Read James Knowles’ essay on the play and discuss what aspects of that new modern political and social order are highlighted in 1 Henry IV and how they relate to the play’s style.
2. Consider the title of the play in the Stationers’ Register, 25 February 1598, when it first appeared in print: “The historye of Henry the IVth with his battle of Shrewsbury against Henry Hottspurre of the Northe with the conceipted mirthe of Sir John Falstoff.” Discuss how this title frames the play’s thematic concerns and the balance between its serious subject and entertainment value.
3. Critics have argued that Shakespeare uses contrasts of place and character foils to capture the new social dynamic between high and low, noble and ordinary, honour and cowardice. Discuss Prince Henry (Hal) as bridging the different social orders and as prefiguring the new type of political ruler.
4. Finally, discuss the character of Falstaff in the play. In what sense is Shakespeare’s characterization of Falstaff contradictory and why? Is he cowardly (as early critics read him), or shrewd (as later readers saw him), or is he an experienced realist and a creative genius, whose humour and wit are liberating like “the bliss of freedom” (A. C. Bradley)? Find textual evidence to give your reading of Falstaff.