Henry 4 Protagonist

A compelling debate has been ignited as a result of Shakespeare’s play Henry the Fourth, Part One. The play’s protagonist seems to be unclear and thus many critics have drawn their own conclusions. Anne Marie McNamara explains her point of view in her essay Henry IV: The King as Protagonist. While McNamara claims that King Henry IV is the protagonist of the play, Prince Hal is the true protagonist because a major portion of the play focuses on the idea of Prince Hal becoming king. In the first scene of the play King Henry IV indirectly expresses that he is bothered by the thought of Prince Hal becoming king. He wishes that somehow there was a mix-up and that Hal is actually not his son (1.1.85-90). The thought of Hal causes the King sorrow …show more content…
King Henry the Fourth thinks lowly of the Prince of Wales. In fact, Henry goes so far as to say that he wouldn’t be surprised if he joined Percy to fight against him (3.2.124-8). However, Hal denies the possibility of that ever happening (3.2.129-31). As the play goes on the reader is able to quickly realize the onerous relationship between Prince Hal and Henry IV. The play primarily focuses on Hal which is why he is the protagonist. One of the antagonists of the play would be King Henry IV. For the majority of the play, Henry IV opposes Hal’s actions and behavior. As a result, Hal tries to redeem himself and make his father proud. The following excerpt reinforces the idea that Hal is the true protagonist: “The young Hal is certainly the focus of the play’s narrative reform, and he is the only character who can move with seeming ease among the worlds of tavern, court, and battlefield” (Howard 555). Although McNamara claims that Henry IV is the protagonist most critics agree that the king is not even among the possible protagonists of the play (Fehrenbach 42). One of McNamara’s explanations for why the King is the protagonist is that “in the history-play the center of interest is the fate of a nation” (McNamara 425). Despite the fact that the King’s decisions have a huge impact on the nation, Prince Hal represents the future of the …show more content…
However, the play frequently mentions how Henry the Fourth murdered Richard and claimed the throne. The play possibly mentions that fact numerous times to impress upon the audience that perhaps Henry the Fourth’s actions were indeed not in favor of the nation but instead in favor of himself. Hotspur points out that after Henry the Fourth became king he raised taxes on everyone which only benefited Henry (4.3.90-2). In addition, Henry the Fourth had no problem letting Mortimer, the man with more rights to the throne, be imprisoned