Henry IV, Part 1

This article is about Shakespeare's play. For other uses, see Henry IV, Part 1 (disambiguation).

Family relationships are at the center of Henry IV, Part 1, one of William Shakespeare's plays. King Henry IV and Prince Hal form one major father-son pair, with Henry in despair because Hal lives a dissolute life. The father-son pair of Hotspur (Lord Henry Percy) and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, is in seeming contrast; the king envies Northumberland “his Harry,” wishing he could claim the gallant Hotspur as his own. Meanwhile, Hal has entered into a quasi-father-son relationship with a disreputable but amusing knight, Sir John Falstaff.

Another strand of action centers on still more family relationships. Hotspur’s stand against Henry focuses on Hotspur’s brother-in-law, Mortimer. Mortimer, who fought against the Welsh magician Owen Glendower, was defeated and captured and has married Glendower’s daughter. King Henry pronounces Mortimer a traitor whom he will not ransom. Hotspur, in declaring war on Henry, sees himself as fighting for Mortimer, his wife’s brother.

Several of the details in the play that make these relationships prominent were created by Shakespeare; they are not found in the chronicles of English history that provide the play’s historical narrative. This rewriting and the resulting focus on relationships pulls us in: rather than distant historical figures, Henry, Hal, and Hotspur become characters caught up in relationships that resemble family situations today. The emphasis on relationships also reminds us that the wars for control of England, Scotland, and Wales in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were basically family struggles. Brothers, cousins, and nephews fought for the tantalizing prize of the crown.

Scholars believe that Shakespeare wrote Henry IV, Part I in 1596-97. It was published as a quarto in 1598.

Productions at the Folger

• 1 Henry IV (Folger Theatre, 2019)
• 1 Henry IV (Folger Theatre, 2008)
• Henry IV, Part I (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1997)

Early editions

First Folio

LUNA: First Folio: d5v -f6r

Hamnet: STC 22273 Fo. 1 no. 68

Second Folio

LUNA: Second Folio: d5v - f6r

Hamnet: STC 22274 Fo. 2 no. 07

Second Quarto

LUNA: Second Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22281 Copy 1

Third Quarto

LUNA: Third Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22282

Fourth Quarto

LUNA: Fourth Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22283 Copy 1

Fifth Quarto

LUNA: Fifth Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22284 Copy 1

Sixth Quarto

LUNA: Sixth Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22285 Copy 1

Seventh Quarto

LUNA: Seventh Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22286 Copy 1

Eighth Quarto

LUNA: Eighth Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22287 Copy 6

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  The 1623 First Folio title page of Henry IV, Part 1. STC 22273 Fo.1 no.68.

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  The title page of Henry IV, Part 1 printed in the 1632 Second Folio. STC 22274 Fo.2 no.07.

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  The 1599 Second Quarto title page of Henry IV, Part 1. STC 22281 copy 1.

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  The title page of Henry IV, Part 1 printed in the 1604 Third Quarto. STC 22282.

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  The 1608 Fourth Quarto title page of Henry IV, Part 1. STC 22283 copy 1.

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  The title page of Henry IV, Part 1 printed in the 1613 Fifth Quarto. STC 22284 copy 1.

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  The 1622 Sixth Quarto title page of Henry IV, Part 1. STC 22285 copy 1.

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  The title page of Henry IV, Part 1 printed in the 1632 Seventh Quarto. STC 22286 copy 1.

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  The 1639 Eighth Quarto title page of Henry IV, Part 1. STC 22287 copy 4.

Modern editions

Henry IV, Part 1 can be read online with Folger Digital Texts and purchased from Simon and Schuster.

Hamnet link to Folger Edition: PR2753 .M6 v2003 copy 2 v.09

Characters in the Play

• King Henry IV, formerly Henry Bolingbroke
• Prince Hal, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne (also called Harry and Harry Monmouth)
• Lord John of Lancaster, younger son of King Henry
• Earl of Westmoreland
• Sir Walter Blunt
• Hotspur (Sir Henry, or Harry, Percy)
• Lady Percy (also called Kate)
• Earl of Northumberland,
• Henry Percy, Hotspur’s father
• Earl of Worcester, Thomas Percy, Hotspur’s uncle
• Edmund Mortimer, earl of March
• Lady Mortimer (also called “the Welsh lady”)
• Owen Glendower, a Welsh lord, father of Lady Mortimer
• Douglas (Archibald, earl of Douglas)
• Archbishop (Richard Scroop, archbishop of York)
• Sir Michael, a priest or knight associated with the archbishop
• Sir Richard Vernon, an English knight
• Sir John Falstaff
• Poins (also called Edward, Yedward, and Ned)
• Bardolph
• Peto
• Gadshill, setter for the robbers
• Hostess of the tavern (also called Mistress Quickly)
• Vintner, or keeper of the tavern
• Francis, an apprentice tapster
• Carriers, Ostlers, Chamberlain, Travelers, Sheriff, Servants, Lords, Attendants, Messengers, Soldiers

Other media

Image Group

Explore the curated image group for Henry IV, Part 1 in the Folger digital image collection.