Michael Finocchiaro's Reviews > Henry IV, Part 2

Henry IV Part 2 had some excellent moments, particularly the discussion between father and son in Act 4, but I had a hard time appreciating the machinations of Falstaff and found Hal a bit abrupt in his rejection of Falstaff at the end.

My favorite scene occurs as the dying King Henry IV is sleeping and rests his crown on a pillow beside the bad. Hal, his son, thinking the king dead, quietly takes the crown, thoughtful and overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility the crown represents:
Why doth the crown lie there upon his pillow
Being so troublesome a bedfellow?
O polished perturbation, golden care,
That keep'st the ports of slumber open wide
To many a watchful night!
Henry IV Part 2, Act 4 scene iii

After he leaves the room wearing the crown, the king awakens, notes the absence of the crown, summons Hal and sees him wearing it:
Dost thou so hunger for mine empty chair
That thou wilt needs invest thee with my honors
Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth,
Thou seek'st the greatness that will overwhelm thee.
Henry IV Part 2, Act 4 scene iii

Further, the King reminds himself of the trouble he fomented in gaining the crown, hoping that it will be easier for Hal:
God knows, my son,
By what bypaths and indirect crook'd ways
I met this crown, and I myself know well
How troublesome it sat upon my head.
To thee it shall descend with better quiet,
Better opinion, better confirmation
Henry IV Part 2, Act 4 scene iii

The reconciliation occurs as Hal accepts the responsibility and promises his father to be a worthy successor:
You won it, wore it, kept it, gave it me.
Then plain and right must my possession be,
Which I with more than with a common pain
'Gainst all the world will rightfully maintain
Henry IV Part 2, Act 4 scene iii

On to Henry V now that Hal has been crowned. But, before, he has to reject the sorrowful Falstaff, somewhat like Peter to the Roman guard:
I know thee not, old man.
Henry IV Part 2, Act 5 scene v

Of note, the BBC series The Hollow Crown S01E03 from 2013 featuring Jeremy Irons as Henry IV and Tom Hiddleston as Hal/Henry V is excellent. I feel like the Falstaff subplot was just as confusing as in the play, but the strained father-son relationship between Henry IV/Hal and that off Falstaff and Hal are beautifully and thoughtfully rendered.

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