“Henry IV, Part 1” Discussion

Monday, May 18, 2026, 6-8 pm

We are meeting on the third Monday of May 2026 instead of the last Monday because the last Monday is Memorial Day and the library is closed.

Minneapolis Central Library
(Downtown Minneapolis)
300 Nicollet Mall - Room N-202
Minneapolis, MN 55401

There is underground parking beneath the library, off 4th St. S., for about $6. There is also paid parking at parking meters.

Go in to the Library lobby and then in to the book stacks area. Take the elevator or stairs up to the 2nd floor, then go all the way to the left.

This is a discussion about the play, not a reading or showing of it.

So when this loose behavior I throw off
And pay the debt I never promisèd,
By how much better than my word I am,
By so much shall I falsify men’s hopes;
And, like bright metal on a sullen ground,
My reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault,
Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes
Than that which hath no foil to set it off.
– Prince Henry, Henry IV, Pt. 1, Act 1 Scene 2

Falstaff: No, my good lord,
banish Peto, banish Bardolph, banish Poins, but for
sweet Jack Falstaff, kind Jack Falstaff, true Jack
Falstaff, valiant Jack Falstaff, and therefore more
valiant being as he is old Jack Falstaff, banish not
him thy Harry’s company, banish not him thy
Harry’s company. Banish plump Jack, and banish
all the world.
Prince Henry: I do, I will.
– Henry IV, Pt. 1, Act 2, Scene 4

Honor pricks me on. Yea, but how if honor prick me
off when I come on? How then? Can honor set to a
leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a
wound? No. Honor hath no skill in surgery, then?
No. What is honor? A word. What is in that word
“honor”? What is that “honor”? Air. A trim reckoning.
Who hath it? He that died o’ Wednesday. Doth
he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. ’Tis insensible,
then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the
living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore,
I’ll none of it. Honor is a mere scutcheon. And
so ends my catechism.
– Falstaff, Henry IV, Pt. 1, Act 5, Scene 1

The better part of valor is discretion.
– Falstaff, Henry IV, Pt. 1, Act 5, Scene 4

SYNOPSIS OF PLAY (from the Folger Library)

DOWNLOAD TEXT FOR FREE

FREE VIDEOS - FULL PLAY (YOUTUBE)
• English Shakespeare Company (1990)
• Broadcast on TVO (1990)

FREE VIDEOS - OTHER (YOUTUBE)
• Tim Nance: Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 Discussion and Summary (33:26)
• I Finally GET Henry IV Part 1! - Tim Mooney (14:59)

KANOPY APP
Download the free app. Then link your library account to it. This will allow you free access to many Shakespeare plays. You can also watch the Shakespeare series “Upstart Crow” for free.

ARTICLES
• Wikipedia: Henry IV, Part 1
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Overview
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Full Play Summary
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Full Play Analysis
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Famous Quotes Explained
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Themes
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Motifs
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Symbols
• SparkNotes: Henry IV, Part 1 - Other Literary Devices
• About Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine
• A Modern Perspective: Henry IV, Part 1 by Alexander Leggatt
• The Play’s the Thing: It is difficult to imagine that a historical play as good as Henry IV will ever again be written. by Dennis Abrams
• Further Reading: Henry IV, Part 1

PODCASTS & TRANSCRIPTS
• Approaching Shakespeare (Emma Smith): Henry IV, Part 1
• Shakespeare Unlimited: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV, with Helen Castor

LOCAL LIVE PERFORMANCES OF
Henry IV, Part 1: The Life and Death of Harry Hotspur
• Shakespearean Youth Theatre, Crane Theater, Minneapolis (July 17 - Aug. 2, 2026)

GENERAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
• The Folger Shakespeare Library has free and paid (includes notes) downloadable texts of all of Shakespeare’s plays.
• The Folger Library: Shakespeare Documented has copies of original documents from Shakespeare’s time.
• PlayShakespeare: The Ultimate Free Shakespeare Research
• Podcast: “Approaching Shakespeare”
• Podcast: “Shakespeare Unlimited” Play by Play
• Play On Podcasts
• SparkNotes 101: Shakespeare [Excellent synopses of all the plays.]
• Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber [Excellent analysis of all the plays.] Kindle edition only $5.99!

FACEBOOK PAGES
• The Official William Shakespeare Page
• Shakespeare Study Group
• William Shakespeare: His Works and His World

APP
• Shakespeare App

BEST SHAKESPEARE USED BOOK SELECTIONS IN THE TWIN CITIES
• Midway Books, St. Paul
• The Book House, Minneapolis
• James & Mary Laurie Booksellers, Minneapolis
• Magers and Quinn, Minneapolis
• Half Price Books