Order Established Through Chaos

With rebellion and betrayal plaguing England, King Henry IV struggles to maintain some semblance of order within his divided kingdom and court. The one who restores normalcy to the nation is actually one who previously lived his life in a shameful manner. Prince Hal establishes a life at a pub, drinking with commoners and resorting to pulling pranks. His father describes his lifestyle as one of “dishonor and riot” (Act I, Scene i). Hal’s actions seem to disqualify him from such the esteemed and powerful position of heir to the throne. Although he reveals later that these actions falsely represent him, that he only intends to deceive people with them, they still reflect the inner turmoil he experiences. He fluctuates between a teenage delinquent and the Prince of England. His indecision divides him between his fatherly friend Falstaff, and his actual sire the King. In the end though, he turns his back on his sack, wench-loving companion and strives to win back his father’s trust and love.

In Hal’s life, his father represents structure, while Old Jack is disorder and dishonor. Hal finds himself drawn towards the older man, engaging him in banter and pulling juvenile pranks on him, behavior hardly common of a noble towards his subject. This fondness for a commoner pulls Hal away from the natural order of a monarchy. When war spreads across the kingdom, Hal is snapped back to reason and returns his attention to his real father. Through the chaos of the war, Hal returns to his senses and emerges from the war as a hero, and a son his father is proud of. Yet the return of order to his life brings on more responsibility; more war, more problems to solve within his life. His sense of normalcy as a prince brings only more disruption to his life, compared to his rambunctious lifestyle at the pub, which while causing him to stir up trouble, granted him a time of peace. So the question is when is order more valued? When it is established through minor chaotic actions, or when it results in more mayhem?

The anarchy experienced throughout the kingdom reflects the mayhem that Hal wrestles within himself. Although he ultimately desires to emerge as a leader, as a king, as a son that his father is proud of, he struggles facing that responsibility. He frequents a pub, and when he decides to change his lifestyle, he utilizes deception and the pandemonium of war to further himself in his father’s eyes and the eyes of his people. His father welcomes him back, stating proudly, “thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion” (Act 5 Scene iv). Hal finds his life and honor restored, but at the cost of chaos in his kingdom. Chaos won him glory and respect, but established a precedent in his life of responsibility and the burdens that only a king knows.