From the beginning of this play i found it interesting that two of the main characters are named Harry. Harry Percy, also known as Hotspur, and Prince Harry son of Henry IV are complete opposites of each other. While Hotspur is outgoing and has achieved military success, Prince Harry is busy playing pranks on his friends and aiding his friends to commit crimes. It is interesting to see how Shakespeare has juxtaposed these two characters because it brings out their differences a lot more clearer. Since Hotspur is successful it makes Prince Harry seem even more like an unresponsible character who doesn't care about his responsibilities in the government. Prince Harry's father, Henry IV even wishes that Hotspur was his son instead of Prince Harry because he is embarrassed by the fact that Prince Harry has not achieved any military glory and does not seem interested in politics.
I am interested to see how Prince Harry's character will develop further on in the play because Shakespeare lets the reader know that Prince Harry is just bidding his time. In ACT I, Prince Harry thinks aloud how he is just pretending to be a low life in order to impress everyone later. Prince Harry is setting up the stage for people to be impressed when he begins to act more like a royal prince. I wonder whether this plan is going to actually work or if Prince Harry is just ruining his chance of inheriting the crown by sitting around pretending to not have a clue.
Hotspur on the other hand is a man of action and already it can be seen that he is going to cause turmoil in this kingdom. A plan has already been set in motion to overthrow Henry IV because of his lack of respect for the Percy family. Will Prince Harry finally stop messing around and actually step up to help his father in his time of need or is he just going to stand aside and let Hotspur take the throne?
1 comment:
I think this is an interesting way to look at the characters, particularly the character of Prince Harry. I think that giving the prince the same name as a noble planning to overthrow the monarchy was an important move on Shakespeare's part, particularly because the prince is such a low life. The juxtoposition of these characters forces the reader to examine the prince and therefore the royal family and decide whether or not they find them to be sufficient rulers.
The simple fact is that one day, Prince Harry will be King, and so a fair critique of government is in order.
I for one think Prince Harry is a manipulator. People do change, and teenage boys who are deliquents can turn into gentlemen and calm down as they age, however, they don't meticulously plan this change in order to lead people into thinking they are somehow heroic. The truth is that growing up is not a heroic act at all it's a fact of life and Prince Harry, at least for me, is the personification of a big baby.
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