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situationnormal's review against another edition
4.0
Probably my favorite of Shakespeare's histories. The whole Hal/Henry dynamic was interesting to me, and the Falstaff/Hal dynamic, and even the whole comparison/contrast between Hotspur/Hal. Basically, this is a play about Henry V, even though it's called Henry IV. And I'm completely down with that.
chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition
3.0
This story was difficult for me to begin, because it was tricky to keep the large cast of characters straight, especially since they often go by multiple names. By the second half, I was fairly engaged with the plot and could track the most important characters. It helped that I read Richard II first and went over it in class just last week.
briancrandall's review against another edition
5.0
King
And then I stole all courtesy from heaven,
And dressed myself in such humility
That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts,
Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths
Even in the presence of the crownèd king.
Thus did I keep my person fresh and new,
My presence, like a robe pontifical,
Neer seen but wondered at; and so my state,
Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast
And won by rareness such solemnity.
The skipping king, he ambled up and down
With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits,
Soon kindled and soon burnt; carded his state;
Mingled his royalty with cap'ring fools;
Had his great name profaned with their scorns
And gave his countenance, against his name,
To laugh at gibing boys and stand the push
Of every beardless vain comparative;
Grew a companion to the common streets,
Enfeoffed himself to popularity;
That, being daily swallowed by men's eyes,
They surfeited with honey and began
To loathe the taste of sweetness, whereof a little More than a little is by much too much.
So, when he had occasion to be seen,
He was but as the cuckoo is in June,
Heard, not regarded — seen, but with such eyes
As, sick and blunted with community,
Afford no extraordinary gaze
[III,ii]
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
5.0
i'm lethally more insane now. like permanently
february 2023 review: i seriously have nothing smart to say about this play; i just fucking love it. i love it so much. i know nobody wants to read a shakespearean history play (with a part ONE in the title, no less), but i've read the entire canon and can assert with confidence that this is always in my top 5 favorites list and hal and hotspur are some of shakespeare's most compelling, fascinating, larger-than-life characters. ooougughghghh when the characters are foils. when the characters. are foils. this play's only flaw (beyond "needs more women," which with the histories is an unfortunate given) is that i can't stand falstaff and i need his speeches to be, like, half the length (though i will admit he is better on-screen than on-page). sorry to my shakespeare class who had to deal with me in the back of the classroom bursting a vein trying not to stim and/or yell out answers to the professor's questions
also this reread has cemented my opinion that hotspur is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. he's got it all. autism swag. wife guy. loud. starts fights for no fucking reason. smart as hell. claims he hates poetry but talks solely in verse. battle machine of a human being. completely fucking insane. he is everything to me
february 2023 review: i seriously have nothing smart to say about this play; i just fucking love it. i love it so much. i know nobody wants to read a shakespearean history play (with a part ONE in the title, no less), but i've read the entire canon and can assert with confidence that this is always in my top 5 favorites list and hal and hotspur are some of shakespeare's most compelling, fascinating, larger-than-life characters. ooougughghghh when the characters are foils. when the characters. are foils. this play's only flaw (beyond "needs more women," which with the histories is an unfortunate given) is that i can't stand falstaff and i need his speeches to be, like, half the length (though i will admit he is better on-screen than on-page). sorry to my shakespeare class who had to deal with me in the back of the classroom bursting a vein trying not to stim and/or yell out answers to the professor's questions
also this reread has cemented my opinion that hotspur is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. he's got it all. autism swag. wife guy. loud. starts fights for no fucking reason. smart as hell. claims he hates poetry but talks solely in verse. battle machine of a human being. completely fucking insane. he is everything to me
zachcarter's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favorites of Shakespeare. It opens with the militant resistance of Wales and Scotland and ultimately contends with the rift between aristocratic society and 'the rest'. I recently watched Gus van Sant's 'My Own Private Idaho', which is a phenomenal adaptation of Henry IV, but it was nice to revisit the original story.
tomebro's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book but because of Hotspur and Falstaf, I will read Part 2 at a later time when a test isn't on the horizon.
darbyshirew's review against another edition
3.0
Does it count as reading it if I had to get help from almost every resource I could find? Yes? Okay, good.
maenad_wordsmith's review against another edition
Reread for my Berkeley class. I think the last time I read this was in community college or high school.