What Happens: The Play and History

Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part I

In this course, Professor John Roe (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I. The course begins by introducing the tetralogy as a whole (Richard II—Henry IV, Part I—Henry IV, Part II—Henry V), before focusing on the play’s four major characters: King Henry himself; his son, Prince Hal; the antagonist, Harry Hotspur; and Sir John Falstaff. In the final module, we turn to the language of the play—specifically, the use of paradiastoly, the rhetorical device by which a negative (e.g. cowardice) is reframed as a positive (e.g. prudence).

What Happens: The Play and History

In this module, we provide a brief introduction to the Henriad, including the historical and literary context—including Shakespeare’s sources for the play.