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A review by thaurisil
Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
3.0
The main plot of this play features a rebellion against King Henry IV which s eventually quashed. The king subsequently dies and his son Hal is crowned King Henry V. Scenes featuring the king and his sons alternate with scenes featuring Falstaff and his companions as they engage in merrymaking, drinking and cursing.
This is the third play in a quartet that also contains Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, and Henry V. I did not like this as much as the the first part of Henry IV. I read somewhere that Part 2 is fanfiction for those who liked Falstaff from Part 1, and the description is apt. The scenes featuring Falstaff are mainly there to inject humour. They do little to move the plot forward as nothing much happens in them except for bawdy joking and vain boasting, and even then, the jokes fall flat when Falstaff does not have Hal around to joke with. At the end, when Hal rejects Falstaff and imprisons him, I felt Falstaff had earned his just punishment for his arrogance and selfishness.
In both parts of the Henry IV plays, Henry IV is portrayed as a king who is fearful of being dethroned by the same people who supported him in his rise to the kingship, and thus oppresses them. While the previous play questioned whether such a king who reign securely and peacefully, this play suggests that Hal's reign will be more peaceful and he will have better support from the people, simply because he has gained the crown as an inheritance and a divine right rather than as the result of rebellion. His father and brothers do have doubts about his fitness for the crown, but he proves them wrong as he shows himself not to be the prodigal son he once was, but an upright king.
This is the third play in a quartet that also contains Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, and Henry V. I did not like this as much as the the first part of Henry IV. I read somewhere that Part 2 is fanfiction for those who liked Falstaff from Part 1, and the description is apt. The scenes featuring Falstaff are mainly there to inject humour. They do little to move the plot forward as nothing much happens in them except for bawdy joking and vain boasting, and even then, the jokes fall flat when Falstaff does not have Hal around to joke with. At the end, when Hal rejects Falstaff and imprisons him, I felt Falstaff had earned his just punishment for his arrogance and selfishness.
In both parts of the Henry IV plays, Henry IV is portrayed as a king who is fearful of being dethroned by the same people who supported him in his rise to the kingship, and thus oppresses them. While the previous play questioned whether such a king who reign securely and peacefully, this play suggests that Hal's reign will be more peaceful and he will have better support from the people, simply because he has gained the crown as an inheritance and a divine right rather than as the result of rebellion. His father and brothers do have doubts about his fitness for the crown, but he proves them wrong as he shows himself not to be the prodigal son he once was, but an upright king.