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MonkeyNotes-Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
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Notes
King Henry IV dominates this scene. He wins the sympathy of
all including his sons. He appears to be a loving father
concerned about the welfare and well being of his children. The
King appears to be very sick and the audience knows his end is
near.
Hal enters and sees the King lying motionless with the crown
besides him; he concludes that the King is dead. In a soliloquy,
he thinks that the power of the crown is so great that it had
caused the death of his father. His philosophic approach to life
is shown here: “Why doth the crown life there upon pillow/
Being so troublesome a bedfellow?/ O polishÂ’d perturbation
golden care/ That keepest the ports of slumber wide/ To many a
watchful night.” He means that those who wear the crown have
sleepless nights as his father had. The crown is personified as a
troublesome bed fellow who denies the man who wears it the
pleasure of sleep and mental peace. When the King reproves
Hal for being impatient to wear the crown, the prince
controlling his grief, patiently explains to the King that he
ardently wishes for a long life for the King. He clears his
fatherÂ’s doubt that he has been waiting for his death. He
pledges that if his motive were selfish, let him be the poorest
slave in the country: “Let God for ever keep it from my head,/
And make me as the poorest vessel is,/ That doth with awe and
terror kneel to it.” This shows the humility and respect Hal has
for his father. The King is very much moved by his sonÂ’s
words. He blesses his son and tells him that since he has
become King unjustly, he has had a troublesome reign. But
since the prince is inheriting the throne from his father, he is
sure to have a peaceful reign. He prays to God to grant his son
a peaceful reign and also to forgive his sin of being responsible
for the death of Richard. The KingÂ’s guilty conscience and the
mental agony he suffers is clear. Another fact is that the King
feels that after his death, disorder and vice will prevail in the
country during the rule of his son. But the irony is, unlike the
KingÂ’s reign, the young KingÂ’s reign is going to be peaceful and
tranquil. The KingÂ’s anguish and sorrow transcend the personal
level when he expresses his anxiety of the future.
Towards the last part of the scene, the King asks his followers
to take him to the “Jerusalem” chamber where he shall die. The
King recalls somebody had prophesied that he would die in
Jerusalem. It is notable that prophecies play an important part
in the play. The King is taken to that chamber where he dies.
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MonkeyNotes-Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
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