Hal is described as a degenerate friend of Falstaff and he appears more at home in the tavern. His father, King Henry, deplores his behavior. Hal is caught between two worlds, King Henry’s court and Falstaff’s tavern. Everyone appears to have condemned Hal to Falstaff’s world. However, he carouses with the patrons of the tavern but remains apart from them in temperament. Hal leaves no doubt that he is only biding his time before stepping up to claim his destiny as king. He is aware of the task he must undertake, however, he would rather postpone it. One of the most powerful scenes to illustrate this complex relationship of personal affairs to politics in Henry, IV part 1 occurs when Hal and Falstaff enact a play in which they imitate King Henry and Hal’s conversation when he returns from a late night at the tavern. Falstaff assumes his throne and pretends to be King Henry; but he does such a poor job of imitating Henry that Hal asks him, “Dost thou speak like a king” (Act 2, Sc. 5, line 394.) Hal then removes Falstaff from the throne to which Falstaff replies, “Depose me” (Act 2, Sc. 5, line 396.) Hal, pretending to be king, delivers a speech during which he condemns Falstaff. Falstaff, taken back, begs him “Banish not him thy Harry’s company, banish plump Jack and banish all the world” (Act 2, Sc. 5, lines 437-8.) These words represent the sacrifices a king must make. Hal is saying that as king he cannot be a friend with the likes of Falstaff or any man like him in order to be successful politically. This is a very interesting scene because it brings to light the political situation that future king Hal is faced with. Many people including King Henry view Hal’s personal affairs at the tavern politically because someday he will succeed to the throne. This scene shows both elements of personal and political affairs in Hal’s life. It is personal to Hal because he is building his personal relationship with Falstaff by joking around on these political family matters, and because they are imitating a private conversation that he and his father will possibly have at a later time. Politically the situation is somewhat humorous because Falstaff, who has the lowest social status in the play, takes on King Henry’s role during the beginning of the enactment. However, Hal quickly takes his rightful place as king in the enactment and deposes Falstaff from the throne. Though Hal knows his personal affairs at the tavern are affecting his impending political role, he does not attempt to change things in order to present himself to his father and the public as a better political leader.
Throughout The David Story there are representations of how personal and political affairs are intertwined into a complex and sometimes corrupt relationship. One instance of this is when David is faced with the dilemma of what to do when he finds out Amnon, whom he loved very much because he was the first born, has raped Tamar. This very personal incident of Amnon raping his own sister turns political because of the fact that they are the King’s children and are watched by the public. If the public heard about this incident there would be an “avalanche of disaster in the house of David,” (pg 271) because it would be expected by the public that David punish Amnon justly. Instead of punishing his rapist son, David gets angered but he keeps silence. He keeps his silence for personal reasons such as loving Amnon so much that he could not bear to punish his firstborn son. There is also a political side as to why David keeps his silence. David does not want the public to find out what happened because they would expect him to punish Amnon as any other rapist. Furthermore, the public may start to question him as a political leader if his children are rapists and start to question why he did not act upon the situation immediately. In this instance, David’s personal family life affected his political decision-making. David felt it was in his best interest to keep the family affair private rather than exposing it to the public and creating a political disaster. David’s personal feelings about Amnon corrupted David’s political decision to keep the family affair personal and hidden from the public.
Both instances show a strong connection between personal affairs and politics. In Henry, IV part 1, Hal’s destiny lies between two positions, being Falstaff’s friend and his political position as future king. Hal’s personal relationships prove to interfere with his future political position. King Henry disapproves of Hal’s friendships and actions. He sees them as a bad reflection upon the throne and views public reaction as being negative and not worthy of the respect a king would need to rule effectively. In The David Story, David’s personal life clearly interferes with his political decisions. As a leader in government he is concerned with the affect of Amnon’s deeds upon his leadership. David knew if Amnon was tried publicly that never again would his house know peace as a result of his son’s sin.
