King Henry IV Part 1

I’m only a few plays into Shakespeare, but I think this one might end up being a favorite. Even compared with Shakespeare’s deep bench of memorable characters, the cast of Henry IV, Part 1 feels particularly timeless.

Falstaff is so lovably awful. He is gross, cowardly, dishonest, and stupid, but also somehow completely genuine in his own way. Hal is more complicated. He is charming and fun to spend time with, but I actually found him easier to dislike than Falstaff. To me he represents the spoiled rich kid who gets infinite second chances, experiments with being rebellious for a while, and then is able to return to wealth and power whenever he is ready. I suspect my feelings about both characters will only become more cemented after Part 2 of the play.

I spent more time than usual reading the footnotes on this one, and it definitely enhanced the experience. There were so many jokes, puns, and double entendres I would have missed without digging a little deeper. During the first major scene of banter between Hal and Falstaff in particular, I was amazed at how clever and crass the dialogue was. Evidently, it’s easy to underestimate how raunchy pre-Victorian entertainment could be.

I also watched the episode of The Hollow Crown based on Henry IV, Part 1, and thought it was very well done. It was faithful to the text, though somewhat abbreviated, and it brought a lot of the emotion to life for me.

Book author: William Shakespeare