Role Of Comedy In William Shakespeare'S &Quote;Henry Iv&Quote; eBook

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: A-/B+, Brown University, course: Introduction to Shakespeare, language: English, abstract: Set in bars, castles, and battlefields, Shakespeare's Henry IV is presents a peculiarversion of chivalry. Upon first inspection, this play reads as a boy s tale of mischief, kingly growth, and knightly success. Shakespeare, however, proves too elusive a dramatist to offer so simple a play. Although a history, Shakespeare also has saturated the work with qualities of another genre: the Comedy. In this play, readers see the comedic in both plot and character. In regard to plot, Shakespeare employs a block comedic in both senses of the word on a very strange case of unrequited love: King Henry s affection for Hotspur. Fittingly, Shakespeare also removes that block which makes the play comedic, nottragic in an equally unconventional way. In Hal s slaying of Hotspur, Hal replaces KingHenry s desire as Hal emerges as a deserving successor. Numerous comedic foils and aids interact with this block; however, one character in particular, Falstaff, is boundexceptionally tightly to this play s comedic tone. The unofficial jester of King Henry scourt, Falstaff serves as this play s emblem of comedy. Falstaff not only offers a comedic disposition but also drives the play s larger comedic plot by aiding in Hal s development as a successor. Henry IV, although a history, is irrevocably tied to the comedic both in jest and in structure.