King Henry IV, Part 2

I run before King Harry's victory; Who in a bloody field by Shrewsbury Hath beaten down young Hotspur and his troops, Quenching the flame of bold rebellion.
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Falstaff arrives with his entourage, expecting a lively and generous welcome from his old friend. Instead, Hal, now King Henry V, denounces Falstaff, orders him and his cronies to repent their profligate ways, and has the Lord Chief Justice take them to the Fleet prison until they have reformed. As they are led away, Prince John prophesies war with France.

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Henry IV Part 2

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David Bevington Learn More in these related Britannica articles: Shakespeare kept the name Oldcastle for the first version of his play but later changed it to Falstaff.

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He can always come back to England once the other rebels have done most of the dirty work. The three end up getting into a brawl with a guy named Pistol before Prince Hal and Poins reveal that they've been disguised as waiters and have been spying on Falstaff the entire time.

Over at the castle, the ailing King Henry IV confides in his trusty pal, Warwick, about his depressing life and his troubled reign as king. Henry recalls King Richard's prophesy that Henry's rule would be plagued by civil strife and betrayal and then goes on to say that it's not his Henry's fault that Richard was deposed — the guy was a lousy king, etc. Sounds like somebody's feeling pretty guilty about bumping King Richard off the throne but doesn't want to come out and admit he did anything wrong.

Falstaff arrives at Justice Shallow's pad in Gloucestershire to draft some men into the king's army.

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Given Falstaff's recruiting track record, we know there's going to be some corruption involved. After shooting the breeze with Shallow and Silence, two old justices of the peace who spend all their time remembering the good old days of their youth, Falstaff recruits three guys named Shadow, Wart, and Feeble, who are all ridiculously unfit to serve in the military.

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Falstaff also takes bribes from two other men, Mouldy and Bullcalf, and lets them off the hook before heading off to meet up with the king's army. Soon after, the rebels and the king's forces gather at Gaultree Forest in Yorkshire and prepare to battle. Westmoreland arrives at the rebel camp and sets up a meeting between Prince John and the rebel leaders, who lay out their beef with the king to Prince John. Prince John pretends to be sympathetic and convinces the rebels to lay down their arms and make nice.

Once the rebels dismiss their army, Prince John says, "Surprise! You're all under arrest and you're going to be executed for treason.

Henry IV, Part 2

Back at the royal palace in Westminster, King Henry is doing what King Henry does best — complaining to Warwick about his good for nothing son, prince Hal, who is still hanging out with commoners. Apparently, Henry has forgotten all about Hal saving his life at the battle at Shrewsbury in Henry IV Part 1 and he worries about what will happen to his kingdom when Hal gets his hands on the crown.

Warwick defends the prince and points out that Hal's just studying the commoners so he will know how to rule them when he's king. When Prince Hal finally shows up at the castle, he sits by his father's bed and watches the king sleep. When it appears that Henry has died, Hal is saddened but, life goes on, so Hal takes his father's crown, places it on his head, and leaves the room.

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King Henry wakes up. He's just a very deep sleeper, apparently. When King Henry realizes that Hal has prematurely helped himself to the crown, he flips out and accuses the prince of wanting him dead. Hal and the king eventually reconcile and Henry gives his son some advice about ruling the kingdom.

It would be a good idea, says Henry, for Hal to drum up a nice little foreign war to distract everyone from civil strife at home on English soil. If Englishmen are busy slitting the throats of foreigners, they won't have time to think about overthrowing their king. Henry then notices that he's in a room of the castle called the Jerusalem chamber, which seems fitting to him since he once heard a prophesy that he would die in Jerusalem. The Lord Chief Justice is a smidge worried about this because he once threw the wild prince in the slammer for being a punk and boxing him, the Lord Chief Justice, on the ears.

Turns out he has nothing to worry about. Hal has truly reformed and embraces the Lord Chief Justice as a "father" and advisor. Meanwhile, Doll Tearsheet and Mistress Quickly are arrested and charged with murdering a man. Falstaff, who has heard that Hal is now king, makes his way to London for the coronation ceremony.