ure of the vigorous,
successful young king. For convenience' sake, however, we may separate
the histories from the comedies. To do this we shall have to depart
somewhat from chronological order, and, since there are fewer
histories, we shall consider them first.

+Henry IV, Part I+.--To the development of Henry V from the wayward
prince to one of England's most beloved heroes, Shakespeare devoted
three plays, _Henry IV_, _Parts I_ and _II_, and _Henry V_. The
historical event around which the first of these centers is the
rebellion of the Percies, which culminated in the defeat and death of
Harry Percy, 'Hotspur,' on Shrewsbury field. In _Richard II_,
Shakespeare had foreshadowed what was to come. The deposed king had
prophesied that his successor, Henry Bolingbroke, crowned as Henry IV,
would fall out with the great Percy family which had put him on the
throne; that the Percies would never be satisfied with what Henry would
do for them; and that Henry would hate and distrust them on the ground
that those who had made a king could unmake one as well. And this
prophecy was fulfilled. Uniting with the Scots under Douglas, with the
Archbishop of York, with Glendower, who was seeking to reestablish the
independence of Wales, and with Mortimer, the natural successor of
Richard, {155} the Percies raised the standard of revolt. What might
have happened had all things gone as they were planned, we can never
know; but Northumberland, the head of the family, feigned sickness;
Glendower and Mortimer were kept away; the Archbishop dallied; and
failure was the result. This situation gave Shakespeare an opportunity
to paint a number of remarkable portraits; but the scheming, crafty
Worcester, the vacillating Northumberland, the mystic Glendower, are
all overshadowed by the figure of Hotspur, wrong-headed, impulsive, yet
so aflame with young life and enthusiasm, so ready to dare all for
honor's sake, that he is almost more attractive than the Prince
himself. Over against the older leaders of the rebellion stands the
lonely figure of Henry IV, misunderstood and little loved by his sons,
who has centered his whole existence upon getting and keeping the
throne of England. To this one end he bends every energy of his
shrewd, strong, hard nature. Such a man could never understand a
personality like that of his older son, nor could the son understand
the father. Prince Hal, loving life in all its manifestations, joy in
all its