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Henry IV, Part 1 -

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Last updated: Fri, Jul 31, 2015

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Henry IV, Part 1 -

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Act and scene list

Characters in the Play
Entire Play Henry IV, Part 1, culminates in the battle of Shrewsbury between the king’s army and rebels seeking his crown. The dispute begins when Hotspur, the son of Northumberland, breaks with the king over the fate of his brother-in-law, Mortimer, a Welsh prisoner. Hotspur, Northumberland, and Hotspur’s uncle Worcester plan to take the throne, later allying with Mortimer and a Welsh leader, Glendower.As that conflict develops, Prince Hal—Henry IV’s son and heir—carouses in a tavern and plots to trick the roguish Sir John Falstaff and his henchmen, who are planning a highway robbery. Hal and a companion will rob them of their loot—then wait for Falstaff’s lying boasts. The trick succeeds, but Prince Hal is summoned to war.In the war, Hal saves his father’s life and then kills Hotspur, actions that help to redeem his bad reputation. Falstaff, meanwhile, cheats his soldiers, whom he leads to slaughter, and takes credit for Hotspur’s death.
Act 1, scene 1 King Henry meets with his advisers to discuss his proposed crusade to the Holy Land, but the discussion turns instead to new battles on England’s borders. In Wales, an English nobleman named Mortimer has been captured by Owen Glendower; in the north, England’s forces have prevailed over the Scots, but Hotspur, a young English nobleman, refuses to yield his prisoners to King Henry. In the face of these crises, the crusade is once again put off as the king calls a meeting at Windsor.
Act 1, scene 2 Prince Hal and Sir John Falstaff taunt each other, Hal warning Falstaff that he will one day be hanged as a thief and Falstaff insisting that, when Hal becomes king, thieves will have a friend in court. Poins enters to enlist them in an upcoming robbery. Hal refuses, but, after Falstaff leaves, Poins persuades Hal to join in a plot to rob and embarrass Falstaff and the other thieves. Alone, Hal reveals that he will soon end his association with his companions and that, after his “reformation,” he will shine all the brighter against his background of irresponsible living.
Act 1, scene 3 King Henry meets with Hotspur, Hotspur’s father (Northumberland), and his uncle (Worcester) to demand that Hotspur yield his prisoners to the crown. Hotspur agrees to do so only if Henry will ransom Mortimer, Hotspur’s brother-in-law, from captivity in Wales. Henry refuses and exits. Hotspur is enraged by Henry’s accusation that Mortimer is a traitor and is happy to go along with a plot devised by Worcester and Northumberland to oust Henry from the throne.
Act 2, scene 1 Gadshill, the “setter” for Falstaff and his fellow thieves, seeks information at an inn about the travelers whom they plan to rob.
Act 2, scene 2 Falstaff, Peto, Bardolph, and Gadshill rob the travelers and are, in turn, robbed by Prince Hal and Poins in disguise.
Act 2, scene 3 Hotspur reads a letter from a nobleman who refuses to join the rebellion against King Henry. Lady Percy enters to ask Hotspur what has been troubling him so much lately, but he will not confide in her.
Act 2, scene 4 At a tavern in Eastcheap, Prince Hal and Poins amuse themselves by tormenting a young waiter while waiting for Falstaff to return. Falstaff comes in telling a story about having been robbed by a large body of men with whom he fought bravely. Hal then reveals that it was he and Poins who robbed Falstaff. A messenger arrives from King Henry to summon Hal to court. Falstaff and Hal stage mock versions of the scene to take place between Hal and his father. These impromptu performances are halted by the arrival of a sheriff in search of Falstaff and his gang, whom Hal conceals.
Act 3, scene 1 Hotspur, Worcester, Mortimer, and the leader of the Welsh rebels, Glendower, meet in Wales to make final the terms of their plot against King Henry and to determine how they will divide up the conquered kingdom. Hotspur ridicules Glendower to his face and is criticized by Mortimer and Worcester for doing so. Glendower brings in the wives of Hotspur and Mortimer to take leave of their husbands.
Act 3, scene 2 Prince Hal reconciles himself with his father by swearing to fight the rebels and to defeat Hotspur.
Act 3, scene 3 Falstaff tries to swindle the Hostess of the inn. Prince Hal offers Falstaff a command in the infantry.
Act 4, scene 1 Hotspur, Worcester, and Douglas learn that Hotspur’s father, Northumberland, is too sick to join them in the coming battle. They also learn that King Henry is approaching with a great army, including the splendidly armed Prince Hal, and that Glendower and his forces have been delayed.
Act 4, scene 2 Falstaff discloses to the audience how he has misused his commission as an officer to take money from men eager to avoid serving as soldiers, and how he has filled the ranks instead with beggars and prisoners. Prince Hal and Westmoreland overtake him and urge him to hasten to the impending battle.
Act 4, scene 3 As Hotspur argues with his fellow commanders about when to fight, they are visited by Sir Walter Blunt, who brings them a request from the king that they state their grievances and a promise that, if the grievances are just, they will be answered and the rebels pardoned. After listing their grievances, Hotspur promises to send Worcester the next morning to continue discussions with the king.
Act 4, scene 4 The archbishop of York and Sir Michael, who sympathize with Hotspur, debate the chances of his success against the king’s greater force.
Act 5, scene 1 Worcester and Vernon visit the king’s camp, where Worcester repeats the grievances that he says have led to the rebellion. Prince Hal offers to oppose Hotspur in single combat, and King Henry promises pardon and reconciliation to the rebels if they yield.
Act 5, scene 2 Worcester lies to Hotspur, telling him that the king made no offer of pardon and is ready to begin the battle. Hotspur sends his own defiance to the king by Douglas. On Douglas’s return, Hotspur and his men prepare for battle.
Act 5, scene 3 The battle begins. Douglas kills Blunt, who is disguised as King Henry. Falstaff enters alone to disclose to the audience that he has led his men to their massacre. When Prince Hal enters and asks Falstaff to lend him a sword, Falstaff instead gives him a bottle of sack.
Act 5, scene 4 Prince Hal saves King Henry from death at the hands of Douglas. Hal then meets Hotspur. While they are fighting, Falstaff and Douglas enter, they fight, Falstaff falls down as if he were dead, and Douglas exits. Hal kills Hotspur. Finding Falstaff’s body, Hal briefly mourns his death. When Hal leaves, Falstaff rises, sees the slain Percy, stabs him in the thigh, and picks up the body, planning to claim the credit for killing him. When Prince Hal reenters with his brother and meets Falstaff, Hal agrees to give his support to Falstaff’s lie.
Act 5, scene 5 The king’s forces having won, King Henry condemns Worcester and Vernon to death, and the king and his supporters prepare to march against the remaining rebels.

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Act 1, scene 1

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