HENRY IV, PART I

by William Shakespeare

For Henry IV, Part I, I attempted to demonstrate the rise of Hal in two scenes. I chose Act II, Scene III and Act II, Scene IV. However, instead of playing them in their traditional linear fashion, I chose to intertwine the two scenes so that the action moves back and forth between Hotspur and Lady Percy and Hal and Falstaff. I chose the image of a game of tug-of-war to motivate the decision that Hal must make between allowing his friends to dictate his thought, or rising up to become a strong king. Hotspur and Falstaff become the two extremes as each side pulls Hal in one direction or another. Finally, Hal rejects Falstaff and assumes his royal duty.


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