"Richard III" and "Henry IV"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses and analyzes William Shakespeare's historical plays, "Richard III" and "Henry IV." It discusses the characters of Richard III, formerly the Duke of Gloucester, and Falstaff, prince Hal's friend. The paper specifically focuses on their negative characteristics, such as lying and how they used lying to achieve their goals. The paper presents examples from both plays to illustrate the extent of each character's lying.

From the Paper:

"During this conflict, Henry shows his bitterness at not having his eldest son, prince Hal to help him in the military matters. Hal is, at this time, with a group of rogues and villains who accompany him in his unlawful actions. Falstaff is the most famous of these, and seems to be Shakespeare's best known personification of falseness (a word from which his name is undoubtedly derived) lying and deceit. Falstaff uses dissembling as a means to achieve both fortune and fame, pretending even to have killed Hotspur in the battle. But even more so, he achieves through permanent lying to create almost a myth about himself, arguing through such skilled rhetoric that he even overtake Richard III, that honor and morality are of no use whatsoever and that they lose their value as soon as they are opposed to the only true thing there is: life."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Shakespeare, William. Henry IV. London: Oxford University Press, 1972
• --Richard III. London: Oxford University Press, 1969

More papers on "Richard III" and "Henry IV":

• Comparison Essay # 25838 : "Shakespeare's History Plays"
• Essay # 61069 : "Machiavellian Power Principles in Shakespeare's Works"
• Analytical Essay # 126407 : "'Richard III' and Development"

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