Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"
    A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"
    A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"
    Ebook61 pages48 minutes

    A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"

    By Gale and Cengage

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Shakespeare for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Shakespeare for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateSep 20, 2016
    ISBN9781535824699
    A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"

    Read more from Gale

    Related to A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"

    Related ebooks

    Literary Criticism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Book Review

      Sep 17, 2023

      Book Review
      4 min read

    • Article

      Exhibition Reveals How Shakespeare’s Hal Has Excused Royal Heirs For Centuries

      Jul 15, 2021

      From Frederick in the early 18th century to Charles in our own, a series of princes of Wales have associated themselves with Shakespeare’s Prince Hal as a way to excuse youthful excesses and promise strong future leadership, according to a new exhibi

      3 min read

    • Article

      All The World’s A Stage

      Apr 6, 2023

      All The World’s A Stage
      5 min read

    • Article

      What If We Never Had The Bard?

      May 6, 2023

      WITHOUT the First Folio, 18 of Shakespeare’s plays that had not previously been printed would have been lost, among them Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night and The Tempest. No “friends, Romans and countrymen”, no “brave new world”, no “double, do

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Diplomacy

      Jun 11, 2020

      The Art Of Diplomacy
      6 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      May 11, 2023

      Michael Wood On…
      3 min read

    • Article

      From Parchment To Performance

      Apr 15, 2021

      In Shakespeare’s time, playwriting was a matter of both perspiration and inspiration. First he had to think up a story, which he would shape into a plot. Usually this meant he had to do a lot of fresh reading, because most of Shakespeare’s plays are

      4 min read

    • Article

      Life And Times: William Shakespeare

      Jun 9, 2021

      Considered the first English writer to become wealthy from his published output, Shakespeare was born in 1564 in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the son of a trader. Attendance at the local grammar gave him an ample grounding in

      1 min read

    • Article

      Opening And Closing Scenes

      Apr 15, 2021

      William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers of all time, and our longing to know as much as we can about him continues. We know that he was born in 1564 to John and Mary Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, and that he was their f

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Last Shakespeare

      Mar 6, 2020

      The Last Shakespeare
      5 min read

    • Article

      Falstaff’s Last Act

      Feb 9, 2022

      Poins, when plotting the highway robbery at Gad’s Hill with Prince Hal, in Henry IV Part 1, concludes his recommendation with the line ‘The virtue of this jest will be the incomprehensible lies that this same fat rogue will tell us when we meet at su

      3 min read

    • Article

      ENGLISH HOMES OLD & NEW

      Apr 6, 2022

      ENGLISH HOMES OLD & NEW
      7 min read

    • Article

      Field Of The Cloth Of Gold

      May 14, 2020

      Field Of The Cloth Of Gold
      4 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Apr 11, 2024

      Q&A
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Alchemist Of Austria

      Feb 28, 2020

      The Alchemist Of Austria
      10 min read

    • Article

      His Honor On The Line

      Jan 9, 2024

      His Honor On The Line
      10 min read

    • Article

      Charles Spencer

      Aug 24, 2022

      Hutchinson Heinemann £22 When Charles II returned from exile in 1660, Parliament and people were keen to draw a line under the uniquely bloody period of the three civil wars. The monarchy was to be restored without recriminations against the Parliame

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Play’s The Thing

      Apr 15, 2021

      Entertainment in late medieval and Tudor London came in a variety of forms, including cockfighting, bearbaiting and even public executions. Plays at this time often had a religious theme or a moral at the end – such as the battle between good and evi

      5 min read

    • Article

      Anniversaries

      Dec 28, 2021

      Anniversaries
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Foul-mouthed Miller And The Prim Prioress

      Jan 3, 2024

      HAT Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘drasty rhyming is nat worth a toord’ (his ‘dirty rhyming isn’t worth a turd’), the Host’s pungent dismissal in Chaucer’s best-known, but incomplete poem The Canterbury Tales, is a verdict that, with good reason, posterity has

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Castle Of Curiosities

      Feb 7, 2024

      A Castle Of Curiosities
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One"

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Study Guide for William Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One" - Gale

      1

      Henry IV, Part One

      William Shakespeare

      1596

      Introduction

      Henry IV, Part One continues the story Shakespeare began telling in Richard II. To fully understand the events of the later play, readers must know that in the earlier one, Henry IV, who was then known as Bolingbroke, returns from exile, has King Richard II imprisoned, and declares himself king. In Henry IV, Part One, Henry's former supporters, those who helped put him in power, join forces against him. Henry and his son, Hal, fight together against the rebels. The story continues in Henry IV, Part Two, with civil war still threatening the nation. At length, Henry IV dies and Hal becomes King Henry V. Finally, in Henry V, the last of the group of plays known as the Lancastrian Tetralogy (Lancaster refers to the family, or house, from which Henry IV and Henry V were descended), Henry V conquers France, establishes peace, and marries Katherine, the French princess. Thus, the Lancastrian Tetralogy consists of Richard II, Henry IV, Part One, Henry IV, Part Two, and Henry V.

      Scholars estimate that Henry IV, Part One was written and performed in late 1596 or early 1597. The play was first published in 1598 and in fact saw the publication of more quarto editions—seven before 1623's First Folio and two after—than any other Shakespearean drama. For the historical plot of the play, Shakespeare drew from several sources of English history that were written during Elizabethan times. His primary source was Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (2nd edition, 1586–87). Shakespeare also consulted Samuel Daniel's The First Four Books of the Civil Wars (1594), Edward Hall's Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York (1542), and several other historical works. Finally, Shakespeare seems to have drawn heavily from an anonymous play, The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth (1594?), for information on Hal's youthful escapades.

      Regarding the reception of Henry IV, Part One, the character of Falstaff, at least, was being popularly quoted and referred to as early as 1598. That character's renown may have had something to do with the controversy that surrounded his name, as Shakespeare is understood to have been persuaded to revise the original performance name of Oldcastle. Scholars have determined that this change likely took place because descendants of the real-life Sir John Oldcastle, a religious figure from the early fifteenth century, bore relation to certain men who were sponsors of Shakespeare's troupe. Reflections on and comparisons between the real-life Oldcastle and the fictional Falstaff have been prominent in criticism of the play.

      One of the major interpersonal conflicts in the play stems from Hal's strained relationship with his father. Henry IV is concerned that Hal is tarnishing his princely reputation with his association with the corrupt Falstaff and other common criminals. Falstaff is consistently associated with the idea of disorder, and his friendship with Hal appears to threaten the prince's ability to mature into a responsible ruler. Critics have argued over whether Hal, who after a confrontation with his father suddenly transforms himself into the prince his father wants him to be, was actually only using Falstaff to heighten the impact of his transformation. Hal's demonstrated affection for Falstaff has also been regarded as wholly sincere.

      The main action of the play revolves around a rebellion against the Crown and one of its chief instigators, Hotspur. Hotspur's valor is admired by many, especially by Henry himself, who suggests to Hal that Hotspur would have perhaps been a more deserving heir to the throne. Given the complex characterizations of Hal and Hotspur, spectators and readers of the play are justified in wondering which of the two—if not another character entirely—should be viewed as the chief protagonist. As such, Hal's ultimate slaying of Hotspur may be seen as a heroic victory or as a tragic defeat. Regardless, the rise of Hal and the fall of Hotspur has been interpreted as symbolic of the evolution of English society from medieval times to the age of the Renaissance. In that respect, Henry IV, Part One may be the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1