William Shakespeare: Henry IV Part I (Pre-1900)

The idea

This set text is Shakespeare’s history play Henry IV Part I, studied as political and social protest writing. Students explore how the play interrogates power, legitimacy, rebellion and national identity. The opening presents a weary king and a realm unsettled by civil war; Hal’s tavern life with Falstaff contrasts with Hotspur’s honour-driven rebellion. The Percy revolt, Worcester’s manipulation and the Battle of Shrewsbury expose the human cost of dynastic ambition. Falstaff’s comic commentary on honour, recruitment and self-preservation voices social protest from below, while Hal’s reformation raises questions about performance, kingship and responsibility. Assessment requires close analysis of language, form and structure, informed use of dramatic and historical concepts, and connections to the genre’s concerns with authority, dissent and change.

What earns the marks

• Analysis of kingship and legitimacy, including Henry IV’s guilt and anxiety, Hal’s projected reformation and the contrast with Hotspur’s honour, showing how the play questions who has the right to rule.
• Examination of rebellion and dissent through the Percy plot, Worcester’s counsel and the language of grievance, revealing how political protest is both justified and self-interested.
• Discussion of Falstaff as a voice of social protest, especially his soliloquy on honour and his exploitation of the recruitment system, which exposes the gap between noble ideals and ordinary survival.
• Consideration of dramatic form and structure, including the alternation of court, tavern and battlefield, the use of soliloquy and the play’s comic and tragic registers, to shape audience judgement.
• Evaluation of the play’s ending, including Hal’s defeat of Hotspur and his treatment of Falstaff, as a comment on power, performance and the cost of political order.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Treating the play as straightforward historical record rather than dramatic construction.

  Put it right: Analyse how Shakespeare selects, compresses and invents material to create political meaning.

• Reading Falstaff only as comic relief and missing his social critique.

  Put it right: Examine how his speeches on honour, war and recruitment challenge aristocratic values.

• Assuming Hal’s transformation is simply heroic and unproblematic.

  Put it right: Consider the language of performance and calculation in his soliloquy and his treatment of others.

Exam tips

• Anchor arguments in the question’s focus, using carefully chosen scenes and speeches rather than summarising the whole plot.
• Analyse Shakespeare’s dramatic methods, including soliloquy, imagery, prose and verse, and the effects of shifting settings.
• Connect points explicitly to political and social protest writing, explaining what is challenged and how the drama invites the audience to respond.