William Shakespeare in Henry IV: Part I tells the story of part of the history of England, when Henry IV as king is surrounded by enemies, facing civil war in England, and unable to fulfill his earlier promise to lead a force to the Holy Land on a crusade. The plot of the play covers the time when the Percies are in rebellion. The story concerns not only these historical events but also the concern of a father for his apparently lazy son. henry's son Hal spends his time in the company of low-lifes, notably one John Falstaff, at the local tavern. The absence of his son forces Henry to depend more and more on young Hotspur. Shakespeare uses conceptions of time to define the characters, their attitudes toward the world, and the nature of the events of which they are a part. an examination of the nature of time with reference to Hal, Hotspur, and Falstaff will show how this is accomplished and how it deepens the play's characterizations and thematic meanings.
Henry, Prince of wales, is the son of the king and as such the heir to the throne. yet he seems not to take his position at all seriously. Instead, he spends his time in the local tavern with man like Falstaff and plays practical jokes on his friends. Hal is also a character who never seems to express any genuine emotion. He is the center of the play, but in many ways he is a dead center, or at least a dormant one. He seems disaffected with the life of his time even though he seems as well to have thrown himself into the pursuit of pleasure with a certain abandon. He seems callous to the concerns he has caused his father, and it is evident that the two are estranged at this time and that they may remain so for some time unless some change comes over young Henry. As friendly as he is with Falstaff, he is also cruel to that overweight individual, playing jokes on him that are cruel in their outcome. In another sense, it may be that Hal knows the route his life will take...