“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

We now continue with our historical sequels. I should point out that what seems to be a trilogy is actually a four-part story, beginning with King Richard II, then Henry IV Part One and Part Two, then completed with Henry V. It’s tempting, but we can’t really include Merry Wives of Windsor in this sequence. Although many of the characters’ names are the same, chiefly Falstaff and his companions, they bear almost no resemblance to the roles they play in the two parts of Henry IV.

For that matter, it is striking how dissimilar are the two parts of Henry IV from each other. Both in scope and tone, the second part fails to live up to the promise of the first. For example, while young Prince Hal is the focus of Part One, he plays a minor, almost peripheral role in Part Two, at least until the death of his father at the end of Act Four. In addition, while he had sworn to his father that he would reform from his delinquent ways, and indeed seemed to have redeemed himself in his duel with Hotspur in the battle of Shrewsbury, Hal, when he does appear, is back to his old tricks, hanging out in the tavern and embarassing his drinking buddy Sir John Falstaff. Perhaps Shakespeare felt this was dramatically necessary, to heighten the emotion when the newly-crowned King Henry V publicly rejects his former friend in Act Five.

Speaking of Falstaff — Shakespeare had originally named this character Sir John Oldcastle, after a lord who had historically been a companion of young King Henry V.
However, this lord was a well-respected and beloved historical figure, particularly to one of his descendants, who held a high post in the government of Queen Elizabeth! After he complained about the portrayal of his distinguished ancestor, Shakespeare very prudently changed the name to Falstaff. This explains the line in the Epilogue “…Oldcastle died a martyr, and this is not the man.” The Epilogue also promises that Falstaff will make another appearance in Henry V, but for reasons known only to Shakespeare himself, Falstaff is dead by the time that play begins.

It’s a little confusing that there is a Lord Bardolph among the rebels siding with Hotspur’s father, because Bardolph is also the name of one of Falstaff’s gang.

In Part One King Henry IV had hoped to set the Holy Land free from the rule of Muslims. (In fact, Henry Bolingbroke had made a pilgrimage to Palestine as a young man years before becoming king.) It is a fitting irony that the king should take ill and die while he is in a chapel named Jerusalem. Before dying, he gives Hal the advice to busy his people with foreign wars to distract them from trying to take over the throne. This is also ironic, since Hal will make his name in his war with France.

Here is some important vocabulary:
apple-john – a dried apple

gout – a disease of the legs, usually associated with well-fed and lazy men

Lethe – a mythical river associated with forgetfulness. According to legend, one drink of the water from the river Lethe causes all memories to disappear.

quean – low-class woman
sneap – reprimand

ACT 1

Prologue

An actor portrays Rumor, which runs ahead of the truth after the battle of Shrewsbury. Even though Hal had killed Hotspur and captured Douglas, Hotspur’s father is going to hear a rumor that Hotspur had killed Hal and Douglas had killed the king.
scene 1
Hotspur’s father, who has been sick, hears one report after another that Hotspur was victorious, which makes it all the more painful when he learns that his son is dead. Plans are made to meet with Archbishop Scroop, another leader of the revolt.
scene 2
Falstaff teases the Lord Chief Justices, who accuses Falstaff of being a bad companion to the Prince. He also learns that he must go to fight against the rebels.
scene 3
Scroop and the other rebels count how many soldiers they have, and how many the king will send against them. They know that the king has to divide his forces three ways, so that makes them feel more confident.

ACT 2
scene 1
Hostess Quickly tries to have Falstaff arrested for his debts to her, and also for promising to marry her. The Chief Justice again criticizes Falstaff for his many faults.
scene 2
Hal plans another prank to play on Falstaff.
scene 3
Hotspur’s parents and widow mourn his death, but make plans for the future.
scene 4

Hostess Quickly and Doll trade insults with Falstaff and Pistol, even though they are actually fond of Falstaff. Poins and Hal dress as servants to see if Falstaff will even notice they’re in the room with him. He doesn’t, and says bad things about both of them before they finally announce themselves.

ACT 3
scene 1
King Henry can’t sleep, worrying about the strength of the armies against him. He is advised to march against the Archbishop, even though his army has been divided into three parts.
scene 2
Shallow and Silence talk about old times. Falstaff drafts several local boys into his army, but the able-bodied men buy their freedom, leaving only the weak and sickly. Falstaff realizes that Shallow is very gullible, and decides to cheat him out of as much money as he can.

ACT 4
scene 1
Westmoreland comes to parley with the rebels. The Archbishop gives him a copy of their complaints, and he arranges for them to meet Prince John to negotiate with him in person.
scene 2
Prince John hears the complaints of the rebels, and swears to them that he will take up the matter with his father the king. On the strength of this promise, the rebels disband their army, thinking that Prince John will do the same. Instead he double-crosses them, arresting them for treason once their army has been sent home.
scene 3
Falstaff arrives late to the battle, and tricks a knight into surrendering to him (possibly because of Falstaff’s undeserved reputation for killing Hotspur.) He also asks Prince John to speak well of him before the king, and makes plans to visit Shallow and begin cheating him out of money on his way back home.
scene 4
The king again laments that his oldest son spends his time with such bad companions. He gets the news of the victories of his armies, but somehow he grows sick upon hearing the news.

scene 5

Hal visits his father on his deathbed. Thinking that he has died already, he takes his crown and goes off into another room to cry. When Henry wakes up, he demands that Hal be brought back to him, and criticizes him for taking his crown away. However, Hal convinces his father that he really loves him.

ACT 5
scene 1
Shallow insists that Falstaff stay as his guest, even though Falstaff says terrible things about him behind his back.
scene 2
The Chief Justice is worried that Hal has become king, because he had punished Hal years before during his wild youth. However, Hal now understands that he only acted that way out of loyalty and honor, and so he forgives him and asks him to continue in his office.
scene 3
Falstaff learns that Hal has become king. He is overjoyed and makes plans to rush to London to see him. Thinking that Hal will do whatever he asks, he promises to make Shallow into a lord, and swears to have revenge on the Chief Justice for insulting him.
scene 4
Quickly and Doll are arrested, because they had participated in a beating in which Pistol killed a man. Doll pretends to be pregnant, even though she is an old woman.
scene 5

Falstaff merrily greets the new King Henry V, thinking that he will now have power and prestige. In fact, Hal breaks Falstaff’s heart by rejecting him publicly, and further orders Falstaff and all of his band to be thrown into prison until they reform their lives.

Epilogue As is common in such plays, the audience is asked to forgive the players for any offense they might have taken at the play. In particular, Shakespeare stresses that Falstaff is not related to the historical Sir John Oldcastle for whom the character was originally named.