How Prince Henry is Influenced by his Father, Falstaff and Hotspur in Shakespeare’s play Henry IV, Part One

How Prince Henry is Influenced by his Father, Falstaff and Hotspur in Shakespeare’s play Henry IV, Part One

Introduction

In Shakespeare’s play, Prince Henry IV, prince Harry is the Prince of Wales as well as the heir to the throne of Britain. He is often referred to as Prince Henry or Prince Hal. He posed as a rebellious teenager and does everything rebellious including taking part in activities that would definitely break the law a character that could be attributed to Falstaff, a father figure to the Prince (1.3.14-17)  More often than not, Prince Henry equated himself to the sun and asserts that his reformation, after he has convinced people that he is not worthy of honor, will glitter like the sun and attract more people especially when they least expect it. For this reason, Henry was often compared to Hotspur (1.2.20-25).This paper aims at outlining and discussing the ways in which Prince Hal is influenced by his father, Falstaff and Hotspur

One of the most main and most important themes in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part One is the relationship between father and son. This is mainly because the theme relates to Prince Hal and Hotspur who are the main characters of the narrative, both of whom have different father-figures who play a tremendous role in influencing their actions in the years to come (2.2. 220-224). Prince Hal has Henry IV and Falstaff as a father-figure while Hotspur has the Earl of Northumberland and the Earl of Worcester (2.2.220-224).

Both of these father-figures exhibit both good and bad connotations that contribute and determine their influence on each character.For instance, Falstaff is seen to be a poor influence to prince Hal, who is considered a future ruler, through his drinking habits and his reveling (1.3.14-17).Worcester on the other hand has a short temper just like Hotspur and influences him to make rash decisions (1.3.14-17).It is therefore the duty of Hal to choose which among the traits of the two fatherly-figures was going to influence his life and decisions in the future.

Qualities of Prince Henry

The qualities of Prince Henry are brought about while showcasing the theme of Kingship in the Shakespearean play. Such qualities are used to critically analyze the qualities of a good and successful leader or rather a good King (2.4.6-14). Shakespeare uses many different characters to portray the qualities of good leadership which include inter alia; majesty, loyalty, heroism, politics, and leadership. A good leader must possess all of these qualities (2.4.12)

Prince Henry exhibits very strong leadership qualities and is portrayed as a leader who is vibrant and did not shy away from leading his men into battle. Hal’s leadership skills involve respect and influence unlike his rival Hotspur who expected people to follow his example rather than using leadership skills (2.5.26-30). In addition to that, Hal also shows his loyalty through Falstaff as well as his father King Henry V. Hal is really persuasive and automatically wins loyalty from other people by treating everyone equally regardless of their age or otherwise.

Prince Henry and Falstaff

Falstaff is a haunter at a certain tavern and indulges in drinking their old liquor which they called sack (2.5.30-33). In addition, Falstaff also possessed some reveling habits such as; lying, stealing and basically dishonoring and disrespecting others.  Prince Henry seems to be really having a good time in the company of his father, and despite this fact, he has the intentions of of reforming and redeeming himself and showing the people that he is a true Prince.  He reveals to the people that his bad behavior is just but a disguise so that he can later on stage a dramatic reformation, to make him come out as a greater king in the eyes of the people. “……and when I am king of England, I shall command all the good lads in East cheap.” (2.4.6-15)

Prince Henry often portrayed himself in a way that seemed like he did not like Falstaff. He sometimes acted towards Falstaff with coldness which easily gives anyone the impression that he does not like him (2.5.256-259). There are however some circumstances that show Henry’s deep love and affection for Falstaff as his friend. For instance, after the robbery at Gads Hill, Henry covers for Falstaff when the Sheriff shows up looking for him (2.5.250-255).

Falstaff was even more of a father figure to Prince Henry than his actual father, King Henry V (Shakespeare, 55).It can be interpreted that Henry’s mixed and fluctuating treatment towards Falstaff is an indirect sign of rebellion towards his father, who once told him that he feels as if his birth was God’s way of punishing the king for his sins of the past. Falstaff spends quality time with the prince and that is why the prince is fond of him (Shakespeare, 60).

The act of Henry hanging out with Falstaff in the taverns was a positive influence on Henry’s path towards leadership (1.2.203-205). He intends to learn the way of life of the people in the taverns which will better his leadership skills and make him a greater king when his time comes, a gesture which his father, King Henry completely fails to understand (2.5.10-12). This act brings Prince Henry displeasure from not only his father but also the people in general.

Prince Henry and His father, King Henry

The relationship between Prince Henry, and his father the King is obviously that of a strained nature. King Henry was considered as one of the greatest kings in the history of England and this can be attributed to his close friend Falstaff and his father, King Henry IV. The two men, Falstaff and King Henry V both provide a fatherly figure to Prince Henry (2.5.60-66). The relationship of Henry and Falstaff was an affectionate in nature as compared to the strained relationship between Prince Henry and His real father, King Henry V (2.4.205-210).

The King often felt dishonored by his son and therefore, especially because of his behavior of hanging out at the tavern and lacking decorum (1.2.13-17). From time to time, he kept telling Prince Henry that he wished Hotspur was his son instead of him. This was just characterized by nothing else but the worry of how he will be able to take control of the Kingdom with his wild behaviors (1.3.20-22).

Prince Henry and Hotspur

In this Shakespearean play, Hotspur is portrayed as the chief rebel who is always at loggerheads with the King. However, as the play progresses, the plot thickens and we discover that the person with whom Hotspur is actually at loggerheads with is Prince Henry (1.3 27-33). In the beginning, Henry is always hanging out with his friends such as Falstaff, participating in rebellious activities and also drinking alcohol and that is all he seemed to care about (1.3.70-77). This made it look like it would be easy for Hotspur to win this contest.

On the other hand, Hotspur is just back from a battle in which he had defeated his opponents, taken many prisoners and won a great reputation for himself as a valiant warrior on the battlefield (1.2.202-204).Hotspur, in his shining moments describes Prince Henry as a heedlessly repulsive and reckless prince and he feels that this is just befitting for him as he is exactly like that, without knowing what game plan the Prince has in mind (1.2.202-224).

Prince Henry’s game plan involves reforming himself when he becomes King, and this involves doing away with his reckless and impulsive behavior when everyone least expects it and becoming the greatest King, greater than his father King Henry V (3.1.140). He has he intentions of shining when his time to become king comes so that he can present himself to the people as a successor who is worthy of their honor and approval once more (3.2.200). This strategy is seen to work out well for him as it can be seen as the play advances.“……I’ll so offend, to make offence a skill, Redeeming time when men think least I will.” (1.2.202-224)

Both Hal and Hotspur are ambitious people who share the same goal despite having very opposite characteristics and personalities (3.1.122-125) Their common goal is to succeed in occupying the throne, however only one of them can prevail. The two can be seen as to be unable to exist at the same time (3.2.213).  It was quoted in the play that it is impossible for two stars to move in the same course neither can there be a double reign in England, of Hotspur and Hal. They both however have great respect for each other. Worcester also thinks that Hotspur is not cut out for leadership, he says, “Haughtiness,” and “disdain” causes him to “loseth men’s hearts.” (3.1.181).

Conclusion

King Henry V, Falstaff and Hotspur all have both negative and positive influences on Hal’s future. The ball is therefore left in Hal’s court to decide whether he is going to let himself pick up the negative or positive traits. As it can be seen in the play, Hal manages to use all the influences exposed to him to his advantage and he eventually emerges victorious over his rival Hotspur.

There existed a tremendously phenomenal rivalry between Hal and Hotspur because neither of them is prepared to lose without a strong fight despite the fact that only one of them could triumph. Hal possesses all the qualities of a good leader and even though Hotspur is a better leader than him when it comes to morals, at the end of the day, what the people need is a leader with good leadership qualities. In Worcester’s words, “We can’t help compare Hotspur to Hal’s calculating ability to get chummy with men from all walks of life, which may make him better suited to rule the country.” (2.4) A character trait that made him triumphant over Hotspur.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William “Henry IV, Part One”, Published in 1594