Scenes from Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1

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King Henry IV, Part 1

Please see the bottom of this page for helpful Henry IV resources.
Please see the bottom of each scene for extensive explanatory notes.

Dramatis Personae.
Act 1
- Scene 1. London. The palace.
- Scene 2. London. An apartment of the Prince's.
- Scene 3. London. The palace.
Act 2
- Scene 1. Rochester. An inn yard.
- Scene 2. The highway, near Gadshill.
- Scene 3. Warkworth castle
- Scene 4. The Boar's-Head Tavern, Eastcheap.
Act 3
- Scene 1. Bangor. The Archdeacon's house.
- Scene 2. London. The palace.
- Scene 3. Eastcheap. The Boar's-Head Tavern.
Act 4
- Scene 1. The rebel camp near Shrewsbury.
- Scene 2. A public road near Coventry.
- Scene 3. The rebel camp near Shrewsbury.
- Scene 4. York. The Archbishop's palace.
Act 5
- Scene 1. King Henry IV's camp near Shrewsbury.
- Scene 2. The rebel camp.
- Scene 3. Plain between the camps.
- Scene 4. Another part of the field.
- Scene 5. Another part of the field.

Next: Henry IV Part 1, List of Characters

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Quote in Context

So when this loose behavior I throw off,
And pay the debt I never promised,
By how much better than my word I am,
By so much shall I falsify men's hopes,
And like bright metal on a sullen ground,
My reformation, glittering o'er my fault,
Shall show more goodly, and attract more eyes,
Than that which hath no foil to set it off.
1 Henry IV (1.2)

Here Prince Hal reveals his plan to achieve popularity amongst the people he knows he will one day rule. Hal has every intention of leaving behind his life of wine and petty theft. His mischievous behaviour is merely part of a political maneuver to look as good as possible when he does finally gain power. His association with the likes of Falstaff allows him a connection to the common people that will be vital during his reign as Henry V. This passage foretells how successful Hal will be when he obtains the throne. In the words of Machiavelli: "experience shows us that in our times the rulers who have done great things are those who have set little store by keeping their word, being skillful rather in cunningly confusing men" (The Prince). Read on...

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