of rebellion, education, and authority applied to the situations in each world? 

19. First identify the Percies as King Henry's former allies. Describe their different versions of Henry's rise to power (look at the speeches of Hotspur and Worcester on the subject). What reasons do they give for the rebellion, and how are you meant to feel about these reasons? Then look briefly at each member of the family. What kind of role does Northumberland, for instance, play in the conspiracy? What about Worcester? 

20. List the Percies' allies, and explain why they were chosen to join the conspiracy. 

21. As soon as the conspiracy is formed, it begins to fall apart. Describe how Shakespeare makes you feel uneasy about the nature of the conspirators, and especially as the battle nears. Look at Hotspur's reaction to the unnamed lord's letter in 2.3; the scene in Glendower's castle, where the rebels divide up England and quarrel among themselves; and the scene where only Hotspur, Worcester, and Douglas show up at Shrewsbury. Why do the other rebels (Northumberland, Glendower, and Mortimer) refuse to come? Do you think they ever really intended to show up? 

22. Look at Worcester's reaction to King Henry's offer for peace. Why does Worcester refuse to tell Hotspur about it? What effect does his secrecy have on the outcome of the play? 

23. After the battle, Worcester and Vernon are executed, Hotspur is dead, and Douglas is allowed to go free. Has justice been served? Are the rebels treated fairly by the king? by Hal? 

24. Counterfeiting: Define the meaning of counterfeiting, first as minting a false currency and then as acting a role instead of being the person you really are. What is the relationship between Henry's usurped crown (a counterfeit kingship) and the stolen crowns of the thieves? 

25. There are many variations of the image of counterfeiting in the play. Counterfeit crowns, for example, appear as the usurped crown, as stolen crowns; false kings, theatrical kings, imaginary armies, disguised armies. Cracked crowns are also broken heads (in the inn-yard scene of 2.1). Falstaff counterfeits death at Shrewsbury. Finally, discuss how the nature of counterfeiting is a theme of the play. 

26. Disorder: Traditionally the images of disease and disorder in the play have been seen as a moral commentary on the state of the kingdom. But you may also choose to see these images as descriptions of the natural condition of man in society, particularly in a monarchy where the nobles feud for power. 

27. Disorder takes the form of broken promises (King Henry), civil war (both in 1.1 and at Shrewsbury), the life in the tavern (pay particular attention to Falstaff's attempts to turn Prince Hal into a king), in a son's disobedience to his father (both Hal and Hotspur), and in the emblems of anarchy discussed in the inn-yard scene. 

28. Disease images also fill the play. Falstaff is obese (describe him at Gad's Hill); Northumberland's illness breeds sickness in the rebels' army; King Henry is nervous and anxious; and before the battle at Shrewsbury, the sun and wind play havoc, reflecting the disease in men who rebel against the state. 

29. Horsemanship: One theme of the play is chivalry- knights in armor fighting on horseback. Hotspur loves riding, but Falstaff is forced to walk, both at Gad's Hill and at Shrewsbury. Prince Hal appears riding to Shrewsbury like a young god of war. Discuss how these three characters' attitudes toward horses and riding reflect their personalities and moral positions in the play. 

30. Horses are also a symbol of vitality. Their presence in this play is one way Shakespeare describes the energy unleashed by the various civil disorders. Although horses can't be brought on stage, describe how Shakespeare makes you hear their hooves pounding (the messengers arriving and departing throughout, armies approaching) through the kingdom. Discuss how the racing and charging of horses described in the imagery creates an impression of haste, and of how time is compressed dramatically through this device. 

31. Set up your answer by describing what Hal is like at the beginning of the play, and then what he has proven himself to be by the end. Talk about the tavern world and what he learns there; then talk about the battle of Shrewsbury and what Hal learns there. What leadership qualities has Hal inherited from his father? What other qualities does he acquire and how might they make him a better king than Henry? Conclude your answer by defining a good leader (as you think Shakespeare defines it) and then discuss how Hal does and does not fit that definition by the end of the play. 

32. You can begin your discussion with a description of the theme of "the education of a prince." What is Prince Hal's task in the play? Why is it important to the plot? Look at his conversations with Falstaff, at his soliloquy in Act I, scene ii, and at his description of Hotspur in 2.4. 

33. Demonstrate how Shakespeare educates Prince Hal by comparing him with Hotspur or contrasting him to Falstaff. For this you will first have to list both Hotspur's and Falstaff's chief traits. How do they feel about honor, loyalty, war, justice, and honesty? What are their qualifications for leadership? 

34. Discuss how Hotspur and Falstaff share some personality traits and contrast vividly in others. How do these features compare with Prince Hal's personality? Does the prince share any of them? 

35. Hotspur and Falstaff represent opposite extremes in the code and conduct of life. You can argue that Prince Hal finds a balance between these two extremes or that he picks and chooses among these attitudes, guided by circumstances. Finally, explain why Prince Hal acts the way he does. Discuss his personality and his motivations. Do his encounters with Hotspur and Falstaff help or hinder his education in kingship? 

36. Begin with a discussion of the nature of authority in the play. Talk about the idea of kingship, and about the relationship between fathers and sons. 

37. Then describe King Henry's character. Talk about his moral position as a usurper and a crowned king. Next describe Falstaff's basic characteristics and discuss his profession as a thief and his function as "king of the tavern." How does this mirroring relationship between these two characters make you feel about each of them? You could concentrate your discussion by comparing: Henry's yearning to go on a crusade and Falstaff's role as "Monsieur Remorse"; the tavern interview and the court interview with Prince Hal; the robbery of the crown from Richard and the robbery of crowns at Gad's Hill; or the armies of counterfeit kings in the tavern and at Shrewsbury. 

38. First, sum up the historical events that led Henry to power, as objectively as you can. Then discuss, in the order they appear in the play, each of the various versions you are told of this story. What is included and what is left out? What does this tell you about the character who is speaking and the situation he's in? For example, Henry conveniently forgets about the debts he owes to the Percies because he needs to justify his usurpation to himself. Hotspur sees Henry as a vile politician who murdered Richard, the "sweet, lovely rose," because Hotspur idealizes the past. Worcester says Henry could not help becoming king because he wants to play down Henry's abilities and emphasize the Percies' role. In your final paragraph discuss what the effect of these different versions of history is. How do they make the audience feel at each point? How do they relate to the themes of the play? 

39. Discuss briefly why each of these allies joined the rebellion. For example, begin with the Percies themselves. Worcester and Northumberland fear that Henry is plotting to murder them for their part in the conspiracy to depose Richard II, and they want a bigger share of his power. They plot to give Hotspur three reasons to fight Henry: they create a situation in which the king is forced to insult Hotspur's sense of personal honor with the Scottish prisoners; they give Hotspur a legal claimant to Richard's throne to champion (Mortimer); and they remind Hotspur that their family honor has been badly tarnished for their part in the deposition of Richard. Hotspur, decides to rebel in order to redeem his honor. 

40. Discuss Glendower, Mortimer, York, and Douglas: What do they hope to gain from the rebellion? How this rebellion affects England. Is Henry to blame because he created the political conditions for it to ripen in? How does the rebellion express Shakespeare's view of history? Is the Percies' rebellion just one part of the natural chaos that results from deposing a rightful king? How does the rebellion connect to the other themes of the play- leadership, counterfeiting, fathers and sons? 

41. How are the images of crowns, hanging, or disorder related to Shakespeare's plot? Follow one of these images through the play and discuss how it affects your impression of characters and events.

42. Discuss the qualities a man needs to be a good king? How does Shakespeare explore the nature of kingship?

43. Consider the presentation of women in the play. Compare Lady Percy with the tavern hostess. How do they act toward Hotspur and Falstaff, respectively? What is Lady Mortimer's function in 3.1?

44. Compare the carrier scene and the Archbishop of York scene. What are their functions in the play?

45. Compare Hotspur's scene with Lady Percy (2.3) with the scene between Brutus and Portia in 2.1 of Julius Caesar.

46. Discuss where you think the center of the play lies. Is it with the rivalry between Hal and Hotspur; with Hal's choice between the worlds represented by Hotspur and Falstaff; or with the consequences of rebellion and crime?

47. Compare Henry IV's character in Richard II and Henry IV.

48. Even though we no longer have kings who rule absolutely, our world has dictators and tyrants, civil wars, and rising crime rates. Consider whether the problems of a medieval English king have relevance for you today. What lessons can you learn from this play?

49. You can see the play as a story about two rival families. Compare the Percies and the royal family in terms of political motivations and actions, and the relationships between fathers and sons.

50. Examine whether the characters of King Henry, Prince Hal, Hotspur, and Falstaff change and develop during the play. If you think any of them does, which of his character traits change, under what conditions, and to what effect? If the character(s) remain the same from beginning to end, what forms the dramatic interest of the plot?

51. Examine this play as a satire on chivalry and war. Use the characters of Hotspur, the popinjay lord, Falstaff, and Prince Hal as your guides.  

52. Examine the imagery of counterfeiting and play-acting. How does it work as a comment on kingship and politics?

2 Henry 4

1. In Act 3.1.31, King Henry observes, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." He means that those who take on the responsibilities of leadership also take on the worries that go with them. Identify several world leaders today who are uneasy because they "wear the crown" and explain why they are uneasy.

2. Prince Hal thinks his father is dead when in reality the king is only sleeping. Hal removes the king's crown and places it on his own head. What motivates Hal to do this? Is he overly ambitious? Is he simply trying to demonstrate, after leading the life of a playboy, that he is now mature enough to assume the awesome responsibility of kingship?

3. Has the attitude toward war as a glorious adventure changed since the days of King Henry IV?

4. Do you believe Prince Hal was right, at the end of the play, to scold Falstaff?

5. Analyze the personality of Henry VI and the role he has to play.

6. Henry VI is a man destined for goodness, but not for greatness. Substantiate.

7. What is the political climax of the play? What is its outcome?

8. Give an account of the Cade Rebellion, with special reference to the part played by Jack Cade.

9. The lords of the court bless Queen Margaret as “England’s happiness” upon her arrival. Explain the irony of these words in light Margaret’s actions throughout the play.

10. Probe into the relationship between the king and his Protector.

11. Describe Suffolk’s demise. To whom does he compare himself before his death? Why?

12. Give a brief character sketch of the Duke of York.

13. Gloucester is portrayed as a self-righteous man, who believes that truth can never be overpowered. Substantiate.

14. What is the significance of the miracle scene and the scene of the duel by combat between Horner and Peter?

15. Give a character sketch of Duchess Eleanor.

16. What is the importance of the “Conjurer Scene” in the play?