亨利四世：第一部分 (1597)

《亨利四世（第一部）》（英语：Henry IV, Part 1）是威廉·莎士比亚的一部历史剧，据信写于1597年以前。这是莎士比亚四部曲中的第二部，按顺序为《理查二世》、《亨利四世 (第一部)》、《亨利四世 (第二部)》、《亨利五世》。

《亨利四世（第一部）》主要描写了亨利四世与各个王子和反叛诸侯的斗争，从1402年末霍茨博在诺森伯兰与道格拉斯的霍默尔顿之战开始，到1403年中期在什鲁斯伯里反抗者的失败结束。

Henry IV, Part 1 is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in the mid-1590s and first published in quarto in 1598. It was composed in the later years of the reign of Elizabeth I, when questions of succession and political stability were prominent. Set in England in the early 1400s during the reign of Henry IV, the play depicts rebellion against the crown alongside the development of Prince Hal, the future Henry V, and examines themes of leadership and the formation of the heir apparent.

The play was among Shakespeare’s most popular works in his own time, as indicated by multiple early printings and the success of the character John Falstaff. It has remained one of his most frequently performed plays, noted for its combination of political drama and comic scenes and for its treatment of leadership and public identity.

Synopsis

The play follows three groups of characters who initially interact only indirectly. These groups grow closer as the play progresses, coming together at the climax during the Battle of Shrewsbury. The first is centred around King Henry IV and his immediate council, who contrive to suppress a growing rebellion. The second is the group of rebel lords, led by Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, and including his brother, the Earl of Northumberland, and energetic nephew, Harry Percy ("Hotspur"). The Scottish Earl of Douglas, the Welshman Owen Glendower, and Edmund Mortimer also join. The third group, the comic centre of the play, consists of the young Prince Hal (King Henry's eldest son) and his companions, Falstaff, Poins, Bardolph, and Peto.

From the play's outset, Henry IV's reign is beset by problems: His personal disquiet at having usurped the throne from Richard II would be solved by a crusade to the Holy Land, but trouble on his borders with Scotland and Wales make such an act impossible. Moreover, he is increasingly at odds with the Percy family, who helped him to his throne, and with Edmund Mortimer, Richard II's chosen heir.

King Henry is also troubled by the behaviour of his eldest son and heir, Hal (the future Henry V). Hal spends little time in the royal court, preferring instead to drink in taverns with lowborn and dishonourable companions. This makes him an object of scorn to the nobles and jeopardises his legitimacy as heir; early in the play, King Henry laments that he can "See riot and dishonour stain the brow of young Harry." Hal's chief friend is Sir John Falstaff, a cowardly, drunken, but quick-witted knight whose charisma and zest for life captivate the Prince.

In the first act, the political action of the play is set in motion. King Henry and Hotspur fall out after a disagreement over the treatment of hostages: Hotspur withholds, against the King's orders, hostages taken in recent action against the Scots at the Battle of Homildon Hill, while King Henry refuses to pay Owen Glendower (a Welsh rebel) the ransom for Hotspur's brother-in-law, Edmund Mortimer. This disagreement, and the King's harsh treatment of the House of Percy generally, drives them to ally with Welsh and Scot rebels, resolving to depose "this ingrate and cankered Bolingbroke."

Meanwhile, Hal meets with Falstaff and his associates at the Boar's Head Tavern. Falstaff and Hal are close, but Hal enjoys insulting Falstaff, and, in a soliloquy, makes it clear that he does not plan to continue in his present lifestyle forever: Hal aims to re-assume his high place in court by proving himself to his father. Indeed, Hal reasons that by suddenly changing his ways he will be even more popular among the nobility than if he had behaved conventionally all his life. Nevertheless, he is happy to carry out a plot against Falstaff: after performing a highway robbery, Hal and Poins will slip away from Falstaff, disguise themselves, and rob Falstaff, purely for the fun of hearing the older man lie about it later, after which Hal will return the stolen money. The plot is carried out successfully.