Shakespeare Portrays Hal as a model heir to the throne by comparing him and the relationships he has with 3 of the other main characters; the king, Falstaff and Hotspur. Shakespeare at first portrays Hotspur as a better heir to the throne than Hal. The King dislikes Hal so much he wishes that Hotspur was his son and he believes that Hotspur and Hal must have been swapped at birth. (Act 1 Scene 1).
“O that it could be proved that some night-tripping fairy had exchanged
In cradle clothed our children where they lay,
And called mine Percy, and his Plantagenet!”
The King feels that Hotspur reminds him of himself, (and so must be his son) when he challenged Richard for the throne. Hotspur is brave and valiant and has a good reputation with the people, whereas Hal compared with Richard does not care for the welfare of the country and spends his time entertaining himself with poor company. The kings does not approve of Hal’s actions he believes that if he carries on in these foolish ways he will make a poor successor to the throne.
The king believes that Hal is dishonourable, He even Envies Northumberland; as he has a son “who is the theme of honours tongue”. As the king watches Hal he sees “riot and dishonour stain the brow”. Where Hotspur, has returned from a battle in which he defeated the Scottish, Hal spends much of his time associating with what his father calls “rude society”. Hotspur is a very valiant warrior who has won a great reputation for himself on the battlefield. He is young and impetuous as his name suggests. Hal is young, foolish and immature; He is a poor opponent for Hotspur and Hotspur has nothing but disrespect for Hal. During the play he calls him:
'The madcap Prince of Wales'.
He thinks of Hal as an unworthy opponent. From Hotspur's point of view the only real opponent is King Henry, and yet it is Hal, 'the madcap of Wales', who kills him in the end, much to his surprise and dismay. Here Shakespeare portrays Hal as a model successor to the thrown. He has matured from his foolish ways and has gained the qualities needed to be a great king. He shows honour in Act 5 scene 4 when he rescues the king from Douglas and in turn saves his life. Here Hal regains the lost honour and love by his father.
Prince Hal is a direct contrast to Hotspur. Where Hotspur has proven himself to be brave and responsible, Hal has become notorious for his association with “rude society”. Where Hotspur is single-minded, Hal is fickle. It is clear that bravery, honor, chivalry, and determination displayed by Hal and Hotspur alike. However Hotspur’s violent temper lead him astray from the right path and caused his unnecessary death.
There is another father figure of hal's other than the king, Sir John Falstaff. It is almost certain that Falstaff has a more noticeable impact on Hal and it is ultimately Hal’s experiences with Falstaff in the world of the tavern that makes him such a good king. In Shakespearian Theatres There were 2 main areas, the balconies for the richer and the floor for the poorer. These could represent the Courts and The Tavern. Hal appearing in the tavern helped him both on and off stage. In the play it helps him to familiarize with the common people and understand them better thus helping him to become a better leader. It also makes the common people like him as gives him the much needed quality of leadership. Offstage common people in the audience could also respect Hal and they could believe that he was “their” king.
Falstaff obviously has many bad influences on Hal. For instance the drinking is a poor influence for a young man who is soon to become the king. Falstaff influences Hal with dishonour, he is a coward and too scared to fight. He questions the idea of honour and what use it has:
“Can honour set to a leg? No. Or an arm? No.
Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no surgery then?
No. What is honour?” (soliloquy)
This is Falstaff’s view of honour yet it is the opposite of Hal'. Falstaff is a coward, a boaster and a lyer. We see this from Hal at first yet as the play unfolds a change in Hal’s character takes place and he begins to transform.
On the battlefield Falstaff pretends to be dead and lies on the floor as not to be killed. He lies at the robbery of Gads hill saying that he was attacked by many men yet it was only Hal and Poins. He also lies and stabs Hotspur, now dead claiming that he had killed him when infact it was Hal.
“Therefore I’ll make him sure, yea, and I’ll swear I killed him”
After killing Hotspur Hal praises the dead man:
“A kingdom for it was too small a bound.
But now two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough”
In this speech the word “it” represents Hotspur’s ambition, he had too much and ultimately he payed the price, Hal clearly shows his countrymen that he knows greed is bad, and to look out for what happens if you get too greedy. The speech is carefully phrased and also in iambic pentameter. Hal has clearly come into his own here, and delivers a speech almost worthy of a king. It could however be argued that this it was Shakespeare’s intention to portray Hal in this light to fool the Tudors into thinking that Hal had true honour. The fact could be that Hal was lying and did not really believe that Hotspur was braver than any man who ever lived. This could be true as the first line of the speech shows:
“For worms, brave Percy. Fare well thee well, great heart!”
Here Hal is saying that Hotspurs’ bodies will be resting in the ground for the worms to feed from. This seems as if Hal is almost making fun of what will become of Hotspur and if Hal is truly praising Hotspur “for worms” does not seem a very good way of talking about an opponent who has just died.
However Falstaff also has some good influences on Hal. Firstly he teaches Hal to understand the common man and thus gives him the much need quality of leadership. These common people will respect Hal more when he becomes king as he will one day rule over them. He also brings friendship to Hal at the time it was most needed. He makes Hal feel happiness where we do not see from Hal elsewhere. He obviously enjoys making fun of Falstaff, especially when plying the trick on Falstaff at Gads hill. He enjoys listening to Falstaff’s web of lies and how he gets out of uncomfortable positions placed on him by the Hostess.
As the king does not care much for Hal during his riotous years Falstaff must become hal's surrogate father, possibly even his “real father”. The king offers Hal cold, dark, bitterness, while the joyful and loveable Falstaff offers warmth and friendship, as well as Sanctuary from the harsh rules of court. By the end of the play Hal seems to have “turned over a new leaf” and put his foolish ways behind him. Shakespeare portrays Hal as a stronger character and a better king.
However at times the question comes to mind “Is Hal merely using Falstaff and the Tavern folk to aid him politically?” It seems that Hal and Falstaff are the best of friends yet when Falstaff is killed Hal sees to more interest in paying homage and farewell to Hotspur.
“Death hath not struck so fat a deer today,
Though Many dearer, in this bloody fray.
Here Hal comments on Falstaff’s obesity and uselessness. He says that although Falstaff was killed today many more men lost their lives that were of more use. This questions Hal’s true feelings towards Falstaff.
There are many instances of imagery present in this play in which Shakespeare uses to paint a picture in the audiences’ mind and make them believe that they are there. An example of imagery is the first few lines of the play:
“….The thirsty entrance of this soil
Shall daub her lips with her own children’s blood”
Here it almost seems as the country has been personified and represented as a person; in this case a mother. The Children being the Kings men and the rebels. It is saying that the civil war was so horrific that men from the same country are fighting one another when in fact they should be “brothers”, metaphorically speaking. Another idea of imagery which is used throughout the play is the idea of the sun. In Hal’s soliloquy he tells of how he will imitate the sun:
“I know you all, and will uphold
The unyok’d humour of your idleness
Yet herein will I imitate the sun,”
When Hal says that he shall “imitate the sun” he is saying that he will rise like the sun, and later on in the play we see this. Shakespeare not only allows us to see Hal as the sun but also shows Hotspur to be the moon. This shows the contrast between Hal and Hotspur and is a good use of imagery as it allows us to see the moon going down and the sun rising up showing the lives of the two men. While Hal is rising to his new role and preparing himself to become king, Hotspur is doing the opposite.
Another clever use of language is repetition of particular words. In the scene outside the walls of harfleur:
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”
The repetition of “once more” emphasizes the importance of the speech as well as giving the soldiers confidence. The words “dear friends” also give the soldiers confidence in the sense that the king believes his fellow soldiers are his friends. Throughout the play Shakespeare uses a series of metaphors and similies including A comment made by hal detailed his reformation: “like bright metal on a sullen ground. On lines 6-7 Act 1 scene 1 Shakespeare uses another from of detailed language and imagery. There is enjambment on lines 6-7 and as these lines also display imagery of the war Shakespeare does not wish to end this imagery with a full stop or comma.
I believe that Shakespeare portrayed hal’s character well. Showing the change in Hal from an immature and foolish youth to a noble, honourable and respectable hero worthy of the throne. There are two ways in which to look at Hal as a character and How Shakespeare portrayed him:
It is possible to sympathize with Hal, recognizing that a prince is different from other men. We are able to recognize that Hal has warmth in his friends; he can have fun and be foolish yet can also be sensible and can keep a cool head whereas he opponent is unable. When asked to join the robbery, Hal weighs the pros and cons of the scheme before agreeing to do so. He learns about vice from Falstaff, but ultimately he rejects the life of “rude society”
It can be said that Shakespeare portrayed Hal as the character in the play most in control of Himself. Every other character makes promises that they do not keep. For example Falstaff makes a promise that he will supply Strong soldiers for the battle yet when they arrive he himself that his soldiers are merely “cannon fodder”:
Prince: I did never see such pitiful rascals.
Falstaff: Tut, tut, good enough to toss, food for powder, food for powder, they’ll fight a pit as well as better. Tush, man, mortal men, mortal men.
Yet Hal promises to fight loyally for his father, and he does. He promises to win Honour from Hotspur by fighting him in a battle, and he does.
Hal overcomes and fights him temptation to enter the world of “rude society”, eventually and shows that he has the qualities needed to be a fine prince and a respected King.
However Hal can be seen in another light it. The honourable Hal could merely be an attempt at fooling the Tudors. Shakespeare wished to please the Tudors and not upset them, but also at the same time he wished to create an enjoyable and watchable play where more accurate portrayals of the true characters could be made.
Hal can be seen as cold and detached from his companions, whom he swears to banish (Falstaff). It could be said that Hal uses people for his own personal advantage, either to aid him with his kingship or just for amusement. Hal enjoys cruel Practical jokes ( Gads hill). As mentioned earlier it seems as though Falstaff and Hal are the best of friends. It is obvious that Falstaff has true affection for Hal yet whether the feeling is mutual is uncertain. In Act 2 Scene 4 Why does Hal keep Falstaff outside the room instead of inviting him in straightaway? Why does Hal not pay homage to Falstaff on the battlefield? In the first tavern scene we see Prince Hal relationship with Falstaff. 'Fat-witted,' Prince Hal makes jokes about Falstaff being fat.
Whatever Shakespeare’s true portrayal of Hal was it is clear that throughout the play Hal has changed. Whether he was fit to be a king all along and he was merely waiting for the right moment at which to announce his “reformation” is unsure. However one thing for sure is that Hal’s reformation was one of the greatest Themes in any of Shakespeare’s plays. It not only kept the Tudors happy but the audience as well.
