2 Henry IV – A. J. Drake's Shakespeare Site

Questions on
Shakespeare’s History Plays

Shakespeare, William. The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, Continuing to His Death, and Coronation of Henry the Fifth. Quarto. (The Norton Shakespeare: Histories, 3rd ed. 710-78.)

ACT 1

1. In lines 1-22 of the Induction, the Prologue-speaker, Rumor personified, offers us some thoughts about its own nature and effects. What, then, does this figure suggest about its role in human affairs? What ideas may be drawn from the figures Rumor uses to describe its “person” and qualities? Since Rumor is a personification, let’s also ask, for Rumor itself, what’s the point of spreading rumors—what’s “in it” for Rumor?

2. In the Induction after line 23 and then in Act 1, Scene 1, what is the present state of the rebellion against King Henry IV? What source or sources do the conspirators, chief among them Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (the slain Hotspur’s father), employ to gather their sense of where they stand? What is the cause of Northumberland’s rage from 715-16, 1.1.136-60, and what do his words suggest about the origin and consequences of rebellion? How do Morton and Lord Bardolph bring him round to a saner course?

3. In Act 1, Scene 2, Falstaff and his page—apparently appointed to him by Prince Harry (often called “Hal” in 1 Henry IV)—have a comic back-and-forth. How does this slender youth help Falstaff to a bit of insight about his own effect on others around him? There’s a French proverb (attributed by some to the witty Madame de Cornuel) that runs, “No man is a hero to his valet,” or in French, Il n’y a pas de grand homme pour son valet-de-chambre. How does Falstaff’s conversation with his page tend to verify that witticism?

4. Act 1, Scene 2, what is the argument between the Lord Chief Justice and Sir John Falstaff? What, that is, does the Lord Chief Justice mainly accuse him of, and how does Falstaff defend himself from these accusations? Who gets the better of the other man in this battle of wits—provide a few examples to explain your choice—and what is the outcome of the conversation?

5. In Act 1, Scene 3, the Archbishop of York and Lords Mowbray, Hastings, and Bardolph take stock of their prospects for victory against Henry IV’s forces. How is the slain Harry Hotspur used as a figure of caution in proceeding with their war strategy? What worries do they advance, and what hopes do they hold onto? Ultimately, what seems to be their plan of action to defeat the King’s army?

ACT 2

6. In Act 2, Scene 1, what difficulty is Sir John snared in with Hostess Quickly of the Boar’s Head Tavern in Eastcheap? How does he resolve it, if indeed what happens amounts to a resolution? What is the Hostess’ perspective on the quarrel? What stance does the Lord Chief Justice adopt towards Falstaff, and how much success does he have in trying to get the wayward knight to do right by Hostess Quickly?

7. In Act 2, Scene 2, what is Prince Harry’s plan to expose Falstaff’s “true colors” (731, 2.2.147)? Reflect back to Prince Harry’s practical joke and mockery at Falstaff’s expense in Act 2 of 1 Henry IV. In consideration of the Prince’s reflections and stratagems throughout the present scene, what change is noticeable in his manner of evaluating Sir John’s shortcomings, and in thinking about his own relations with ordinary people?

8. In Act 2, Scene 3, Lady Percy (the slain Hotspur’s wife) and Lady Northumberland (the Earl’s wife) talk Northumberland out of taking part in the imminent battles against the King. What arguments do they use, and in the process what contrast between Hotspur and his father, Northumberland, emerges? Considering other presentations of the claim that the Earl was too ill to fight at Shrewsbury (such as 1 Henry IV, 4.1 and the Induction to I1 Henry IV, what does this scene suggest about that claim?

9. In Act 2, Scene 4, Falstaff abuses Prince Harry’s reputation and friendship. Consider this scene in its entirety—the women’s exchanges with Falstaff, his driving out of the fiery Pistol, and Prince Harry’s definitive exposure and mockery of Falstaff’s ungenerous and overly familiar treatment of him. What basic error does such treatment betray in Falstaff’s way of thinking about Prince Harry? More generally, what figure does Sir John cut as a man in this scene, with regard both to his sentimental appeal for us and his darker side?

10. In Act 2, Scene 4, focus on Doll Tearsheet the prostitute. What is the cause of her anger at Pistol? What kind of language does she employ to get the better of this rogue in her scalding argument with him? Discuss a few examples of the terms she uses. What seems to be Doll’s feeling about Falstaff—is it “strictly business,” or does she have genuine affection for him? On the whole, what do we learn from Doll and the other Tavern-based characters about the “underbelly” of city life in medieval (and Elizabethan) England?

ACT 3

11. In Act 3, Scene 1, King Henry IV, steeped now in experience, meditates on the burdens of his exalted office. In the soliloquy from lines 1-31, ending “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” (741, 3.1.31), what is the King’s complaint to the personified Sleep? At lines 45ff, in which he unburdens himself to his advisors, what thoughts does Henry air about the inconstancy of happiness and loyalty? What experience does he draw upon in reaching his conclusions? In the end, what does King Henry appear to be searching for by way of rounding off his life’s course?

12. In Act 3, Scene 2, we are introduced to Justice Robert Shallow. What is this character’s personal mythology; i.e., what view of his past has he built up for himself and for retailing to others? What habits of speech reinforce his self-representation, and what motives might we suppose have led to his construction of such a narrative? How does Falstaff assess the qualities and temperament of this old acquaintance, and what advantage does he expect to gain from his brief reunion with Shallow?

13. In Act 3, Scene 2, while conversing with Justice Shallow, Falstaff sets about choosing some soldiers to serve under his charge in the fight against the rebels. Who are these prospective soldiers? What attitudes do they manifest about the wars, and as in 1 Henry IV (and/or Henry V if you are familiar with that play), what resemblances and contrasts are thereby explored between the common person’s view of wartime violence and the views of their aristocratic “betters” (i.e., superiors by birth or blood) on the same thing?

14. In Act 3, Scene 2, how do Sir John Falstaff’s observations about choosing soldiers to serve in his military unit (a troop of infantrymen) compare to his words and conduct in 1 Henry IV? (In particular, see Act 4, Scene 2 and Act 5, Scenes 1, 3, and 4 of that play.) What is Falstaff looking for in his “soldiers”? Why does he pick these “ragamuffins,” as he calls them elsewhere, rather than men who would actually make decent fighters?

ACT 4

15. In Act 4, Scene 1, King Henry IV’s supporter the Earl of Westmorland argues about the uprising with the rebellious Archbishop of York (Richard Scrope) and Lord Mowbray. What points do these two men advance in favor of their continued struggle against the King, and how does Westmorland answer those points? Moreover, just when a bargain seems to have been struck between King Henry’s proxy, Prince John, and the rebels, what lethal error in judgment does it become clear that the latter have committed?

16. In Act 4, Scene 2, Falstaff takes the rebel Sir John Coleville prisoner. We have heard Falstaff talk about military honor before, in Act 5, Scenes 1 and 3 of 1 Henry IV. How does he address this issue in the present scene? In addition, how do he and the King’s brother, Prince John, appear to regard each other? What conclusions does Falstaff’s disdain for John lead him to draw in his disquisition on “sack” or “sherry-sack,” a variety of wine that the knight is fond of?

17. In Act 4, Scene 3, what advice does King Henry IV give the Duke of Clarence (i.e., his son Thomas) about Prince Harry? How does Warwick assure the King that all will be well with the heir apparent? In responding, consider the connection between Warwick’s response and what Prince Harry himself has said about his conduct thus far, for example in 2.2 and 2.4 of the present play, or Act 1, Scene 2 of 1 Henry IV? How much continuity is there among such statements?

18. In Act 4, Scene 3, from 761-62, 4.3.152-74, Prince Harry reflects on his dying father’s crown, somewhat as the King himself had done in Act 3, Scene 1. How does Prince Harry’s emphasis differ from that of the King? Moreover, as the scene progresses with the King awakening to find his crown missing since Harry, thinking his father dead, has walked off with it, what anxieties beset him about the reign to be expected of his seemingly precipitate and reckless heir? How does Prince Harry convince his mortally sick father that his fears are groundless?

19. In Act 4, Scene 3, a reassured King Henry IV offers his heir Prince Harry striking advice about how a ruler may avoid the worst trouble. What is that advice? What does it suggest about the King’s understanding of his subjects and human nature? (See 765-66, 4.3.305-48; “Come hither, Harry; sit thou by my bed ….”) Moreover, how does Henry IV describe the pattern of his reign in connection to the way he began it? What hope does the King express concerning his son Harry’s chances of not being plagued by this sinful beginning? Does that hope seem plausible? Why or why not?

ACT 5

20. In Act 5, Scene 1, what theory about “wise bearing or ignorant car- / riage” (767, 5.1.64-65) and the company people keep does Sir John Falstaff set forth? What happens subsequently, in Scene 2, between the Lord Chief Justice and Prince Harry to call this theory into question? In the course of this interaction with the Lord Chief Justice, what does Prince Harry say to demonstrate his grasp of the legal and formal or ceremonial aspects of his supreme position, now that his father King Henry IV has died and left him the crown?

21. In Act 5, Scenes 3 and 5, what are Sir John Falstaff’s expectations now that his onetime associate “Prince Harry” is the new King? In Scene 5, what happens to his expectations when the King’s April 1413 coronation procession passes him by? Consider how the meeting between these two men unfolds: to what extent does Harry recognize his former companion as he steps towards his new life as England’s sovereign? What can we learn about the tenor of the reign that the Prince means to have from the way he treats his former mentor and other such “misleaders”?

22. In Act 5, Scene 4, it seems that Doll Tearsheet and the Hostess (Mistress Quickly) are being hauled in by the beadles over certain allegations of serious criminality. How does this nasty, violent domestic scene connect to and, possibly, reflect upon the wartime context of much that has happened in both 1 and 2 Henry IV? What does this scene suggest about the tenuousness, the fragility, of life for the “lower orders” in medieval times or indeed in Shakespeare’s Early Modern Era?

23. In the Epilogue, the speaker (probably Will Kemp), makes amends for an offense given by the previous play, 1 Henry IV. What was that offense, and what amends do the Epilogue—and presumably Shakespeare—make? In responding, see Jean E. Howard’s Norton introduction to 1 Henry IV from 623-25, and 705 of her Introduction to 1 Henry IV. What does this tussle over a long-dead knight suggest about the interest that England’s history and dynastic lineage continued to hold for its citizens?

Edition. Greenblatt, Stephen et al., editors. The Norton Shakespeare: Histories + Digital Edition. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93859-3.

Document Timestamp: 9/6/2025 9:03 PM