Hal is the central character in the play and in his progress to maturity we see a princes education as he learns the nature and responsibilities of kingship. Hal has a reputation for being part of a low life circle that spend most of their time getting drunk, womanising and thieving. Hal is sly and sneaky; this is shown in his soliloquy at the end of Act 1 scene ii. He says that he is aware of the nature of his tavern companions but will put up with their idleness for a while. He will imitate the sun by allowing himself to be covered with clouds, so that when he reappears it will be amazing, “My reformation glittering o’er my fault shall show more goodly and attract more eyes” In some ways this is quite childish and immature. For just as Hotspur is over anxious to monopolise honour, Hal here seems over anxious to present his reformation in the most dramatic way. Hal has no pride in himself until his reformation when he becomes the prince he should be.
Hotspur shows his dislike for rhetoric and his love of truth in Act III. Glendower talks of disturbances of a heavenly and earthly nature at his birth “at my birth the front of heaven was full of fiery shapes”, Hotspur contradicts these comments. Glendower continues talking about how he is magical. Here Hotspur shows his impetuous side by saying to Glendower, “let me not understand you then: Speak it in Welsh”, meaning that no men speaks better Welsh (talks nonsense and brags). Hotspur doesn’t like the way Glendower uses rhetoric relentlessly. He prefers to speak the straightforward truth. From this childish exchange we gain further insight into Hotspur’s character, he cannot bear to think that someone else could share glory and honour with him. This also shows that he would prefer to speak the truth rather than made up stories.
Hal on the other hand loves to talk in rhetoric and uses it all of the time. He is very good at using language to get his own way. This is shown in Act III scene ii. In this scene we see the King and the Prince together for the first time. The King says that Hal must have been sent by God to punish his own “mistreadings.” The King can’t understand why in spite of his royal blood Hal is so attached to vulgar pleasures with his unfavourable companions “such barren pleasures, rude society”. Hal is hurt and in a subdued and repentant mood replies that he is not guilty of everything that he is charged with. He says that the stories are malicious gossip and asks for forgiveness “As well as I am doubtless I can purge Myself of many I am char’g withal”. The King then goes on to talk about how little respect people have for Hal and how he has lost his place on the council “thy place in council thou hast rudely lost”. Hal is obviously hurt by the extent to which he has lost his father’s affection and respect and in a passionate speech swears he will redeem himself and kill Hotspur, “I will redeem all this on Percy’s head”. We know that Hal is very cunning so he might actually be pretending that he is hurt by what his father says so that he can win back his affections. In this scene we see an aspect of Hal that makes him a good leader. He can use rhetoric and acting to get his own way. This is something that Hotspur never does as he prefers to be up front and honest.
This is a very important scene for other reasons besides the rhetoric and the reconciliation of the King and the Prince. Here we are made aware of the essential part that the rivalry plays in Henry IV Part 1. In the very first scene of the play we noticed how Henry compares the two, to Hal’s disadvantage; Hotspur is everything he would like his own son to be. Hal and Hotspur are each conscious of the others pursuits; in Act 1 Scene iii Hotspur calls Hal “that same sword-and-buckler Prince of Wales” While in Act II scene iv Hal characterizes Hotspur as a murderous hothead. Neither judgement reveals the respect they feel for each other. Now we see that their rivalry is to be crucial to the salvation, not only of Hal’s character, but of the kingdom. The personal and political threads of the play are entwined, and we are prepared for the climax, the single combat of Hal and Hotspur in Act V In Act V scene v. When they are about to fight Hal says Hotspur is “a very valiant rebel” but that they can no longer share in glory. Two stars cannot move in one course and England cannot have “a double reign” of Hal and Hotspur. It shall not replies Hotspur, “for the hour is come, To end the one of us” This really shows the great respect that they have for each other. Shakespeare is saying that to be a good leader you need to be able to use language to your advantage.
In Act IV scene I we see one of many scenes that show how impatient and impetuous Hotspur is. Hotspur receives a letter from his father saying that he will not be bringing troops as he is sick. Hotspur exclaims that Northumberland’s sickness infects the whole enterprise, “Tis catching hither, even to our camp” This has greatly reduced the number of troops available for fighting and really they should postpone the attack until other soldiers arrive. Hotspur says that his father’s absence will make their business seem all the more heroic and daring (thus adding to his own honour), “It lends a lustre and more great opinion, A larger dare to our enterprise”. So they decide to go ahead with the attack against the wishes of Worcester. For Hotspur war is not regarded as something terrible and destructive but is simply a means of more glory. At the end of Act I Scene ii he shows his immature attitude, “O, let the hours be short, Till fields and blows and groans applaud our sport!”
Hal is in no way impatient and impetuous, Hal is scheming and thinks about what he has to do rather than rushing in. He knows what he wants this is shown in his soliloquy in Act I. This is one of the reasons why he is a really good leader. He doesn’t get flustered, he holds his cards close to his chest.
Hotspur has a bad temper that flares up over of the slightest thing. He is depicted as a fiery red head who acts first and thinks later, even his name suggests this. In Act I scene iii Hotspur is in the court with the King. Hotspur is refusing to give the King any prisoners unless he pays ransoms for Mortimer who has been captured. The king refuses saying that Mortimer is a traitor “redeem a traitor home, Let him starve on the Welsh mountains” This is too much for Hotspur who flies into one of his tempers and exclaims “revolted Mortimer”. He tries to explain that Mortimer fought bravely for the king “Those mouth wounds, which valiantly he took, When on the gentle Severn’s sedgy bank”. Henry doesn’t listen and departs from the court. Hotspur is beside himself with rage; he wants to express his feelings even at the risk of his own safety, and attempts to follow the King “An if the devil come roar for them, I will not send them” he will not give up the prisoners. He is restrained by his father, but continues to rant. This is the reason that the rebellion begins. Hotspur doesn’t think straight when he is in one of his tempers and is lucky that his father was there to restrain him. This is also an example of the way that Hotspur takes action rather than thinking about it.
Hal is cool headed but can be nasty towards Falstaff. He knows that one day soon he will have to break his ties with Falstaff. Deep down Hal knows that Falstaff is a thief, and a king cannot be friends with him. As the play draws on Hal drifts slowly away from Falstaff. In the midst of the battle Falstaff offers Hal a bottle of wine instead of a weapon, Hal angrily throws it back, underlining the desperate circumstance by his question “is it a time to jest and dally now”. Hal has realized when play must stop and serious life begin, but Falstaff has not. A number of times during the play Hal blames Falstaff of corrupting him but it is the other way round. Hal is the corrupter. In act V scene iv Falstaff stabs Hotspur’s dead body and pretends that he has killed him. He says that Hal is lying and did not kill Hotspur. Hal isn’t angry with him and even offers him help. This shows that Hal has not completely tired of Falstaff’s company. He is torn between princely leadership and princely fun.
Hotspur is extremely ambitious. He believes that he can do anything he wants to. He believes he can “pluck bright honour from the moon”- “An if the devil come roar for them I will not send them”. This shows how Hotspur has the utmost confidence in himself. Sometimes his ambition can over rule reason. His main ambition in life is to get honour. Since he wants to monopolize honour, he must defeat any possible rival, in this case Hal. Hotspur rebels against the king because he feels that his honour is threatened by the Percy’s association with what he calls “this ingrate and cankered Bolingbroke”. He doesn’t wants to be King. He is just trying to do what he believes is right. Mortimer is the rightful King and even though to rebel is wrong in this case it is right. But what is honour. In act V Falstaff explicitly states his notion of honour. He wittily reduce honour to an empty concept. The difference between Hal and Hotspur is that Hal’s attitude to honour is neither obsessive nor unreflective. Hal certainly wants to gain honour and defeat Hotspur, but he does not lack a sense of proportion or of the human cost of war. When Hal makes his challenge it is as much “to save blood on either side”. When Hotspur wishes for single combat with Hal I feel that he does so because it might increase the glory for him if he wins.
We first see Hotspur’s private life in Act II scene iii. At his castle in Northumberland where he has received a letter he is not happy about. His wife Kate enters and shows her concern for him. In this scene we see a tender side of Hotspur we have not seen until now and will not see much of again. She is worried about why for the past few weeks he has been so distant and preoccupied “For what offence have I this fortnight been A banish’d woman from my Harry’s bed”. Hotspur changes the subject, but it is brought straight back up by Kate. He says that this is a world for battles not for love. When Hotspur tells her he does not love her, Kate seems upset by this and is not sure if he is joking or not. But, says Hotspur, when he is on his horse then he will swear he loves her “And when I am o’ horseback, I will swear I love thee infinitely”. He reassures her, saying “Whither I go, there shall you go too”. This view of Hotspur with his wife allows us to see that he is not completely rash and unfeeling. Most noblemen wouldn’t let their wife’s near the battle field but Hotspur wants her near and she is going to follow the next day. His exchanges with his wife reveal a tender and affectionate aspect of his character, an aspect that he represses in pursuit of honour.
Hal has a different social life to Hotspur. He spends most of his time in the tavern with his friends. He drinks and plays practical jokes on other people. He is very quick witted and loves to use rhetoric. There is no sign of him having any lady friends as he was probably too busy drinking. Falstaff is a womaniser but there is no reason to make us believe that Hal is too. He never seems to get anxious or get cross; he is too cool headed.
Hotspur seems to be over confident, he always seems to be sure that he is right and that the rebels will win. He doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve and covers up his feelings so that it doesn’t make him look weak, but deep down or subconsciously he is quite nervous about the rebellion. This is shown in Act II scene iii. In his sleep he has murmured of war and weapons. His wife says “In thy faint slumbers I by thee have watch’d and heard thee murmur tales of iron wars” Hotspur might look confident on the surface but deep down is he. Hotspur is a great competitor and doesn’t like to lose, he wants to reign supreme. Hal doesn‘t like losing, this is another reason that Henry IV part 1 is such a great play. The rivalry is phenomenal and neither wants to lose but only one can triumph.
Hal on the other hand is quietly confident about everything that he is going to do. This is shown in the soliloquy in Act I. As the play goes on he becomes more and more self-assured. In Act II Hal becomes extremely confident, in some ways over confident, after he has listened to his father telling him that he is failing him Hal states that he will kill Hotspur. It is a bit presumptuous of him seeing as Hotspur is the greatest soldier in Britain at that time. Hal must have spent time training and learning how to fight when he was younger or he must have been learning in between being in the tavern, he knew that his time would come.
Throughout the play Shakespeare asks questions about leadership and what characteristics you need to have to be a good leader. Shakespeare exaggerates Hal and Hotspurs faults, this is because he is querying political power. He is hinting that all political power is corrupt. What is power and how do you get it? He shows that the better leader will be the one that can use language to manipulate people. Hotspur has some very good characteristics but he is not a good leader. Hotspur needs to play the political game, you can’t be honest and be a good leader. The play also shows that you will get punished if you rebel. The characteristics that your must have to be a good leader are being dishonourable, using language to great effect, being ambitious but not shouting about it, being dishonest and being very cunning. These are the qualities that Hal posses, even though Hotspur is probably the better person morally he has not got the characteristics to be a good leader.
