Shakespear - Prince Henry

Hal’s soliloquy suggests a sharp awareness. Hal knows the nature of his true character, though it may seem different, in the light of his actions. Till the soliloquy Hal seemed to be a prince that ignores his status, and disobeys to act in the courtly manner, and moreover, shows it in public. His behavior during the scene is far from being the proper behavior for a prince. The soliloquy presents the awareness Hal has for himself and the environment. The fact he is aware of his true self since the beginning emphasizes the maturity and the strength of his moral code. In spite the knowledge Hal has about himself, only a change of circumstances actually causes his character change. Therefore, Hal undergoes a transformation during the play.

The reasons for Hal’s choice of friends and company can be related to public image, as well as can relate to other psychological reasons, involving his father and the courtly life. During the play, Hal unmasks part of the psychological reasons for his poor behavior. The relationship between Hal and his father stays problematic till Ha

Hal has true honor and a right moral code. Therefore, the cynical use of friends for the sake of public image seems to be unsuitable, for a man who was willing to fight solely to save bloodshed. Hal needed the time in the tavern to reassure his moral code and self-confidence to become a better leader. Henry 4th needed to believe the false hero in order to realize his son is the right heir for the throne.

As we can see Prince Henry (Hal) is a character for whom we can’t and can have sympathy for. At the beginning Shakespeare presents Hal as a character who doesn’t behave as a prince, who gets drunk all the time and hangs around the bars with friends who are thieves, fools and disgrace, also Shakespeare presents Prince Henry as failure who doesn’t have any courage and bravery to lead an army and go and fight. But all of this changes when his father (King Henry) tells him that he seems unfit for the throne and he might end up giving the throne to Hotspur. This is when Prince Henry changes and become a true prince by helping his dad to get the thieves and later of becoming brave by going to fight. Therefore, we can say that we can’t have sympathy for Hal at the beginning of the play but through the play the whole character changes and we come up with the conclusion that we can have some sympathy for him.

l and his father meet at the battlefield, and King Henry comments that he was wrong to ever doubt his son (act 5.4.). For example, in his enactment of his father with Falstaff he attacks Falstaff (pretending to be Hal) for his acquaintance with Falstaff and his friends. From that enactment, we can see what Hal thinks his father thinks of him.

Another example is in the first scene of the play. Henry 4th wishes his son had been as courageous as Hotspur is, and suggests they might have been switched at birth. These incidents show Henry 4t

Some topics in this essay:
King Henry, King Henry’s, Henry Hal, Prince Henry, Hal Hotspur, Act Scene, Hal Worcester, Wales Hal, Prince Hal, Shakespeare Hal, prince henry, prince hal, hal father, moral code, hal character, henry 4th, king henry, father figures, prince henry hal, can’t sympathy, henry iv, henry hal character,