King Henry IV and King Henry V: Extra Credit- 6 Habit Points

The first thing you need to know about these plays is that in the middle of his career, Shakespeare wrote four history plays that traced the legacies of three different kings: Richard II, Henrry IV, and Henry V.

Here's a link to a trailer to the new BBC versions of the play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4N9-4vhYVU

The play Richard II shows Richard as a horrible ruler who basically gets de-throned by Henry IV. It's a tough life for Richard.
This brings us to the three plays of the video I want you to review: Henry IV part one, Henry IV part two, and Henry V. The Henry IV plays are split in two, but most of the video will focus on the first part. Henry IV is shown to be a fairly good king, but his son, who is known as Prince Hal before he becomes King Henry V, is more interested in chilling out in bars and hanging out with trouble makers. This obviously makes this father-son relationship a key aspect of the play.

Watch the video at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/shakespeare-uncovered/video/henry-iv-v-with-jeremy-irons/

And answer the following questions. This is worth up to 6 habit points:

1) According to the video, why is Henry the fourth part one commonly ranked as the best of Shakespeare's plays?

  

2) Who is Sir John Falstaff in the play?  What is his relationship with Prince Hal (the future King Henry V) like? What does this say about Prince Hal and his relationship with his father King Henry IV?

  

3) Who finally meets and defeats Hotspur on the battlefield and why is this important to the play?

4) In Henry IV part two, where does King Henry IV die? Why is this location important?

5) Throughout the last play of Henry V, England is at war with France. From what you see in the video, does the play seem anti-war or pro-war?

6) Ultimately, what did you think of the video? What similarities do you see between these medieval Kings of England and the leaders and political rulers we see today?