Henry IV, Part 1

Eldest son of King Henry IV and brother of John of Lancaster, Prince Hal is the play’s protagonist and the eventual successor to the throne. Hal is a complex, contradictory character, both honorable and base, humorous and serious, amicable and cruel. The prince fits the archetype of the prodigal son, spending his days carousing with a band of drunks, thieves, and outlaws. He has lost his place in court, and his reputation is badly tarnished. However, Hal informs the audience early on that his behavior is by design. His nights spent at taverns are designed to endear him to the common people, whose support Richard lacked and whom Hal hopes to win over as king. In addition, he plans to cut off his friends once he makes his reentry into court life, hoping for his restored honor to shine all the brighter due to his reformation. While he appears carefree, Hal is A Calculating Prodigal Son.

Hal has a particularly fraught friendship with Falstaff, the leader of the thieves Hal consorts with. For all of his faults, Falstaff has a genuine affection for Hal and deeply values their friendship, even if some of his esteem is due to the benefits of being friends with a prince. However, Hal appears to value Falstaff purely for the entertainment he provides. Hal makes fun of him to a cruel degree, making Falstaff’s weight the butt of his jokes. He shows indifference to Falstaff’s life, conscripting him to war when he knows how incompetent Falstaff is. Hal even pokes fun at Falstaff’s weight after he thinks he died in battle.

Despite his cruelty, Hal’s character arc is one of redemption. He learns the meaning of honor in his rivalry with Hotspur, who embodies the characteristics Hal initially lacks. Hotspur provides Hal with a model; as Hal becomes more like Hotspur through his courageous feats in the Battle of Shrewsbury, he becomes more worthy of the crown. Killing Hotspur in combat represents not only Hal’s defeat of his greatest rival but also his worthiness to wear the crown someday. By the end of the play, Hal exhibits the royal qualities of magnanimity, discretion, and courage. While he still has a way to go before he is worthy of being king, he is on his way to embracing the noble conduct that befits the office.

Henry Percy, nicknamed “Hotspur” for his temper as well as his prowess on the battlefield, is the primary antagonist in Henry IV, Part 1. He is not a villain in the traditional sense. He exhibits many qualities of a traditional hero: He is decisive, honorable, and ambitious in the service of the kingdom, and he represents many of The Qualities of a King. Hotspur serves as a foil character to Hal, a point highlighted when King Henry uses Hotspur as a point of contrast with Hal, wishing the two were switched at birth. Hotspur’s involvement in the insurrection and the Battle of Shrewsbury, as well as his rivalry with Hal, are largely fictional inventions of Shakespeare. The real Hotspur was 23 years older than Hal, and he died before the Battle of Shrewsbury.

Family and honor are Hotspur’s greatest motivations. While his interactions with Lady Percy are terse due to the pressing circumstances of the rebellion, he appears to love her and takes her to Shrewsbury. Hotspur is the son of Northumberland and the nephew of Worcester, his two closest allies in the rebellion. Hotspur’s insurrection is based on two factors. His brother-in-law, Mortimer, whom he loves, is being held captive by Owen Glendower, a Welsh rebel, and the king refuses to pay Mortimer’s ransom. Second, Hotspur, Northumberland, and Worcester were instrumental in the king’s rise to power; Hotspur believes Henry should be more grateful. These two factors, combined with the king’s demand that Hotspur forfeit the prisoners he captured in his Scottish campaigns, are too much for Hotspur’s sense of honor to brook.

Hotspur’s pride and temper contribute to his undoing. The rebels’ plans begin to fall apart as they form: Northumberland takes ill and Glendower abandons them due to a prophecy. Hotspur’s honor drives him to stake their futures on one desperate battle. He appears amenable to peace on the eve of the battle. However, he is never given the chance to answer Henry’s offer: Worcester betrays Hotspur in a bid to save his own skin. Because the king respects Hotspur for his valiant conduct and his youth, Worcester suspects he will spare Hotspur while punishing the other conspirators. Worcester withholds the king’s offer of peace, and Hal kills Hotspur in the ensuing battle.

Sir John Falstaff is an old, roguish knight who leads an entourage of thieves. They congregate at the Boar’s Head Inn. Falstaff’s humor, wit, and shameless behavior make him one of the most popular characters in Shakespeare’s plays. He was so popular with contemporary audiences that, anecdotally, Queen Elizabeth I asked Shakespeare to write a play with him as the main character. Falstaff also appears in Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In Henry IV, Part 1, Falstaff is a close companion to Prince Hal, acting as a surrogate father outside of the court. He befriends the future king, partially out of hope for preferential treatment once Hal inherits the throne and partially out of a genuine affection. Much of their interaction involves Hal teasing Falstaff, usually about his weight or debauchery. Falstaff lives a hedonistic life, consorting with prostitutes, indulging in gluttony, and drinking cheap wine in excess. This behavior is consistent with Falstaff’s Virtues: The Futility of Honor. He believes that life should be enjoyed and preserved, not wasted in a fruitless pursuit of honor.

While Falstaff embodies the virtues of friendship and good company, he has many flaws. He is a consummate coward, demonstrated by him fleeing the scene in terror when Hal and Poins rob him, or when he plays dead when attacked by Douglas in the Battle of Shrewsbury. He is a thief, and because of his physical impairments, his targets tend to be the most vulnerable, such as the pilgrims he, Bardolph, and the others rob. Falstaff is a vain boaster at best, and a liar, grifter, and cheat at worst. This is demonstrated first by his inflation of the number of assailants and description of his valiant fight when Hal and Poins robbed him, and by stabbing Hotspur’s corpse and claiming that he killed him. Despite these faults, Falstaff remains an important counterpoint to the sober machinations of court life, which are guided by honor and complex statecraft. Falstaff represents the common man and shows the value of cheer, friendship, and good times. As he attests when Hal promises to forswear their friendship, “Banish plump Jack, and banish / all the world” (2.4.597-98).