Literature: Much Ado about Shakespeare: Henry IV Part 1

The play we know as Part 1 was first published simply as The History of Henry Fourth, and Part 2 was probably a later thought. It is more about young Hal, the future Henry V, than about his father. His princely education is far from orthodox, and he is the despair of his father. In contrast young Harry Percy seems the perfect son – or is he? Other father-figures are Falstaff, schooling Hal in debauchery and Glendower, the Welsh wizard who so annoys Harry Percy. The question of the right to rule hovers over the play: Henry IV, the usurper, and in time, his son; the Percy family, who aided his rise, but are disappointed in their reward; or Mortimer, the wizard’s son-in-law, named as heir by the deposed Richard II. Questions of betrayal, faith, loyalty, and honour are considered from every point of view. Honour may sound old-fashioned today, but call it reputation and the problems faced by public figures who lose it, deservedly or not, and perhaps we have not changed so much. Studying the play will give us insights into Shakespeare's mature writing style and explain why his work is still so relevan