The first part of the history play Henry IV has traditionally been one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, certainly among the most popular of the history plays. To a considerable extent, this is because of the presence of Falstaff, a minor character whose charisma and boastfulness enables him to steal many of the scenes in which he appears. Falstaff, who may have been based on a historical character, Sir John Oldcastle, is loud, vivacious and thoroughly corrupt and, together with the vibrant young rebel and rabble rouser Henry Hotspur, they seem to overshadow the apparently pallid King Henry IV (also known as Bolingbroke) and young Prince Hal, who would subsequently become Henry V.

The play was written in or around 1597 and it shows a significant maturing of Shakespeare’s talent on some of the earlier plays, in terms of the thematic content of the play as well as the mastery of language and of stagecraft. It is the second part of the second tetralogy of history plays and continues after the conclusion of Richard II, when the eponymous protagonist had been deposed by Bolingbroke. Now reigning as Henry IV, the new king is troubled by the circumstances which surrounded his seizure of the throne and he is advised to mount a crusade against the Muslim states to clear his sins. However, his internal troubles are mirrored in the real world by the emerging rebellion among previous allies and because of his estrangement from Prince Hal. Hal has taken up with Falstaff and his cronies and is living a disreputable life in the fleshpots of London, such as they were. However, despite his apparent debauchery, Hal in fact is holding himself more or less aloof from the misadventures of his comrades and appears just to be going through the motions of these petty sins rather than fully committing himself to them. At the appropriate moment, Hal rejects Falstaff and his previous lifestyle to accept a high command in his father’s army, thereupon defeating the rebels and himself slaying their leader Hotspur. By these acts, Henry IV’s reign comes to be seen as being accepted and perhaps blessed by Heaven.

The overall theme of the second tetralogy of history plays concerns the true nature of heroism, of kingliness and of manliness. Shakespeare portrays Hal as embodying the process of moving from self-indulgence (Richard II), compromise with integrity (his father) and irresponsibility (Falstaff) to become the paragon of virtue Henry V. In doing so, Hal appears occasionally to be overshadowed by more exciting and energetic characters. However, in the same way that Adam is the true hero of Milton’s Paradise Lost, rather than the domineering and superficially attractive Lucifer, so too is the quiet determination of Hal, ultimately revealed, the symbol of true and proper good character.