"Henry IV"

Analytical Essay # 26498

English > Analysis
Shakespeare > Henry IV, V

"Henry IV"

An analysis of the father-son conflict in William Shakespeare's "Henry IV."

2,445 words () | 0 sources | MLA | 2003 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how in "Henry IV," Shakespeare handles, among other human relationships, the disharmony that often arises between parent and child as the latter begins to grow up. It is a difficult time in any walk of life; but strained relationships between a reigning sovereign, of either sex and the heir to the throne seem almost Oedipal in nature. It examines how the attitude of Henry IV to his son is to some extent the result of the peculiar conditions of his own accession since he usurped the throne from Richard II, whom he subsequently murdered. It looks at how thus his reign and all his actions are overhung with the consciousness both of personal guilt and of insecurity of tenure and how he constantly misunderstands his son.

From the Paper:

"The insurrection of the Percies causes the King to summon the Price of Wales, so that he can find out exactly where he stands and if he can be made use of in this crisis which threatens the newly established dynasty; and we are prepared by an interview, by Sir John Bracy's summons, which interrupts the fun at the Boar's head, and by Falstaff and Hal themselves, who rehearse the scene in comic anticipation. His Majesty begins with bitter chiding, as Falstaff prophesied he would. He hints at the affair with the Lord Chief Justice and speaks of the lost seat at the Council and the banishment from court. However, the King's real complaint is that Hal has made himself look cheap in the eyes of men, which is the last thing the representative of a family with a doubtful title to the thrown should do."