Select Bibliography / Further Reading:

1. Boris Ford ed. The New Pelican Guide to English Literature, Volume I: Medieval

Literature. England: Penguin Books, 1984.

2. Carter, Ronald and John McRae. The Routledge History of Literature in English. New

York: Routledge, 2009.

3. Menezes, Armando. Airy Nothings: Essays in Literary Criticism. Dharwar: Karnatak

University, 1978.

4. Nicoll, Allardyce. British Drama. London: Goerge G Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1927.

5. Poplawski, Paul. English Literature in Context. India: Cambridge University Press,

2010.

6. Sampson, George. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature. New Delhi:

Foundation Books, 2001.

7. Trevelyan, G.M. English Social History. India: Orient Longman Limited, 2001.

8. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions

Ltd., 1996.

Points to Ponder:

 Since English theatre reached the peak of popularity during the Elizabethan and

Jacobean eras and drama was the accepted form of popular entertainment, one may

not be incorrect in reading this play as an effort to establish the glory of the Tudor

dynasty which, by this time, had already continued a rule of more than a century, and

during which time England came to assert its existence as a powerful nation,

especially with the rise of colonialism.

  Henry IV Part I, one of the earliest history plays by Shakespeare, upholds the

capability of the master playwright to blend into his plot elements of the serious as

well as the trivial.

 Even in his handling of national history, Shakespeare does not leave out the

commoners. His canvas is all inclusive – incorporating people of all kinds from

various walks of life in order to create a totality which lends the character to his plays.

 Though history and literature form two distinct academic disciplines, it is in their

intersection through which the original picture of an entire age is documented. In

Henry IV, Part I, Shakespeare provides an excellent example of this blend.

Do You Know

 Nothing much is known about the life of Shakespeare from 1585 to 1590s and these

years are hence termed “the lost years”.

 In his representation of Prince Henry (Hal) as a character gradually transformed in the

course of the play, he follows the popular Elizabethan theme of the prodigal son, who

later comes to assume his responsibility.

 Henry IV Part I forms one of the plays of the tetralogy based on the English history

by Shakespeare – Richard II, Henry IV (Parts I and II) and Henry V.

 The character of Falstaff is supposed to have been based on John Oldcastle and

aroused a huge controversy.

 A history of the staging of Henry IV Part I, strangely, shows an emphasis on the

character of Hotspur, while little attention was paid to Hal in the initial years.
Storyboard: Links

1. Henry IV, Part I

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV,_Part_1

2. The House of Lancasters

http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheLancastrian
s/TheLancastrians.aspx

3. The history of performance and publication

http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/henry4p1.html

4. Life and times of William Shakespeare

http://www.rsc.org.uk/explore/shakespeare/life-times.aspx