sunrise, sunset from Henry IV part 1

A detailed Summary of sunrise, sunset from Henry IV part 1

In Shakespeare's play, Henry IV part 1, there is a contrast established between a bloody rebellion and drunken frivolity, which establishes the question of the play; honor in death or cowardice in life. Their are several contrasting characters and events which help to establish this question; the foils are Prince Hal to Hotspur, Falstaff to King Henry, and the robbing of crowns, money or monarchy. Shakespeare's addition of the Falstaff scenes to the story of the rebellion is an effective way to create laughter and life in the play and to establish the contrast between honor and enjoyment of life. The contrast between these groups of men is like the contrast between night and day. In Act 1, Scene 2, Falstaff argues for the men of night, "let not us that are squires of the night's body be called thieves of the day's beauty; let us be Diana's foresters, gentlemen of the shade, minions of the moon and let men say we be men of good government as the sea is, by our noble and chaste mistress the moon, under whose countenance we steal." (ln. 19-24) Falstaff is arguing that the men of night should be judged by the rules and standards of the night and not by those of the day. This plea shows the central issue of the p

Shakespeare transforms Hal at the end of the play, to show the best example of a man. The Hal of the first acts would not be a hero in the end as he is in the end, but instead would not even show up for the war. By having Hal take responsibility for himself in the end, Shakespeare shows what he thinks of the issue of honor and fun. Hal does not become Hotspur, if he did then honor would be right. Hal does not fight the good fight and forget his past. He becomes a combination of day and night. If he forgot about the night, then Shakespeare would be saying that honor was greater. If he ran away and did not fight, then Shakespeare would be saying that enjoyment of life was greater. When Hal sees Falstaff and thinks him dead, he weeps for his friend. Hotspur would probably kill Falstaff himself. Later, when Falstaff pretends that he killed Hotspur, Hal goes along with it, because he does not have the same desire for honor as Hotspur. The setup of the play shows this combination. In the first acts, Hal and Hotspur's story-lines were separate, but in the end they combine. This models the transformation that creates the Hal of the last acts. The new Hal that shows himself in the end is Shakespeare's answer to his own question. By having Hal win the fight and act as he does with Falstaff, Shakespeare is saying that life is to be fought for, but it is also to be enjoyed. If life is not enjoyed, then their is nothing to fight for. If life is not fought for, then it is not worth being enjoyed. Shakespeare is saying that a sunrise or sunset is much better then the sun or the moon.

Though Henry and Hotspur are bitter enemies and Falstaff and Hal are comical ones, both pairings of men have a father-son relationship. Until the final act of the play, Hal is estranged from his father, because of his reputation as a thief and a drunkard. Without Henry as an active father, Hal's role model of sorts is Falstaff. Like any son, Hal follows Falstaff's example, robbing and drinking, but would deny any association between his acts and Falstaff's. When he was younger he would rob with Falstaff, follow Falstaff's example, but when he reached an age of rebellion, he stole from Falstaff. This situation is like the situation between King Henry and Hotspur. In Hotspur's youth, he helped steal the crown from Richard, for Henry, but when he reached an age of rebellion, he tried to steal the crown from Henry.

The thievery of Gadshill and the battle for the crown are two contrasting battles which show the similarity between the day

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1717
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English