Play description

ACT I

Scene 1. King Henry's plans to lead a crusade to the Holy Land are frustrated when he hears that an

English army under Edmund Mortimer has been defeated by the Welsh chieftain Owen Glendower.

Henry reveals that Harry Percy, known as Hotspur, has defeated the Scottish Earl of Douglas in battle.

Thinking of his son, unruly Hal, the King envies the valiant Hotspur's father, the Lord

Northumberland. The King's council is to convene on the following Wednesday when Hotspur will be

made to account for his giving the king only one of his hostages.

Scene 2. Ned Poins tries to persuade Prince Hal and his friend, the debauched knight Sir John Falstaff,

to take part in a robbery at Gadshill. The Prince refuses but is finally persuaded by Poins who has a

secret scheme to expose Falstaff for the coward he is. Once alone, Hal muses on his unprincely

behavior, comparing himself to the sun, who allows himself to be covered by the clouds, only to

appear more brilliant when he emerges from the "ugly mists."