Henry IV, Part One has been one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays since it was first produced, and was reprinted several times during the playwright’s lifetime. The play encompasses the tragic pathos of Hotspur’s death, the thrill of Hal’s
battlefield valor, the intrigue of power politics, and the broad humor of tavern scenes. It has been performed as a play that celebrates England and engenders national pride, but also as a play that thumbs its nose at patriotism and notions of empire.