The First Part Of King Henry the Fourth — Acts I, II, III
After coming off a rather embarrassingly productive November, I’m going to attempt to rein in the word counts for upcoming Shakespeare discussions. I wrote over 12,000 words on Hamlet last month. That’s always been one of my favorites. So it was a joy to do. But now I’m staring down the road of seven plays that are all historical. For the next seven months, I’ll be figuring out all these Henrys. I can only hope that each has something original to offer.
OK Henrys, show me what you got!
Act One
Which one is this again? Oh right, Henry IV, Part One. Why are there two parts? Maybe the first part is Henry IV’s early life and the second is his later life? Are there more than two parts? Gosh, I don’t even know. Let’s just begin with
Scene i
London.
Yay! I know where that is!
The palace.
Buckingham? Probably not, but maybe!
King Henry opens the play with a roiling speech on how the wars of the past are finished. No more will our children’s blood stain the ground, he more or less proclaims. I don’t know what wars London has recently seen, but the way he speaks, it sounds as if they were brutal and unforgiving as all hell.
A chap called Westmoreland delivers some petulant news. He reports that some ranking soldier called Mortimer was butchered by “the irregular and wild Glendower” along with a thousand of Mortimer’s men. Yikes. I guess it’s gonna be that kind of play then? OK.
The bad news just keeps piling on and eventually, the King’s had enough of it. So much for his initial proclamation of war ending on their soil. Although technically, he was right, there are no battles being fought outside his castle at the moment. They are still, apparently, raging elsewhere, and in many locations. A host of names flashes by and it’s impossible to get a read on any of them. If there are any survivors among those named (and if they are of any import), I’m sure we will hear of (and perhaps from) them again.
The King finds some solace in hearing some small victories and declares there is honor in one man’s battle or another’s. But then, the King falls back into despair when he learns Lord Northumberland has a proud, strapping boy for a son. Our King Henry, it seems, has no love whatsoever for his own boy, Harry. In fact he wishes someone would tell him his boy was actually switched at birth with some other. Harsh.
Scene ii
London. An apartment of the prince’s.
A character named Falstaff gets his ass handed to him for asking the prince what time it is.
Sidenote: Falstaff is, I know, in at least two Shakespeare plays. He is the grand marquis of tricksters in English literature. I’ve been waiting for him to pop up (as I didn’t recall where he would) and here he is. Very exciting! And very intriguing that his first introduction is shot down so vehemently by the Prince!
PRINCE HENRY
Thou Art so fat-witted, with
drinking of old sack
and unbuttoning thee after supper
and sleeping upon
benches after noon, that thou hast forgotten to
demand that truly which thou wouldst truly know.
He goes on but you get the jist. The prince is angry with Falstaff for being drunk the night before, and most nights apparently.
The ribbing and chiding ends and I can see now that Falstaff and Prince Henry (who doubles as Harry) have an excellent rapport. So much so in fact that Falstaff calls the prince “Hal.” If that’s not cordial, I don’t know what is.
They discuss what England will be like when the Prince comes into his throne. Falstaff asks repeatedly if he will carry on the tradition of the gallows and general executions. The prince puts off the question in favor of saying (as he should) that it is not his place, in this moment in time, to decide on such a thing. Though methinks he must have the same politics on the point as Falstaff.
Poins enters. Good morrow, Poins!
Ohp! Poins calls Prince Henry “Hal” as well. So I guess it’s a thing. Still, I’m sure Falstaff is a close servant to the prince and maybe even a friend. No idea who this Poins dude is yet though.
Poins wants to stir up trouble and rob some men. Falstaff exits and Poins tries to convince the prince more to do the foul deed. But Poins has a trick up his sleeve that I believe involves making Falstaff look the fool? At any rate, he convinces Prince Henry (Hal) to go along with his fiendish plot.
Scene iii
London. The palace.
King Henry is attended by a host of royal dignitaries. He tells them he isn’t going to be soft anymore. He says he is mighty, a king to be feared! OK, settle down.
The Earl of Worcester is dismissed, for the king sees “danger and disobedience in thine eye.”
Northumberland says something about prisoners taken in the king’s name and then Hotspur comes in hot with a hot take. Hotspur, ladies and gentlemen! What a name!
Hotspur discusses that after a recent battle there was a fancy Lord who came waltzing onto the battlefield inquiring about prisoners. He wanted to claim some in the king’s name. Hotspur was so taken aback by this clean chap in a world of dirty corpses that he doesn’t even remember what he said to him. Though it’s likely that he allowed the Lord to take a few prisoners.
Sir Walter Blunt and Hotspur then go on to talk about a guy named Mortimer who they don’t like and Glendower who is a magician and probably the devil. Or maybe Mortimer is like the devil? I thought Mortimer was killed in the background of Scene One? Ugh. I suck. Anyway, the king’s heard enough. He just wants his prisoners of war back and tells them such, then leaves.
Earl of Worcester returns and we get more hot takes from Hotspur. He’s saying how he despises the king. You probably shouldn’t speak such things in the presence of others, Hotspur. Oh, but he has reason to because his brother is Edmund Mortimer. Edmund Mortimer was proclaimed the heir to the crown by Richard, who I presume, was the previous king.
Boy this Hotspur is definitely rightly named. He is not shy about expressing his true feelings for King Henry IV. And they all stem from jealousy. Why is Henry on the throne if Richard proclaimed Mortimer would be the heir? Probably no one would respect a dopey guy like King Mortimer.
The Earl of Worcester tells Hotspur to calm down. “Peace, cousin,” is more accurate.
HOTSPUR
Send danger from the east unto the west,
So honour cross it from the north to the south,
And let them grapple: O, the blood more stirs
To rouse a lion than to start a hare!
Earl of Worcester devises some plan for Hotspur to ransom his Scottish prisoners back to the Scots. Is this to be done in secret? Probably. I don’t get the plan here but there is definitely some plan to overthrow the king. And all these dudes are in on it together, which is why, I guess, Hotspur had no qualms about badmouthing him behind his back in front of everyone.
Anyway… the game is afoot, says Earl of Worcester. Yes, he does.
Act Two
Rochester. An inn yard.
In this first scene we are introduced to the common folk, as if Shakespeare is only reminding us that they exist. It’s a fun little scene that, to me, reads as playing for laughs. Though I’m not sure what those laughs may be. There’s a character named Gadshill and I think I’ve heard of him somewhere before. So maybe he’s important. Shrug.
Scene ii
The highway. Near Gadshill.
Wait, so Gadshill is a character and a location? Alrighty. Does that lead us to believe that Gadshill (the character) was not as common a folk as we thought? Hmm.
Sidenote: Is Cahill also a name AND a location
Answer: You bet your bottom bippy!
Enter Prince Henry and Poins.
Poins has “removed” Falstaff’s horse from him. I guess this means he hid his horse? Well, Falstaff is incensed over it. He doesn’t take kindly to pranks, especially since they are supposed to be in league with each other to do some robbing. Remember this plot? Heh. There is no honor in thieves.
At any rate, Falstaff is pretty funny when he’s all hot under the collar. Prince Henry tells him, “Peace, you fat-guts! lie down” and maybe that’s what got me laughing out loud.
It goes down!
Some travelers pass by and they rob them. So I guess this was their intent all along. They didn’t have a target, per se. They just wanted to rob some poor, random shmucks for the thrill of it. OK.
Is this scene supposed to play as comedy or drama? Because Falstaff shouts for them to “cut their throats!” but they don’t do it. Instead, they just “rob and bind them.”
Prince Henry and Poins emerge from the shadows and chase the thieves away. Falstaff stands his ground for a bit but then he too is scared off, dropping his sack of riches. Henry proclaims that this will make for an excellent jest in court.
Scene iii
Warkworth castle. Where? Is that in Fraggle Rock?
Emter Hotspur, alone, reading a letter. I don’t know who it is from but whoever wrote it doesn’t want to be associated with the king, I gather. He does not believe in their “plot.” Hotspur finds it insulting.
Enter Lady Percy. Who? Maybe she’s a Fraggle.
Oh my! Lady Percy makes clear who she is. She is none other than Hotspur’s wife. She at once expresses her disappointment in being ignored for “a fortnight” and strokes Hotspur’s ego by recalling his past, valiant war efforts. She takes him by surprise with her bold speech.
Hotspur deflects her flirtatious come ons and requests a servant bring his horse. Both he and (moreso) Lady Percy mention a “Harry.”
Sidenote: No way this is the same Harry the King was referring to in Act One, Scene One, right? The son he is not proud of? Why would he have the Percy surname if so? Couldn’t be.
At first I thought this to be her pet name for Hotspur. But the more it came up, the more I realized that Harry Percy is another man. And Lady Percy is, well duh, his wife, not Hotspur’s. So Hotspur and Lady Percy are having an affair. But Hotspur has no time for that now and he must go.
Scene iv
The Boars-Head Tavern, Eastcheap. Nice.
Enter Prince Henry and Poins
The Prince, er, Hal pats himself on the back for being a man of the people. He tells Poins that in under an hour, he has gained the love of the common man, here in the pub. Someday, he says, when he becomes king, he will rule them all well because he knows them so well. He’s also clearly drunk and pompous and a little diluted.
A chap called Francis speaks with Prince Henry about his years of service. It’s mainly just Hal asking drunken questions of his man and his man being respectful in his patient answers. The other men in the bar keep calling “Francis!” Actually, I think it was just Poins. But after about the 10th call, Hal finally dismisses Francis and he goes back to the revelry.
Falstaff comes in and kind of wrecks the scene by calling Prince Henry a coward. Ooh. Party foul! The insult lands but then fades. I thought this would be a much bigger thing than it is, seeing that he dissed the prince and all. No big whoop, after all. I guess it’s because they’re all friends.
Falstaff uses the fact that Prince Henry and others ran away after the robbery to spin a wild tale about how he was then attacked and robbed of their purse. What follows is an incredibly comedic tale where, it starts out that two men robbed him. By the end of his story, it is 11. Everyone chimes in calling Falstaff a liar but Falstaff just keeps going. It’s hilarious. Trust me.
Falstaff and the prince also toss insults at each other like mad. About a dozen or so each, maybe more. It rules.
And so it goes. This scene goes on and on and never stops. Until it does. But even then it continues and is subverted somehow. What am I reading? Now Harry doesn’t know Falstaff. Is he that blind drunk? He talks to Falstaff about Falstaff as if he were talking to someone else. For his part, Falstaff goes along with it and suffers Harry’s slings and arrows, all the while attempting to make a good name for himself. Strange what I’ve stumbled into here.
After about ten minutes of this, a Sheriff enters. The Sheriff tells Harry of a robbery and a fat suspect. Harry knows it was Falstaff who did the robbery, right? Well anyway, Falstaff is asleep (passed out drunk) behind an arras (curtain). Harry doesn’t give him up. Maybe because he’s clueless about who he is. I’m so confused.
This is the end of Act II and I need to cheat. I’m sorry but I have to go read the Internet for a mid-Reveal.
Act II Reveal
Well, if this isn’t the screwiest of all scenes! As it turns out, Harry and Falstaff were doing some kind of role-playing game. For tomorrow, Harry is to go before his father, King Henry, and answer for his foolishness. In playing the part of King Henry, Falstaff pretends to scorn Harry for his choice in friends, but says he (Harry) was wise to keep counsel with that one smart fellow, Falstaff.
Harry says his father would never speak in this way and Falstaff and Harry switch roles. Now Harry plays his father and Falstaff plays Harry. Harry (as King Henry) tells Falstaff (as Harry) that he shouldn’t hang out with such a fat, old man like Falstaff. The insults pile on and Falstaff can’t keep up. Nor could I.
Of course the scene makes sense when you have someone else interpret it for you.
This whole meeting with the king in the morning, by the way, is taking place on the back of the news that a civil war is breaking out and all of Percy’s men are in league to overthrow King Henry. So even though Falstaff and Harry are having great fun robbing people, tricking each other, and getting drunk, this serious war business is looming large. I’ll let that be my takeaway of it all for now as we begin…
Act III
Bangor. The Archdeacon’s house.
Hotspur, Glendower, and Mortimer seem to have things pretty well worked out. They can see the trees beyond the field (not an expression) and are sitting around, divvying up the land before the battle’s been won.
After much discussion about Percy’s ability to conquer, the ladies come in. Hotspur is enamored with Lady Percy though she revokes his feeble attempts at flirtation. What the hell.
Scene ii
Prince Henry meets with dear old dad. The king tells his son he is a disappointment and he’d better shape up or ship out. Henry vows to turn over a new leaf and be strong and kingly, just like his many ancestors before him. Father and son share in a loving embrace. I’m kidding. They’re interrupted by Sir Walter Blunt who gets right to the point. Ah ha! Because he’s blunt! Forget it.
Blunt relays a message from Lord Mortimer of Scotland. The English are on the move.
The King tells the prince he will be sent through Gloucestershire while the king and his troupe head to Bridgenorth to meet their general forces.
Scene iii
Back in Eastcheap in the Boars-Head Tavern.
Falstaff is complaining that someone picked his pocket. He is beginning… no I take that back… so far in this play he’s always been, for lack of a better phrase, a fat loser. I don’t understand why he has this great reputation in Shakespeare of being some kind of unmatched trickster. Maybe it’s coming. Or maybe his character evolves tenfold in some other play. But right now all I see is a whiner and a cheat.
Anyway, Falstaff claims someone picked his pocket when he hid behind the arras the previous night.
Prince Henry enters and learns that Falstaff has just said he would cudgel him if he showed his face in the bar.
“Lies!” cries Falstaff. Then he insults the hostess by calling her an otter.
Dead serious, kids.
Prince Henry can’t believe his ears.
An otter, Sir John! Why an otter?
FALSTAFF
Why, she’s neither fish nor flesh; a man knows not
where to have her.
Ppbbtthh! Ok!
Prince Henry admits to picking Falstaff’s pocket. I think he does it just to shut him up.
The prince then devises a plan and tells Falstaff to meet him tomorrow. He will have a charge (a job) for him then. Hint: it’s concerned with Percy. And war! Poor, dumb Falstaff has no idea what he’s getting himself into.
Can’t wait for your next fix?
Eager for more amateur analysis of the Bard’s greatest works?
Head on over to my Shakespeare page to wet your Willie!
