Shakespeare's Plays: Henry the IV Part I, Hamlet, a Midsummer Night's Dream
Henry the IV, Part I
Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 78-90.
KING HENRY IV: Yea, there thou makest me sad and makest me sin In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son, A son who is the theme of honour's tongue; Amongst a grove, the very straightest plant; Who is sweet Fortune's minion and her pride: Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him, See riot and dishonour stain the brow Of my young Harry. O that it could be proved That some night-tripping fairy had exchanged In cradle-clothes our children where they lay, And call'd mine Percy, his Plantagenet! Then would I have his Harry, and he mine.
This scene sets delineates the conflict between father and son. The King has found Henry to be enough of a disappointment that he wishes his son was another. The theme of honor surfaces here for the first time. In many ways this is a play about redemption. Henry is a rabble-rouser who keeps company with John Falstaff, a drunkard of questionable integrity. Henry knows his public antics are an embarrassment to his father, but has plans to prove his worth one day, "So when this loose behavior I throw off / And pay the debt I never promised, / By how much better than my word I am, / By so much shall I falsify men's hopes; / And like bright metal on a sullen ground, / My reformation, glittering o'er my fault, / Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes / Than that which hath no foil to set off. / I'll so offend, to make offence a skill; / Redeeming time when men think least will" (Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 166-175). With these lines Shakespeare foreshadows the Prince's coming redemption.
Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 85-93.
KING HENRY: As cloudy men use to their adversaries, Being with his presence glutted, gorged and full. And in that very line, Harry, standest thou; For thou has lost thy princely privilege With vile participation: not an eye But is a-weary of thy common sight, Save mine, which hath desired to see thee more; Which now doth that I would not have it do, Make blind itself with foolish tenderness. PRINCE HENRY: I shall hereafter, my thrice gracious lord, Be more myself.
This scene signals a turning point for the Prince. His father has confronted his about the company he keeps and registered his disappointment. Henry affirms he will behave and the King proceeds to tell him about the impending revolt. Henry responds "Percy is but my factor, good my lord, / To engross up glorious deeds on my behalf; / And I will call him to so strict account,
That he shall render every glory up, / Yea, even the slightest worship of his time, / Or I will tear the reckoning from his heart. / This, in the name of God, I promise here: / The which if He be pleased I shall perform, / I do beseech your majesty may salve
The long-grown wounds of my intemperance: / If not, the end of life cancels all bands; / And I will die a hundred thousand deaths Ere break the smallest parcel of this vow" (Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 148-159). These lines reveal the true character of the Prince, he vows to redeem himself and stand up for his father. This is later carried out in the final act when Henry kills Hotspur.
Hamlet
Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 92-113.
HAMLET: O. all you host of heaven! O. earth! what else? And shall I couple hell? O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart; And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, But bear me stiffly up. Remember thee! Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat In this distracted globe. Remember thee! Yea, from the table of my memory I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and observation copied there; And thy commandment all alone shall live Within the book and volume of my brain, Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven! O. most pernicious woman! O. villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! My tables, -- meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain; At least I'm sure it may be so in Denmark: Writing So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word; It is 'Adieu, adieu! remember me.' I have sworn't.
This soliloquy sets the stage for the entire...
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