num_pages: 240
description: Written in 1598, hard on the heels of the massive popular success of Henry IV Part One , Henry IV Part Two takes up where the first part finished, and completes Shakespeare's portrayal of the troubled reign of Henry IV. Rebellion has apparently been quelled, but dissension still permeates the country, and Henry is disillusioned, sick and dying. After the pace and comedy of Part One ., Part Two is a much more subdued and gloomy affair. The tone is set by the early appearance of Falstaff, who relishes the possibilities of easy picking in the face of more civil unrest with his sinister quip that "I will turn diseases to commodity". The drama focuses on Henry IV's difficult relationship with his son Prince Hal, and the latter's gradual emergence as a charismatic sovereign. In the process he sheds his image as a prodigal wastrel dramatised in the first half of Part One , assuming the title of King Henry V in the closing scenes of Part Two . Perhaps the most poignant moment of the whole play remains Henry's cold-blooded rejection of Falstaff, his surrogate father for much of Part One . "I know thee not, old man" he tells the crushed Falstaff as he assumes the royal crown, preparing the audience for the type of monarch they will see in Shakeseare's subsequent dramatisation of English history, Henry V . -- Jerry Brotton
language: English
title: Henry IV, part 2
titlecomplete: Henry IV, part 2 (Shakespeare, Signet Classic)
characters: Sir John Falstaff, Harcourt, Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, Richard le Scrope, Bishop of Lichfield and Archbishop of York, Master Smooth, Nell Poins, Bardolph, First Strewer, Ralph Mouldy, Davy, servant to Justice Shallow, Henry V of England, Mistress Nell Quickly, Maud, Baroness Lucy, Lady Northumberland, Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Robert Shallow, Francis the drawer, Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, Dorothy "Doll" Tearsheet, Sergeant Fang, Simon Shadow, Master Dumbe, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Second Beadle, Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk, Morton, Sir John Colleville, Messenger, Speaker of the Epilogue, Sir John Blount, William Gascoigne, Gower, Edward "Ned" Poins, Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, Page to King Henry IV, Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Travers, Servant to the Lord Chief Justice, Ursula, Master Tisick, Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl of Arundel, 10th Earl of Surrey, Sneak, Thomas Wart, Third Strewer, Peto, Justice Silence, First Beadle, Ancient Pistol, Second Strewer, Sergeant Snare, Peter Bullcalf, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, 2nd drawer, Henry IV of England, Sir Ralph Hastings, Rumour, the Presenter, Elizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys, Robin, Page to Falstaff, Goodwife Keech, Fauconbridge, Francis Feeble, Master Dommellton
genres: Historical, Literature, British Literature, Classics, Drama, Plays, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Theatre
ratings_count: 19431
places: Warkworth, Northumberland, Engand
series: Henry IV, Wars of the Roses
publisher: Signet Classics