Henry IV, Part I Review

The title is a misnomer: when one thinks about the play, Henry IV is not the first, second or third character that comes to mind. "The Prodigal Son", "Two Noblemen from Eastcheap" or "The Knight of Unabashed Countenance" may have been more fitting.

Falstaff looms large over the character set. Witty and silly by turns, he steals your attention by making you laugh with him or laugh at him. Even in the staged encounter between Hal and the king all the talk is about Falstaff. In his ability to be larger than life and to be uplifted by the sheer force of spirit, he is closely matched by Richard III. A lying thief and a remorseless murderer, when called a coward and a murderer to their face, they shrug it off, act as if they were a lion and a forlorn lover, and win over other characters and, somewhat disturbingly, the reader.

Straight arrow characters are always at a disadvantage in a Shakespearean play. Hotspur and Henry IV, in their straightforward delivery, are fading out to the sound of Hal's and Falstaff's verbal jousting.

Henry IV Part I may be Hal's story, but it is Falstaff's play.Get more detail about Henry IV, Part I.