Henry IV Part One by Shakespeare

6/10

I finished this book in the emergency room of the hospital the night Cassie went in when her gall bladder flared up. I read like half the book there until like 3 a.m. as we just waited and waited. Picture it now: Cassie keeled over in her chair in pain as I greedily turn page after page of Shakespeare excitement oblivious to the sufferings of my dear, sweet wife. Kind of a sad picture I suppose.

So, if you have read my previous blog posts, you well know that I enjoy my Shakespeare. I'm not a nut or anything, just a casual fan. That being said, this one wasn't my favorite by any means, but it was still enjoyable.

This is one of Shakespeare's history plays. It concerns the reign of Henry IV (duh), but the drama arises because he unethically gained the crown by usurping Richard II (also a Shakespeare play, which, for some reason, I decided not to read before this one). Those loyal to Richard II obviously felt like they needed to right this wrong. Plotting is undertaken and eventually a little battle ensues (which, I think, is the best part of the play).

Two characters worth noting (could note more of course): Hal, who is the Prince of Wales and the King's son - he is a rowdy fellow who frequents taverns and gets himself into all sorts of mischief. The final battle is a nice little proving-ground for him. The other character is Falstaff - one of Hal's pals who is the main source of entertainment in the play. Many a splendid pun is made at his expense about how fat he is. While he is in the same rowdy mold as Hal, he is quite a charismatic guy who is always going into some pretty sweet speeches. I think my favorite Falstaff moment comes during the battle where he gets scared and plays possum like he has been killed. Then, after a main player is killed in the battle, Falstaff does this mock dramatic revival and he stabs the dead guy in the leg and tries to take credit for the kill. Ha ha. Good old Falstaff.

One let down to the book was the surprising lack of really great one-liners that I have grown accustomed to with Shakespeare. Here are two lines that I liked:

"Art thou to break into this woman's mood, Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own!" Oooh, burn on the ladies.

A good burn by Falstaff: "Do thou amend thy face, and I'll amend my life." Ha ha, Falstaff.