henry iv
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Honor in Shakespeare's Henry IV
Throughout Shakespeare's play, Henry IV, the theme of honor is constantly reoccurring and plays a vital role on the plot. The presence of this theme can be seen through many characters, but most notably through Hotspur and Falstaff. Shakespeare builds these characters with opposing views of the word honor. On one side, Hotspur sees honor as an extremely important value, while on the other hand, Falstaff believes honor is nothing more than a jumble of words. Together these characters are utilized by Shakespeare to question the values of nobility and honor in the court of King Henry IV.
To Hotspur, nothing in life is more important than honor. He believes that honor is not about what you say, but more about what you do. Shakespeare builds Hotspur up as an extremely noble honorable character throughout the play. In line 10 of act 4, scene 1 Douglas goes so far as to call him, "the king of honor." In the opening scene of the play King Henry speaks about how he wishes Hotspur was his son instead of Harry...