1 Henry IV and the Use of Power
Greenblatt’s assumption that “no character with a clear moral vision has a will to power and, conversely, no character with a strong desire to rule over others has an ethically adequate object,” accurately describes the characters of King Henry and his son in 1 Henry IV. In the play Richard III, as Bolingbroke charges his way to power, his Machiavellian instinct is on display as he affronts the king and aligns himself appropriately with allies around the country. When Bolingbroke returns to England from banishment, he lobbies that “If my cousin be King of England / It must be granted that I am Duke of Lancaster,” (Richard II, II.3.123). In the next act, however, Richard quite easily resigns his crown, stating “What you will have, I’ll give, and willing to / For do we must what force will have us do,” (Richard II, III.3.206). Bolingbroke’s previously stated pacifistic intentions are forgotten, and his subtly calculating nature proceeds quietly to take the throne.
Prince Henry reveals manipulative talents similar to his father’s in 1 Henry IV, I.2.189-211; he confides with the audience that his tavern-dwelling company is comparable to clouds around the sun, only a foil to later set off a brighter shine. Speaking metaphorically of the sun, Henry says “That when he please again to be himself / Being wanted, he may be more wondered at / By breaking through the foul and ugly mists.” Later in III.2.92, Henry’s plan reaches its climax, when his father assails his loose behavior, and the prince promises “to be more myself,” just as the sun he described earlier. Such a perfect calculation implies the political cunning of the prince, defining his character as one “coldly efficient.” Prince Hal does show himself equally calculating and as coldly efficient as his father, the king.
Prince Henry’s will to power is evident, yet the ethical stature of his objectives is questionable. Greenblatt describes Shakespeare’s position on ethics as “a deep skepticism about any attempt to formulate and obey an abstract moral law, independent of actual social, political, and psychological circumstances.” Prince Henry’s deceptive nature follows this accord. In the first act, Henry abuses his surrounding company, using them to make himself look better and choosing to ignore any moral standards. By the play’s end Henry appears to earn his royal privilege. The Prince’s morals at the point of Act 1 are undeveloped, whether he is acting or not, he outwardly appears only concerned with resolving tavern quarrels and playing practical jokes. Hal’s pursuit of an ethically adequate object is missing, partly because his will to power requires deception and cunning. In Act 5, Henry’s battle with Hostpur seems to be a moral victory, yet it isn’t defined whether the prince fights with valor for the crown, or if he basely fights for shrewd personal gain and recognition; thus his victory is not sealed with a stamp of moral authority or ethical adequacy.
Shakespeare’s intentions of creating an unethical character in the prince may have served the dramatic purpose of repaying Henry IV for his past actions. Greenblatt states that Shakespeare “did not think that one’s good actions are necessarily or even usually rewarded, but he seems to have been convinced that one’s wicked actions always return, with interest.” Perhaps then, the coldly efficient nature and wicked actions of Henry IV are returned to him by the same qualities existing in his son. This retribution verifies that the prince is equally far from an ethical object as his father, as it also explains the dramatic reason behind the prince’s character. Hal must be ethically inadequate for Shakespeare to elaborate his belief that the past will return to bite the evil authoritarian.
Bibliography
Greenblatt, Stephen. "Shakespeare and the Uses of Power." The New York Review of Books. New York, 12 April 2007. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/20073>
Shakespeare, William. Henry IV, Part One. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Bantam, 1988.
—. Richard II. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Bantam, 1988.