Preview

An Analysis Of Shakespeare's Reputation In King Henry IV

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
309 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Analysis Of Shakespeare's Reputation In King Henry IV
In the play King Henry IV part 1, Shakespeare reflects both sides of Prince Harry, and his reformation that guide him to be a great King. In the beginning King Henry states; “When honor speaks, it speaks about Hotspur. I can only see my own son, Harry, and his reputation for wildness and dishonor.” Harry is known as a disgrace, his days consist in being a thief and not behaving as an honorable prince. He accepts himself as a disaster; and no one thinks that his capacity and attitude can lead him to be a great man with a clever plan. By the middle of the play he exposes his great secret; “I’ll be so wild, I’ll make wildness an art form, then redeem myself when the world least expects me to.” His elaborate plans consist in exhibiting the worst

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Henry was using his meaningful speech that arises from his spirit to convey more trust to his followers. This speech was a good example to show how Henry and all other strong feudal rulers in this era used their strength and unique personalities to amaze and persuade but not to force their people to become their followers. The unique and the highly effective speech and the thoughts of Henry v shows how open were individuals in Elizabethan era about expressing themselves to reveal social or political viewpoints.…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry VI and the Nobility

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The power of the Nobility was the most important cause of unrest in the period of 1450 to 1470. ‘How far…

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry VIII pt. 2

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Thomas Wolsey was Henry's most important minister early in his reign. Wolsey became Archbishop of York in late 1514, was created a cardinal of the Catholic Church the following November, and became Lord Chancellor of the realm in December 1515. Wolsey achieved singular stature in these offices. Since Henry was not so interested in administration as his minister, Wolsey took over many of the duties of kingship, overseeing England's finances and diplomatic relations with other European powers. Henry became extremely dependent on Wolsey, whose zeal and ability as an administrator made him indespensable. Among Henry's contemporaries on the European continent, many considered Wolsey to be the true ruler of England, since it was to him that foreign officials were often directed to address concerns meant for the English king.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Initially Hotspur is held up as a superb soldier and a model of chivalry and honour in marked contrast with Hal’s idleness and frivolity. The contrast between the two Harrys begins in Act 1 with King Henry’s praise of Hotspur’s victories in battle. Hotspur is referred to as ‘gallant Hotspur’ and the King describes him as ‘fortunes minion and her pride’, comparing him unfavourably to his own Harry who is stained with ‘riot and dishonour’. The comparison is further taken up when our introduction to Hotspur, fresh from battle, is juxtaposed with our introduction to Hal, drinking and planning frivolous robberies in the Boar’s Head Tavern with his Eastcheap friends. Hotspur is clearly a man of action to a degree that he becomes almost a parody of someone who is obsessed by honour gained in chivalric fashion through great victories in battle . His exaggerated claim that he will ‘pluck up drowned honour by the locks’ so that he alone may wear her garland and reap the full honour, paints a picture of a young man who is overly concerned with honour to the extent that he cannot spare time for his wife or await the opportune moment for further victory through the rebellion.…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the time Henry took the throne there were certain qualities expected from a king, these qualities would typically be a King who was strong, smart, and a decisive decision maker, determined and a man of the people. To a certain extent Henry ticked the majority of those boxes. He proved he was strong physically through his sporting achievements, he also proved he was very smart and was regarded as one of the smartest ever monarchs in Europe and the world, he also proved he was able to make decisions in difficult circumstances, so to summarise I believe Henry had the necessary qualities to be a good king however some qualities were not as developed as others and some qualities he lacked entirely.…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The play by William Shakespeare, Henry the IV, is a dramatic portrayal of the various relationships and emotions inherent within the father-son relationship especially emphasized between Harry’s surrogate-like father Falstaff, and his biological father King Henry. As the play begins the relationship between father and son is emphasized by the character of King Henry the Fourth and his rebellious son Prince of Wales; Harry or Hal.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    - Find more evidence - facts, examples, quotations, or statistics that back it up or support the topic sentence of this paragraph.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry Iv Essay

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Henry IV Part II William Shakespeare uses diction, syntax, and imagery to convey King Henry’s state of mind.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On King Henry Viii

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Henry VIII finally has a male heir, who is going to be named Edward. The king has gone 30 years with 3 different wives, having many girls born has annoyed him throughout this time. In the book, “A Wicked History- Henry VIII” it says, “For Henry, nearly three decades of waiting was over. He had a son and a heir. Three days later, the boy was given the name Edward.”…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Everything was quiet, too quiet. As the two opposing sides face one another in the battle field, you can hear the wind howling in agony. This war has gone on for centuries and nobody knows when it will end. For as long as the truth isn’t revealed, no one is willing to back out. This is the scene that comes into my mind as I try to personify the two opposing sides of the Shakespeare controversy. For years now, the Stratfordians and Anti-Stratfordians fought. And their reason of fighting, the identity of William Shakespeare.…

    • 2181 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry V

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Henry V is displayed as an honest and noble character. Shakespeare explores this nature of integrity clearly by displaying the audience with Henry’s innermost thoughts in addition to presenting him with situations, which test his virtue. Shakespeare continually contrasts the Dauphin with Henry and therefore effectively brings to the audience’s attention the admirable characteristics of Henry. Throughout the play Henry puts the needs of his kingdom above his own which proves his patriotism and shows that he possesses the qualities of a good King. This in turn relates to the chain of being because every time he gives an order he refers to God and Henry’s people refer to him. Through the use of literary devices such as soliloquies, juxtapositions, motifs and the strong use of central themes Shakespeare emphasises the integrity of Henry V.…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People were also beginning to look at life in a much more intellectual way. Things were no longer…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Indeed, the notion of honour in King Henry IV is portrayed through multiple characters within the play. It is understood that Falstaff and hotspur’s interpretations of honour act as a character foil to validate Hal’s modern and compassionate form of honour, although, in Shakespeare’s world of deceit and blind ambition, he suggests that extreme forms of honour without the ability to adapt to the climate around them will ultimately fail. Falstaff proclaims that honour itself is just “a word” - “air”; this brings forth the audiences capacity to validate what he says and ultimately contextualize with him which further brings forth the question “what is honour?”…

    • 1260 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people find it hard to believe that William Shakespeare had a vocabulary that varied from 20,000-25,000 words, since he stopped attending school at the age of 13. In comparison to a college graduate, who is estimated to have 18,000-23,000 words in their vocabulary, it is not uncommon for one to find this difficult to accept. Shakespeare tried to satisfy all members of class in his audience by having certain elements in his plays appeal to the educated upper class such as mythological allusions and, clever word play and the lower, uneducated class by violence and sexual innuendos.…

    • 1410 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." Indeed, very few people have this quality, the playwright William Shakespeare being one of them. In many of his plays, "Henry IV, Part One" among them, Shakespeare juxtaposes different worldviews, ideologies, and even environments. His characters usually provide a clear example of a split among them in one of many perspectives. One of his characters in "Henry IV"—Falstaff—is first seen as an endearing, uproariously funny scoundrel and later reveals himself more of a lowlife with his view of honor—he seems to believe it when he says that honor is merely "air" and "a word." Henry Percy (a.k.a. Hotspur), another character in the same play, is a warmongering young noble who ends up wanting and leading an armed rebellion against the king (a.k.a. Henry). His view of honor—more regularly occurring in the world and more "correct" than Falstaff's by far—sets up the second major view of the idea of honor. With the two different ideologies, it is difficult to say what exactly Shakespeare wanted his audience to make of what "honor" really is, but perhaps he wanted his audience to see that the world is, in fact, a mixture of extremes. Thus, perhaps the correct view of honor is that it gains respect and gives those who have it a good name despite how they achieved it, only so long as the people of that age decide that to be what "honor" really is.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays