num_pages: 85
description: One of the most popular of all Shakespeare's history plays, Henry IV, Part I re-creates actual events from early-15th-century English history as King Henry deals a rebellion inside with his kingdom led by Harry Percy ("Hotspur") and other notables. Besides this mutinous action, the king must also contend with the dissolute ways of his son, Prince Hal, who spends much of his time in the company of the witty, rotund, tavern-haunting Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare's immortal comic characters. During the rebellion against his father, however, Hal acquits himself honorably in battle, portending the eventual transformation in later plays of the wild prince into a great warrior-king.These various themes are woven together here in a superb blend of brilliantly staged scenes depicting the king's attempts to pacify the rebels and maintain his power, the plotting of Percy and other insurgents, grim action on the battlefield, and the low comedy of Falstaff and his comrades — all brought to life in some of Shakespeare's finest blank verse and raciest prose.
language: English
title: Henry IV, Part I
titlecomplete: Henry IV, Part I (Dover Thrift Editions: Plays)
characters: 2nd Traveller, 1st Traveller, Servant to Hotspur, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, Ostler, Elizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys, Sir Richard Vernon, 8th Baron of Shipbrook, Bardolph, Gilliams, messenger to Hotspur, Vintner, Henry Percy "Hotspur", Henry IV of England, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, Sir Michael, Sheriff, Catrin ferch Owain Glyndŵr, Richard le Scrope, Bishop of Lichfield and Archbishop of York, Sir John Falstaff, Mistress Nell Quickly, Edward "Ned" Poins, Sir Edmund Mortimer IV, Peto, Francis the drawer, Robin Ostler, Mugs (carrier), Sir Walter Blount, Chamberlain, Owain Glyndŵr, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Henry V of England, Tom (carrier)
genres: Fiction, Plays, Theatre, Historical, Poetry, Drama, School, Literature, Classics, Historical Fiction
ratings_count: 29554
series: Wars of the Roses, Henry IV
publisher: Dover Publications