num_pages: 268
description: The play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hal's path toward kingship &amp; his ultimate rejection of Falstaff. Unlike Part One, Hal &amp; Falstaff's stories are virtually separate. The two meet only briefly. The play's tone is elegiac, focusing on Falstaff's age &amp; nearness to death. Still drinking &amp; engaging in petty criminality in London's underworld, Falstaff has a relationship with Doll Tearsheet, a prostitute. With news of a 2nd rebellion, he rejoins the army &amp; goes to the country to recruit. He encounters Mouldy, Bullcalf, Feeble, Shadow &amp; Wart, rustic yokels who are to be conscripted into the loyalists, with two of whom, Mouldy &amp; Bullcalf, bribing their way out. He also meets an old school-chum, Master Shallow. They reminisce about their youthful follies. In the other storyline, Hal remains acquainted with London lowlife, seemingly unsuited to kingship. His father, King Henry IV, has apparently forgotten their reconciliation in Part One, &amp; is disappointed in the young prince. Another rebellion is launched against Henry IV. This time it's defeated, not by battle, but by duplicitous political machinations of Hal's brother, Prince John. King Henry sickens, appearing to die. Seeing this, Hal believes he's King &amp; exits with the crown. The king, awakening, is devastated, thinking Hal cares only about power. Hal convinces him otherwise. He dies contentedly. The two storylines meet in a final scene. Having learned Hal is now King, Falstaff goes to London expectating great rewards. Hal rejects him, saying he's changed &amp; can no longer associate with such people. The London lowlifes, expecting a 'paradise of thieves' under his governance, are instead purged &amp; imprisoned by the authorities. At the end of the play, an epilogue thanks the audience, promising the story will continue in a forthcoming play "with Sir John in it". In fact, the subsequent play, Henry V, doesn't feature Falstaff except for a brief mention of his death.
language: English
title: Henry IV, Part Two
titlecomplete: Henry IV, Part Two
characters: Francis Feeble, Goodwife Keech, Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Edward "Ned" Poins, Ancient Pistol, Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence, Sir Ralph Hastings, Master Tisick, Second Beadle, Elizabeth Mortimer, Baroness Camoys, Gower, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, Bardolph, Robert Shallow, Maud, Baroness Lucy, Lady Northumberland, Travers, Second Strewer, Third Strewer, Peto, Dorothy "Doll" Tearsheet, Harcourt, First Strewer, Richard le Scrope, Bishop of Lichfield and Archbishop of York, Robin, Page to Falstaff, Sneak, Speaker of the Epilogue, Sir John Colleville, Sergeant Fang, Page to King Henry IV, Mistress Nell Quickly, Master Dumbe, Thomas Wart, Henry V of England, Sir John Falstaff, Peter Bullcalf, Servant to the Lord Chief Justice, Francis the drawer, Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 2nd drawer, Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk, Sir John Blount, Messenger, Ursula, First Beadle, Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Morton, Henry IV of England, Fauconbridge, Justice Silence, William Gascoigne, Master Dommellton, Sergeant Snare, Master Smooth, Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl of Arundel, 10th Earl of Surrey, Davy, servant to Justice Shallow, Nell Poins, Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, Rumour, the Presenter, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Ralph Mouldy, Simon Shadow
genres: Classics, Drama, Theatre, Historical, British Literature, Plays, Historical Fiction, Poetry, Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 19428
places: Warkworth, Northumberland, Engand
series: Henry IV, Wars of the Roses
publisher: Signet Classics