1 Henry IV : Nation and Self Divided

The next history play in the sequence of four, 1 Henry IV, dramatizes how the demystification of kingship in Richard II has fragmented the nation into rival camps, each with dubious claims on the throne. One faction is headed by King Henry, the man who deposed Richard and in so doing destabilized the realm; the second is dominated by Henry’s enemy Hotspur, who has distinguished himself by his military prowess but who lacks any legal title to the crown; and the third camp gathers around Prince Henry, or as his dissolute companions call him, Hal, whose idleness, drunkenness, and thievery seem to confirm his father’s illegitimacy. The surprise of the play is that Hal should be the one who begins to redeem kingship – not by restoring the ancient traditions that had once legitimated it but rather by improving upon his father’s transformation of kingship into theater.