“Sblood, you starveling, you eel skin, you dried neats tongue, you bulls pizzle, you stock fish!”
Here, Hal and Falstaff are trying to outdo each other with insults, however they know they don’t really mean it. It shows good friendship between Hal and Falstaff, and is another way of showing that Hal and Falstaff live in a fantasy world by the multiplication of insults. Although Hal and Falstaff’s relationship does become more serious towards the end of the scene, this shows that they can still joke with each other. This also presents Falstaff as Inventive as he keeps inventing new insults. Here, I would have slight pauses between each insult by both Hal and Falstaff, as they are trying to out-do the last insult that was said. I would have them speaking normally to start off with, and getting louder as the competition between them increases.
In this scene also, there is more fooling between Hal and Falstaff to escape from the real world.
“How long is’t ago, Jack, since thou sawest thine own knee?”
"My own knee! when I was about thy years, Hal I was not an eagle's talon in the waist"
Here, Shakespeare uses Falstaff’s huge body to let Hal make a joke. We can see Hal in two different ways here; he is either just having a joke to make him and others laugh to keep him in his dream world, or he could be trying to banish Falstaff by insulting him, so Falstaff will go away. When Falstaff replies, he tries to avoid giving a direct answer. I would have people in the tavern laughing loudly, with Hal, and Falstaff standing trying not to laugh too much at this comment. In the scene, however there is a sense that Hal is trying to get away from the reality of being a King. Nearer the end of the scene, however, Falstaff tries to bring Hal back to reality.
“ If thou love me, practise an answer”
This could suggest that Falstaff is worried about Hal, and Falstaff wants to know what Hal will say to his father, and Falstaff will only feel comfortable if he knows what Hal is going to say. 'Love' suggests that Falstaff likes Hal, and wants Hal to love him.
Throughout the scene, Hal is definetly presented as devious and cunning. When Hal and Falstaff are discussing the aftermath of the robbery , Hal asks Falstaff how his sword is hacked
“Faith, tell me in ernest, how come Falstaff’s sword so hacked?”
Here, Hal is clearly demanding an answer, where as earlier in the scene he was joking more. He could be testing out Falstaff’s degree of dishonesty, so he will will be able to mock Falstaff better. I would have Hal asking in an inquisitive tone of voice, sounding fairly serious.
Also, when the robbery is being discussed, although Hal knows Falstaff is lying, Hal wants to have a laugh, so he asks Falstaff difficult questions which Hal knows Falstaff will not be able to answer.
“What starting-hole canst thou now find out to thee from this open and apparent shame?”
Hal is asking Falstaff how he hacked his sword, because it was not in a fight. Hal is now asking him what lie will Falstaff will use to get out of this question. The repetition of 'what' shows Hal's amusment and enjoyment of hearing these lies, and that he can't wait to hear the next one. The word 'device' shows Falstaff is a source of entertainment for Hal. Shakespeare is presenting Hal who is someone who is clever and cunning, who can easily get the better of Falstaff. It shows anticipation and excitement. Again, they are trying to outdo each other, but joking and having fun at the same time. This could parallel King Henry IV and Hotspur trying to outdo each other, with Falstaff paralleling Hotspur, and Hal paralleling his father. This links the Sub-Plot to the main plot. I would direct this line with Hal saying it with self-satisfaction, and Hal sounding clever and smart. Also I would have Hal smirking to show that he can’t wait for the next excuse or lie.
"But Ned, to drive away the time till Falstaff come"
This is when Hal wants to play a trick on Francis, to put in time before Falstaff arrives. The fact that Hal wants to 'Drive away' could suggest that time is opressing Hal, as fighting Hotspur and becoming King gets nearer and nearer. I would have Hal saying this line slowly, to show that he wants to forget that time is always passing.
Also, in the soliloquy, in Act I, Scene III, Shakespeare presents Hal as devious and cunning, when giving the explanation about why he spends so much time in the tavern.
“If all year were playing holidays,
To sport would be as tedious as to work;
But when they seldom come, they wish’d for come”
Here, Hal is being cunning because he is saying that people will notice if you suddenly become good, however if you are good all the time, no one will notice you being good. In this soliloquy, Hal can be seen or presented in two different ways, either as someone who we feel sorry for, because he is going to have to be king and doesn’t want to, or he could be presented as devious and cunning, and rejects his friends when he doesn’t want them and is just making up excuses for spending a lot of time in the tavern. I would direct Hal shouting with his arms in the air, but no one really listening properly.
Another reason why Hal could be in the tavern frequently could be to provide a training ground for being king. We can see this clearly near the end of the scene, when Hal and Falstaff’s relationship is under strain, and Hal is more serious.
“I do, I will”
Hal says these words just after Falstaff says that if he is banished, all the world would be banished. Here, Hal is saying that he will banish Falstaff. This shows he could be in training for the future king and doesn’t want people like Falstaff with him then to interfere. The repetition of the word ‘I’ shows Hal is being serious. ‘I do’ suggests Hal is in the process of banishing Falstaff already. Here, I would have everyone laughing, and Hal looking serious. When the background laughter drops, I would have Hal and Falstaff with eye-to-eye contact, then Hal will say ‘I do, I will’. This will show that Hal is being very serious, and that there has been a change in relationship. Here, the Sub-plot is linked to the main plot because Falstaff is got rid of, in a similar way that Hotspur is got rid of. It could be said that they were both rebles, as Falstaff's lies could be linked to the rebles trying to defeat the king.
We also see training ground for Hal, when the role-play is acted out, when Falstaff plays the king and when Hal also plays the king.
“Dost thou speak like a king? Do thou stand for me, and I’ll play my father.”
This shows that Hal is in future training by playing King Henry IV, while Falstaff will see what it is like being prince Hal. Hal wants to do this because he says ‘I’ll’ which shows that he is going to do it. I would have Hal speaking in a loud, slightly angry voice to show his relationship with Falstaff is starting to weaken.
Near the end of the scene, when Hal's relationship with Falstaff comes under strain, we can see that Hal is in training ground for the future king. He talks to Falstaff in a different way.
"And thou a natural coward without instinct"
Here 'instinct' shows he is mocking what Falstaff said earlier about instinct. I think Hal is not joking, but tring to ignore Falstaff, and banish him. I would have Hal speaking to Falstaff in an argry tone of voice, although he has better things to do than to listen to Falstaff. I would also have Hal hinting sarcasm in his voice.
In Henry IV, part I, Shakespeare presents Hal in two different ways, either as devious and cunning, or as someone who is intrested in people ready to be the future king. Falstaff can be seen as either the only person who can bring Hal back to the real world, but also as Hal's only escape. I don't think that Hal would be a very good leader today, because I don't think he is serious enough about his responsabilites, and he banishes people like Falstaff whenever he decides to. I think Shakespeare presents Hal as more devious and cunning than someone intrested in people, because he plays a lot of tricks on people such as Francis and Falstaff, and asks questions that he knows Falstaff will not be able to answer.
I quite enjoyed the humour in this scene, however, I thought it was too long and slow moving.
