Honorable mentionsSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The characters of Prince Hal and King Henry in William Shakespeare's play Henry IV depict an unlikely father-son relationship. Shakespeare demonstrates the fate of Prince Hal by associating him with consistent approaches of negative influences. These forces come mainly from his father, King Henry IV, and from his friendship with the useless acquaintance Falstaff. Aside from his father's sky-high expectations, Prince Hal faces constant confrontation between himself and the noble Hotspur. These three influences shape Hal into an important leader, which is essentially a key part of his training to become an ideal ruler. In the work, the concept of honor plays a central role through the characters; each character perceives the concept differently. Evidently the uncertain concept leads them to different courses of action. The idea of honor changes from individual to individual and in this way the theme of honor does not have a specific meaning. Instead, the word contains multiple meanings due to the different interpretations given by the characters. These three distinct people, Falstaff, Hotspur, and Prince Hal, all see the concept of honor in unique ways. While Hotspur and Hal ideally perceive recognition as something significant and commendable, Falstaff recognizes courage only as a word that continues with the dead. Falstaff is a thief, a criminal, and a slacker who abuses his position as an officer, as well as neglecting to pay his dues at the inn. This combination of evidence reflects the fact that he justifies as a non-honest character. Before the war between the king and his enemies, Falstaff continues to earn money by taking valuables and money from men who decide not to fight in combat. Instead of taking real soldiers into battle, Falstaff takes people who are beggars and prisoners and uses them as his army, which is a highly offensive action. Falstaff explains his idea of honor by describing how it cannot "take away the pain of a wound" (5.1.) and how it is not something that can remain among the living. For Falstaff, honor is a "word... hair. An accurate calculation" (5.1.), which means that Falstaff views honor simplistically and without meaning. Falstaff demonstrates that he has no concept of honor when he claims that he killed Hotspur himself, even though he had just seen Prince Hal kill him. Although honesty is not important to Falstaff, it is imperative to others who assign it specific meaning. King Henry states that Hotspur is the “theme of the language of Honour” to make him the perfect example of a man of honor, (1.1.). Hotspur's idea of honor is primarily about redeeming and protecting his reputation as the perfect man of honor. Readers reveal this revenge through the dethronement of King Henry on the battlefield. Through this way of promising a place as king, Hotspur seems to base honor on a respectful scale and believes that recognition was gained by defeating one in battle. Before the fight, Hotspur learns that his father will not be joining them in battle, resulting in a delay for Glendower and his forces. Ultimately, Hotspur sees his allies' absence as a challenge; if he manages to defeat the king's army, he will receive a reward of great honor. Furthermore, dying in battle is also seen as a way for Hotspur to gain honor, "Why leave it alone, my father and Glendower are both far away, our powers might serve such a great day / Judgment day is near. Die all, die merrily" (4.2.) Hotspur bases his honor on respect, in which. 2016.
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