Henry IV Part 2 Literary Elements

drama, history play

English

early fifteenth-century England during the reign of Henry IV

There is no singular narrator or point of view in the play. However, in the Induction, a character dressed as personified Rumor appears and introduces the role that he will play over the course of the five acts. In some ways, Rumor can be considered a narrator or choral figure, as he comments on the nature of the plot without appearing on stage among any other characters.

bleak, anxious, somber

The protagonist of the play is Prince Hal (later King Henry V). The antagonist of the play is the Lord Chief Justice, who dislikes Hal for most of the play. However, when Hal is crowned King Henry V, he decides to look to the Lord Chief Justice as a father figure.

There are many concurrent conflicts operative in the play: first, the rebel forces are threatening Henry IV's army and therefore his reign. Second, Henry IV's health is in decline and he is unsure if he can trust Hal with the crown. Finally, Hal is still perceived by most as a wild and debauched youth, leading many to doubt to ability to lead.

The climax of the play occurs when King Henry and Prince Hal reconcile, after Hal delivers a moving speech to his father about how he loves him and is committed to being a good king. After this conversation, Henry IV dies off stage.

Of course, the most obvious instance of foreshadowing in the play is the appearance of Rumor on stage in the Induction. This personified Rumor suggests that the events of the play will be in part driven by gossip, lies, and deceit.

When Hal expresses concern over his newly-developed taste for light beer, he is in actuality wondering if he has leaned too far into his role as a commoner and forgotten his royal status.

The play makes frequent references to both Ancient Rome and the Christian Bible. Shakespeare's primary source material for the play was Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Volume 3).

Important imagery in the play includes gardening, bodies of water, lies and deceit, and decay.

One of the central paradoxes of the play is that Prince Hal has announced privately to the audience that his debauched lifestyle is only a strategy to make his transformation into a strong king more impressive. However, his lifestyle is what leads Henry IV to doubt his son's ability to lead, creating tension between them for the majority of the play.

The play constructs a parallel between Falstaff's deception of Mistress Quickly and Prince John's deception of the rebel prisoners. In so doing, it suggests that the only difference between Falstaff and Prince John is that Prince John attempts to justify his dishonest behavior as political strategy.

Rumor appears on stage in the induction as a personified figure of lies and deception.

By the time Shakespeare wrote 2 Henry IV, the use of a prologue in plays – especially one with a personified figure of an abstract concept – was largely out of fashion. This device was used early on in English Renaissance theater, most notably in Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy when the character of Revenge appears on stage before the play proper. Shakespeare's use of what was at the time an "old" convention of the theater emphasize the significant role that lies, deceit, and misunderstanding play in the events of 2 Henry IV.