Gray Gissinger
Mrs. Burman
Brit Lit
12/12/13
Hal vs. Hotspur
In Henry IV, by William Shakespeare, there are two characters that were destined to fight since the beginning of the play, Prince Harry and Harry Percy. These two characters are both in the same position but have extremely different roles to play in the story. One path is of innocence, fairness, and goodness, and the other is of hatred, vengeance, and evil.
Harry, or Hal, is the Prince of Whales, he is the son of the king, King Henry, and is expected to act like a proper young prince. Instead he spends his time drinking, partying, sleeping around, and giving his father and his country little hope for their next leader to be a quality one. On the other side of the spectrum, Harry Percy, or Hotspur, is a well renowned nobleman soldier who fights in the name of his country, and is a perfect heir to the throne, but would not be heir since Hal and his brothers are alive and he is not blood to the crown. Hal is being constantly compared to Hotspur by his father, King Henry wishes his son was Hotspur since Hotspur is a natural leader, he is responsible, he is brave, and because he is willing to die for his country. Hal has never seen the lights of battle and will not until the end of the play. Hal, to his father, is a child in a young man’s body who enjoys drinking and partying with the local peasants and refuses to listen to authority and has had everything handed to him his entire life. Hotspur has had to work his way through the ranks to earn his
position and King Henry respects that, but he loves his son to much to give up his right to rule, which Hotspur hates. Hal tends to hang out with the wrong crowd; he is either with Falstaff drinking or is with Falstaff Stealing. His father does not respect Hal’s actions especially with Falstaff, a washed up knight who lost his honor and gave up on himself. No matter what Henry says to his son he will always love him, even when he has to scold his son he is always trying to do what is best for him. Henry has a love for Hotspur, he is like a son he never had, but he cuts him no slack since he expects the best from him and no less.
Hal earns for his father’s love, but never does anything about his father’s warning about his future. On the other hand, Hotspur, realizing he will never have the throne, refuses to comply with what king henry is asking due to the fact that he is fed up with being the king’s favorite, who will never be a true son. Once Hotspur realizes this he decides to take is own path and start a rebellion against the king, just as Henry did to the king before him. The tipping point for Hotspur was when the king tried to force Hotspur to turn over prisoners of war, when Hotspur wanted them to himself. After seeing Hotspur walk away from him, Henry lashes out on his son for being rebellious. He called him in and demanded change or would kick him out of the family.
Hal not only agrees to what his father asks, but he promises more and even to kill the rebel, Harry Percy.
There were two men, equal in ability and in stature, but one took a path of righteousness and redemption, while the other to a path of revenge and anger. Both men are fighting each other in a battle for power, and in a battle of pride. But Hotspur fights out of anger and hatred for Hal and King Henry, while Hal fights out of love for his father and his family. I believe that both men started off in the same place, and that they both had the same goal, but they took opposing paths to achieve it. Hotspurs path was to kill Henry and Hal and assume the throne. And Hal’s path was to win over his father’s love by defeating Hotspur and showing his father he was ready for the throne. After both characters meet
again in the final battle scene they have an epic dual and Hotspur is killed by
Hal, this to me is a right of passage for Hal because he not only shows his
father he is ready to lead, but he proves to himself that he is mature enough to
take the thrown, and he shows the readers that good will triumph over
evil.
Mrs. Burman
Brit Lit
12/12/13
Hal vs. Hotspur
In Henry IV, by William Shakespeare, there are two characters that were destined to fight since the beginning of the play, Prince Harry and Harry Percy. These two characters are both in the same position but have extremely different roles to play in the story. One path is of innocence, fairness, and goodness, and the other is of hatred, vengeance, and evil.
Harry, or Hal, is the Prince of Whales, he is the son of the king, King Henry, and is expected to act like a proper young prince. Instead he spends his time drinking, partying, sleeping around, and giving his father and his country little hope for their next leader to be a quality one. On the other side of the spectrum, Harry Percy, or Hotspur, is a well renowned nobleman soldier who fights in the name of his country, and is a perfect heir to the throne, but would not be heir since Hal and his brothers are alive and he is not blood to the crown. Hal is being constantly compared to Hotspur by his father, King Henry wishes his son was Hotspur since Hotspur is a natural leader, he is responsible, he is brave, and because he is willing to die for his country. Hal has never seen the lights of battle and will not until the end of the play. Hal, to his father, is a child in a young man’s body who enjoys drinking and partying with the local peasants and refuses to listen to authority and has had everything handed to him his entire life. Hotspur has had to work his way through the ranks to earn his
position and King Henry respects that, but he loves his son to much to give up his right to rule, which Hotspur hates. Hal tends to hang out with the wrong crowd; he is either with Falstaff drinking or is with Falstaff Stealing. His father does not respect Hal’s actions especially with Falstaff, a washed up knight who lost his honor and gave up on himself. No matter what Henry says to his son he will always love him, even when he has to scold his son he is always trying to do what is best for him. Henry has a love for Hotspur, he is like a son he never had, but he cuts him no slack since he expects the best from him and no less.
Hal earns for his father’s love, but never does anything about his father’s warning about his future. On the other hand, Hotspur, realizing he will never have the throne, refuses to comply with what king henry is asking due to the fact that he is fed up with being the king’s favorite, who will never be a true son. Once Hotspur realizes this he decides to take is own path and start a rebellion against the king, just as Henry did to the king before him. The tipping point for Hotspur was when the king tried to force Hotspur to turn over prisoners of war, when Hotspur wanted them to himself. After seeing Hotspur walk away from him, Henry lashes out on his son for being rebellious. He called him in and demanded change or would kick him out of the family.
Hal not only agrees to what his father asks, but he promises more and even to kill the rebel, Harry Percy.
There were two men, equal in ability and in stature, but one took a path of righteousness and redemption, while the other to a path of revenge and anger. Both men are fighting each other in a battle for power, and in a battle of pride. But Hotspur fights out of anger and hatred for Hal and King Henry, while Hal fights out of love for his father and his family. I believe that both men started off in the same place, and that they both had the same goal, but they took opposing paths to achieve it. Hotspurs path was to kill Henry and Hal and assume the throne. And Hal’s path was to win over his father’s love by defeating Hotspur and showing his father he was ready for the throne. After both characters meet
again in the final battle scene they have an epic dual and Hotspur is killed by
Hal, this to me is a right of passage for Hal because he not only shows his
father he is ready to lead, but he proves to himself that he is mature enough to
take the thrown, and he shows the readers that good will triumph over
evil.
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