Abstract
This paper discusses how William Shakespeare's play "Henry IV, Part 1," although called a 'history play', is just as much a play about relationships, specifically dysfunctional relationships between fathers and sons. The paper examines how Henry IV spends most of the play openly rebuking his son Prince Hal, only to find himself betrayed by the man he says he wishes were his son, Harry Percy, known as Hotspur. It also examines how Prince Hal, on the surface, seems to reject his father's warrior mentality, although he says he is only engaging in 'prodigal' behavior like drinking, stealing, and 'wenching' as a public relations ploy before he becomes king. The paper concludes that Prince Henry's behavior is an act, a carefully staged move to seem low, because Hal is determined to become an even greater leader than his stern father.

From the Paper
"Hal's primary relationship is with Sir John Falstaff, a fat old man even more dissipated than the prince. Hal and Falstaff seem to have more of a close father-son dynamic than Hal does with his own father, although Hal keeps the upper hand by tricking Falstaff and publically mocking Sir John, much the way his father mocks Hal. This suggests Hal does have emotional needs that remain unsatisfied, and are only fulfilled with his relationship with Falstaff. However, by the end of the play, Falstaff clearly demonstrates that he has his own personal interests that he places above Hal's needs to secure his reputation. Hal learns at the end of ``Henry IV, Part 1'' that he can only really trust himself. He cannot trust Falstaff, his surrogate father, to tell the truth, and he cannot trust his real father's advisors to believe that he is also a great warrior."

Tags:Hal, Falstaff, Hotspur

Abstract
The falsification of the audience's expectations and Hal's miraculous emergence as a great English king, alongside the Hal-Falstaff relationship out of which the future king's identity is gradually constructed, are the main critical puzzles in most studies of the William Shakespeare's "King Henry" series. The paper examines concepts of fraud and politics in parts one and two of "King Henry IV" and in "King Henry V". It discusses notions by literary critics such as Stephen who claim that Hal is one of Shakespeare's most Machiavellian characters. The paper argues that Machiavelli's Prince is not sufficiently cruel or sophisticated to be ranked with Prince Hal, despite the fact that Falstaff's cry for help, voiced in his paradoxical accusation that the Prince has corrupted him, seldom succeeds in inverting the audience's impression that Falstaff is Hal's misleader.

From the Paper
"The concept of necessity, as it arises from the morality-patterned Phychomachia, reinforces providentialist notions, an idea first advanced by Tillyard but in a rather different context. Religious providentialism fuses the personal and political domains and Hal's borrowing from the theatrical and diachronic anthropological deposit causes the interweaving of theatrical illusion with politics, thus displaying their common structural patterns. The fusion of religion, politics and theater culminates in Hal's gradual conversion to virtue, which is at once a milestone in Hal's allegedly privileged relationship with God, a major political event, and a stock trick of Elizabethan drama."

Tags:Harry, Hotspur, Eastcheap, Ancient, Pistol

Abstract
This paper discusses the passage in Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part One" in which Falstaff jokingly assumes the throne in a repartee with Prince Hal. The author points out how this scene is crucial in the development of the play. The author believes that it marks the point when Hal decides he must abandon the company of men like Falstaff and develop his own set of ideals.

Abstract
This paper is a discussion of the BBC's 1979 production of "King Henry IV", Part 1, a low-budget filming of the play. The paper discusses how the budgetary limitations show in a number of scenes, the performances in several scenes are less than wonderful, and the whole production is not what might have been expected. The paper opines that the film is most valuable for those who are not familiar with the play.

From the Paper
""Henry IV," Part I is one of the more widely produced of Shakespeare's histories, and it has several elements that make it a fine dramatic vehicle: Falstaff, the wayward Prince Hal, Hotspur, the mystical Owen Glendower, and the battle at Shrewsbury involving the various encounters among the warlords facing one another in individual combat. In 1979, as part of its project to videotape Shakespeare's plays, the BBC produced this play. The product was a mixed result. There are certain signs that this is a low-budget production. Most plainly this emerges in the fight scenes in Act V. There are never more than a few actors on the..."

Tags:shakespeare, bbc, vidoetape

Abstract
This paper examines the use of legitimacy as a theme in the play, "King Henry IV," by William Shakespeare. The paper includes a discussion of the legitimacy of the king and his rule, as a well as a close look at Prince Hal. The paper contends that Henry's legitimacy becomes the center of all of the major crises in the play and, thus, is a major and binding theme.

From the Paper
"From the moment Shakespeare's play 1 King Henry IV opens, the legitimacy of King Henry's crown is a major theme throughout the play. Not only does it become the justification of the Percys and others violent revolts against Henry, but it can also be used to explain the disobedient acts carried out by Hal, King Henry's son and heir to the throne. King Henry's usurpation of the throne and act of regicide lead to consequences that will spoil his reign illegitimate."

Tags:prince, hal, percy

Abstract
This paper presents a character analysis of Henry and Hal, two of the main characters in Shakespeare's play, "King Henry IV", and shows how Shakespeare, by comparing and contrasting these two characters, was able to display the attitudes of both the nobility and the commoners and foreshadow Hal's ability to become a stable, successful ruler.

From the Paper
"Hal's feelings towards his father reflect the feelings of the commoners towards the king. Hal's soliloquy, "I know you all..." (I, ii 183-205) reveals Hal's moral awareness and scorn towards the character he has used to disguise his true frustration with the standards that the king has disgraced. A noble and virtuous young man deliberately masquerading as a dissolute prodigal, Hal is not likely to overlook the deep moral blemishes in his father nor the hypocrisy of Henry IV's assumption of rightful kingship. However, as the King's subject and heir, Hal is denied all means of expressing his contempt for the dishonorable means by which Henry IV has maintained and stolen power. By showing contempt for the king, Hal would be following the example of Henry IV's disloyal behavior towards Richard II, and siding with the rebels who now challenge Henry IV's fitness to rule."

Tags:overthrew, richard, ii, stability, nation, scorn, prodigal, son, dishonorable, stolen, maintained, power

Abstract
This paper analyzes, compares and contrasts the plots and protagonists of two of Shakespeare's plays, "Measure for Measure" and "Henry IV Part I". The author asserts that in these two plays, strong character is defined not by who is more right, but rather by the ability to become more than the sum of one's faults. The author concentrates his analysis on secondary characters, who, despite being fault-ridden, are endearing to the audience for their humor and steadfastness. The paper concludes that Shakespeare's ultimate point is that while all people are flawed, the test of their character is whether they are molded by these flaws -- or overcome them.

From the Paper
"In both of these plays, these people may be questionable or shady characters that often are crude or have abominable habits, they may be people of power and prominence, or they may be just average, everyday citizens. Simply put, they all have faults of their own. Yet, the audience can't help but find them endearing, and the protagonists find that their ability to overcome their faults has a lot to do with the help they receive from these characters. Furthermore, the inability of the antagonists to overcome their vulnerabilities also has something to do with these characters."

Tags:protagonist, antagonist, character, Hotspur, Hal, Isabella, Angelo

Abstract
The paper looks at the apparent roles and functions of women, their impact upon other characters and whether or not their roles should have been different and, if so, how they should have been different. In the final analysis, the paper concludes that Shakespeare accurately captures the gender divisions of the age but also fails to highlight the central contribution of Henry IV's first wife, Mary de Bohun, in the establishment of this man as a powerful king over a flourishing empire.

From the Paper
"The following paper will look at the treatment of women in Shakespeare's, King Henry the IV, Part I. Specifically, the paper will look at the apparent roles and functions of women, their impact upon other characters (to the extent this can be divined), and whether or not their roles should have been different and, if so, how they should have been different. In the final analysis, Shakespeare accurately captures the gender divisions of the age but also fails to highlight the central contribution of Henry IV's first wife, Mary de Bohun, in the establishment of this man as a..."

Tags:henry, iv, shakespeare

Abstract
This paper examines the apparent roles and functions of women in William Shakespeare's "King Henry the IV, Part I". Specifically, the paper looks at the impact of women upon other characters and whether or not their roles should have been different and, if so, how they should have been different. The paper contends that Shakespeare accurately captures the gender divisions of his age but fails to highlight the central contribution of Henry IV's first wife, Mary de Bohun, in the establishment of this man as a powerful king over a flourishing empire.

From the Paper
"One other thing that becomes evident is that much of the play is about men seeking power - about them accruing titles or lands, in short. As a result, by as early as Act 1, Scene 3, it is fairly clear, at least as we listen to Hotspur denounce the Prince of Wales and "Bolingbroke" (Henry IV), that power in fourteenth century England is a "man's thing" and that women are only referenced in these matters if they are bearing children who may become lineal descendants to a throne or baronetcy or if the behavior of one nobleman or another is so intemperate that he is described by his colleagues as a "woman" who cannot hold his tongue or think rationally."

Tags:power children, first wife, rogues marginalized