Henry IV, I

INTRODUCTION: When looking at I Henry IV, we see that the play is all about the mixing of opposites�duty versus irresponsibility, tragedy versus comedy, father versus son. In the character of Prince Hal, we get the black sheep of the family so-to-speak, a prince who seems to enjoy the company of commoners and the realm of taverns to the company of the court and the realm of England. His father opens the play with a disparaging speech regarding Hal in which he muses on how much better a son might the rash, hot-tempered Hotspur make than the errant Prince: "Yea, there thou mak'st me sad, and mak'st me sin/In envy that my Lord Northumberland/Should be the father to so blest a son:/A son who is the theme of honor's tongue,/Amongst a grove the very straightest plant;/Who I sweet fortune's minion and her pride;/Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him,/See riot and dishonor stain the brow/Of my young Harry" (I. i. 76-85). However, in the character of Falstaff we are presented with the tutor-buffoon, one of Hal's closest companions and one of his favorite targets for ridicule.

THESIS: Falstaff is Hal's surrogate father, his friend, his mentor and his drinking buddy in I Henry IV, but he will abandon Falstaff in II Henry IV when duty calls and, Falstaff will die in Henry V because of his pain over Hal's (the newly crowned king) banishment of him. Nonetheless, in I Henry IV, Falstaff serves the role of surrogate father while at the same time serv

h comedy. After serious dramatic moments or before them, we are given the comedic moments between Falstaff and Hal and these serve to keep us wondering about what has just happened or will happen that is more serious. Thus, Falstaff also serves the role of raising the level of dramatic tension, but he does so through humor and comedy. This is why Falstaff is always changing the subject or redirecting it, like he does with the Chief Justice when the Chief Justice wants to speak with him about his own behavior and he redirects the conversation to the illness of the King. He also does this with Hal, as the following reply to Hal's charges that Falstaff is lying about the true events that occurred at Gadshill demonstrate, "Ah, no more of that, Hal, and thou lovest me!" (II. iv. 284). Hal does love Falstaff, but this will not stop him from abandoning his corpulent buffoon when duty calls and Hostpur's rebellion becomes a serious threat. Hal does prefer the company of Falstaff to the duties of being the son of a king. However, he will heed the call of duty when the threat to his father's crown becomes serious. Hal can be seen as the young son of a wealthy businessman who prefers the company of cronies like Falstaff, women, an

Category: Literature - H