Remarks on Henry IV, part 1
Henry IV, part 1 may be one of Shakespeare's most miss titled plays because King Henry ranks only about third in the list of most important characters. It is a bit like Julius Caesar where Caesar is central to the play but never has much to say, except et tu, Brutè, and is killed in the third act. In our play Henry may not even be central to the action. He appears from time to time to harrumph around, but he is of far less significance than his son, Harry, sometimes referred to as Hal, or the Prince of Wales. Hal's sparring partner, Falstaff, is also, arguably, more important than Henry in the play. He is certainly far more interesting and fun! It is really a shame that Henry is not given a bigger or perhaps better part because as Richard II ends, we are left with a not very good impression of Henry. Even Henry is left with a not very good impression of Henry, and is filled with such guilt and remorse that he plans to go to Jerusalem where he can do some serious praying and penance. He mentions it again in this play, but in fifteenth century England, it was a long trip to Jerusalem, so the trip is being pushed further and further into the background.
I have always had the sense that Shakespeare may have lost control of Henry IV, part 1 when he was writing it. The story of Prince Hal and his antics with Falstaff became too much fun and Shakespeare could not put his pen down until he reached Act III, and by then, well the play had sort of written itself. Although this is correctly classified as a history play, there is far more comedy in it than history, and it is clearly the most entertaining of all Shakespeare's history plays.