Henry IV Part 1

Roles

• Prince Henry - Young Adult (20-35), Male

About this piece

Prince Henry is deceiving everybody

Summary

The play has two main storylines that come together at the end in the battle of Shrewsbury. One storyline is about King Henry dealing with his son Prince Henry who has forsaken the royal court to spend his time in taverns with shady characters. The other storyline concerns the rebellion by a group of noblemen, led by Harry Percy "Hotspur", against King Henry. This monologue is at the end of ACT I, Scene 2. Prince Henry is at a tavern with his good friend Falstaff. They are joined by their friend Poins who tells them that he is planning a robbery. Prince Henry doesn't want to join at first because he tells him he is not a thief but when Falstaff leaves Poins confesses to the prince that he is trying to set up a joke for Falstaff. They will not show up at the meeting to pull the robbery and will watch Falstaff pull it off. Then they will rob Falstaff and his friends by wearing masks. They point of the joke will be listening to the stories Falstaff will invent about being robbed. Then they will reveal they were the robbers. Prince Henry agrees to play along. When everybody leaves they Prince delivers this monologue. He has a plan: he hangs out with these lowlifes in order to lower the expectations about himself. He soon plans to reveal his true qualities as a leader and impress his father the king and the English people.

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