Ben Jonson wrote Shakespeare “was not of an age, but for all time,” representing how 21st century ideas and themes can be connected back to the time when 1 Henry IV was written. One contemporary issue displayed in the play is a phenomenon known as helicopter parenting. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a helicopter parent is when a parent is very involved in a child’s life. Parents will often put expectations on their children to achieve certain dreams parents have of their kids. Thus, putting a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress on their children. This idea is demonstrated throughout the play between King Henry and Prince Hal. King Henry expects his son to act a certain way, to take his role in the kingdom seriously and be focused on the kingdom and the duties he serves to the kingdom. Looking at two examples from the text, one can identify the transformation of the test to 21st century problem of parents pressuring kids to attend college or act a certain way. Throughout the play King Henry would like his son, Prince Hal, to act a certain way. The King wants Prince Hal to act royal and responsible, like Hotspur. Instead, Prince Hal decides to act out and represent immature behavior with his sidekick Falstaff. King Henry states, “See riot and dishonor stain the brow of my young Harry. O, that it could be proved that some night tripping fairy had exchanged in cradle clothes our children where they lay, and called mine Percy, his Plantagenet!” (I, I, 87-89). The King
This speech occurs towards the end of the play and does not make a positive impression on the newly-virtuous Hal, but in previous moments the Prince seems at least to play along with Falstaff's definition of honor being, in essence, an empty value belonging only to the dead. Falstaff's concept of honor shapes Hal's personality early in the play when he has not yet acquiesced to his royal role as heir apparent, but the question that is raised in the early, rakehell descriptions of Hal is the possibility that he is merely playing a role and ingratiating himself superficially with Falstaff. This seems likely, increasingly so as the play goes on, as Hal tells his father that he will “hereafter, my thrice-gracious lord,/ Be more myself,” indicating that there is perhaps more to Hal’s sense of honor and duty than appearance belies (3.2.92-93). However, whether Hal is playacting or being true to himself in his early interactions with Falstaff, there is no doubt that the general populace and the King in particular believe that Hal has no honor to speak of, and is in effect living Falstaff's notion of the “true” nature of honor.
The role parents play in a child’s development is critical. They are the people who have the most influence on them, effecting most aspects of even their adult life. When too controlling, the role of a parent can have lasting negative consequences for the child. In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, the author shows that loss of an authoritative parent leaves people trying to replace the loss of that control in unhealthy ways that destroy the person. This can be seen in the lives of Ophelia, Hamlet and Laertes, who all loose a controlling father.
Raising a child is always a challenging and time-consuming task, and raising a prince is even more difficult. Henry puts his leadership aside to focus his efforts upon preventing Prince Hal from absolute corruption or even betrayal. Hal enjoys the company of an unruly thief, the drunkard John Falstaff, as well as several other less respectable persons. Henry is more realistic and rational than Richard, and he is able to see that his position is not a good one. He may fear that he is a bad example for his son, for he too was a robber when he stole the throne. He fears that his son will ruin his image as king or even assist in overthrowing him;
n Shakespeare's King Henry V, King Henry prepares his troops for battle with a passionate speech about fighting, honor, and kinship. Henry uses strong ethos and pathos to persuade his men to fight the French, though they are outnumbered in the battle. Henry notes that his troops feel unprepared and overwhelmed for battle. This speech marks the moment where the boy Hal transforms into King Henry. For the first time, Henry takes on the role of a valiant king and takes control of the situation. He seizes the moment to prepare them and inspire them. Henry hopes by making an effective speech his men will understand why they need to fight.
Act one, scene one, stresses the motif of honor in war, in characters, and, most importantly, in offspring. However, while Henry sees “riot and dishonor” in his son, Hal sees a father who has stolen his title by disgracing a king (1.1.84). Shakespeare wouldn’t dream of imposing his personal beliefs of who is honorable or who is dishonorable for the simple fact that it is obvious honor is perceived differently by each individual, as in each character’s perception and the imagery that surrounds that character. As Hal tries to discover the true meaning of honor, readers take the journey along with him. Hal realizes that honor is ambiguous when utilized to plead for emotional retort, yet leaves no margin for error when used as personal description,
Although King Henry and Falstaff are extremely different characters, both do act as father figures in Hal’s life with Falstaff as a surrogate father and King Henry as Hal’s birth father. With King Henry, this fatherly relationship emerges as one of blindly scolding and ordering around his son, an example being when the King criticizes Hal’s friends, “rude society” (3.2.14). The relationship with Hal and his surrogate father, Falstaff, though is much more relaxed with Falstaff teasing Hal, by touching on Hal’s slight insecurity of taking care of his princely duties, calling Hal “true prince” (2.4.106). Although both these relationships are very different in how relaxed they are, there is a similarity of King Henry and Falstaff acting as fatherly figures in Hal’s life.
In Shakespeare’s play Henry IV Part 1 Prince Hal’s world influences him to transform into a strong leader that will influence . With all the detail of politics and the diverse of social status of the Tavern, the King, and the Rebels; each sector of this story has compiled together to create Hal from a rebellious boy into a persona with ideals and experience.
The question that Shakespeare raises throughout the series of Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV, Part II, and Henry V is that of whether Prince Hal (eventually King Henry V), is a true manifestation of an ideal ruler, and whether he is a rightful heir to his father’s ill-begotten throne. England is without a true king, being run by a ruler without the right of divine providence on his side– altogether, a very difficult situation for a young, inexperienced, and slightly delinquent Prince to take on. The task of proving himself a reliable Prince and a concerned ruler is of utmost importance to Hal, as he does not enjoy the mantle of divine right– perhaps by being an excellent ruler, Hal can make up for the
Shakespeare’s ‘King Henry IV Part I’ centres on a core theme of the conflict between order and disorder. Such conflict is brought to light by the use of many vehicles, including Hal’s inner conflict, the country’s political and social conflict, the conflict between the court world and the tavern world, and the conflicting moral values of characters from each of these worlds. This juxtaposition of certain values exists on many levels, and so is both a strikingly present and an underlying theme throughout the play. Through characterization Shakespeare explores moral conflict, and passage three is a prime example of Falstaff’s enduring moral disorder. By this stage in the play Hal has
This gives Hal a constant sense of inaptness. Knowing that his father thinks low of him drives him more towards Falstaff who praises him at all times, giving him the support he needs at such age. Hal’s disobedience is partly a stubborn reaction to his father’s criticism and partly a rebellion that is natural in his age. On the other hand, King Henry IV is haunted by a sense of guilt that is translated to a feeling of suspicion towards his own son. The source of this guilt is his usurping of the throne and, in a way or another, being a participant in the killing of Richard II, if not by giving the orders at least by turning a blind eye to it. King Henry IV unconsciously harbors a belief that God will punish him for doing this through his son. He expects that it will either be the fall of Hal when he succeeds him or Hal overthrowing him and taking over the throne. However, both options lead the king to treat his son with caution. An example of this is his fury when he wakes up to find that his crown is missing and thinking that his son wishes his death to become the king.
William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, composed during the last years of the 16th century, is as much as character study as it is a retelling of a moment in history. Though the play is titled for one king, it truly seems to revolve around the actions of the titular character's successor. Indeed, Henry IV is a story of the coming-of-age of Prince Hal and of the opposition that he must face in this evolution. This process gives narrative velocity to what is essentially a conflagration between two personality types. In Prince Hal, the audience is given a flawed but thoughtful individual. Equally flawed but more given over to action than thought is his former ally and now-nemesis, Hotspur. In the latter, Shakespeare offers a warrior and a man of action and in the former, the playwright shows a politician in his nascent stages of development. The contrast between them will drive the play's action.
Lastly, the tense relationship between Hal and his father, King Henry IV is also a Shakespearean example of intergenerational conflict. Hal’s upbringing shows similarities with the tale of the prodigal son, which was popular in the medieval time period. Hal is a disappointment to his father, which we learn when King Henry tells Westmorland that he envies the Percy family for having such a noble and honorable son:
heir to the throne. The King realizes that to keep order, a ruler and his heir
Hal is very manipulative to Falstaff, but still has patience for him due to the fact Prince Hal needs him to make himself look better, while keeping the support of the tavern as a superior. With this in mind incidents that reflect this are when Hal beings to recite his speech to the audience and reveals he's not really a low life drunk or criminal. He is only pretending to be a low-life for now so when then later, when the time is right, he will shock the kingdom and everyone in it by revealing his true self as a almighty leader (1.2.29). He is already admitting to the fact he hangs out with these people to make himself look better at the end. He juxtaposes himself next to Falstaff just to show bigger comparison as to why is his better in general.
Furthermore, Falstaff presents himself as Prince Henry’s friend, but is actually causing great suffering and harm, because if Falstaff was a true friend of the Prince he would not all such a nobel individual to spend his nights drinking and bantering on the south side of London while the country is