Henry Iv And Prince Hal Relationship
Henry IV is one of the best history based plays by Shakespeare which tackles a lot of different aspects in society and not only the live of king Henry IV. This play also tackles the deeply intricate relationship between family members and special father and son. The play continues to depict the toxic relationship between Prince Hal and his father and the play also mentions the complex relationship between Prince and Falstaff. This is fascinating play that shows the deep human interaction that is mostly present in Shakespeare works. Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho is a modern re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Henry IV which also deeply deals with the father and son relationship that is present in the play. This movie also modernizes the character of Falstaff by breaking him into
…show more content…
two different characters and by doing so making the audience to concurrently see not only the relationship between older Falstaff and his exceptional wunderkind, but also the strong relationship between two young men attached by their common misfortune and experience. Remarkably, Van Sant’s take on Henry IV play does not highlight the point of view of royal character, but rather the two different characters of Falstaff as he embarks on a journey to find acceptance and authority. In this approach Van Sant is able to establish a persuasive method to sell and make it easy for the modern audience to experience Henry IV. He concentrated on the issues that were not widely discussed and by doing so he increased the importance of the issues that were abandon in the play.
Shakespeare’s Henry IV opens with the king feeling guilty about the removal of Richard and that is messing with his mind. He is planning to go on crusade to the holy land to pay for his mistakes but there are conflicts brewing close to him that need his attention instead of going to the Holy land. His kingdom is facing a threat from a growing rebellion which includes the nobles who help him to take the throne and this was been fueled by mainly the Percy Family. Scotland and wales are aggressively calling for rebellion against King Henry IV as the late king Richard’s approved heir, Edmund Mortimer waits on the wings. King Henry’s distrustful, abusive and possibly his imperious treatment of Henry Percy who was the son of the Earl of Northumberland who was also known as ‘Hotspur’ and he was called this for his courage and his aggressive personality only made things bad for king Henry IV. At the same time, Prince Hal is involved in a life of drinking, partying, robbing and he surrounded himself with a lot questionable characters including his companion Falstaff. The king and the people surrounding prince hal are not aware of his ultimate plan to shut down the rebellion and rule the kingdom His plan was disclosed when said “My reformation, glittering o’er my fault, / Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes / Than that which hath no foil to set it off / I’ll so offend to make offense a skill, / Redeeming time when men think least I will” (Bevington 377). Falstaff who was the personal advisor and friend of Prince Hal was the first to feel that maybe the Prince is trying to leave them for a better live with his father the king. In one of the most emotional scenes in the play. Falstaff is trying to convince Hal to continue with his lifestyle and not join his father “…banish plump Jack and banish all the world” (390), but Hal did not listen to Falstaff and he finally joined his father. Prince Hal was the key factor in shutting down the rebellion and killing Hotspur. Finally, Prince Hal took over the position in society he was destined for because of his birth as the son of the King. Van Sant’s film My own private Idaho starts with the character my mike who is acting as the young Falstaff wearing a mechanic’s uniform with the name Bob on it who is acting as the old Falstaff and there for hinting the relationship between the two characters.
Mike went through a lot with scot who has similar characteristics with Prince Hal and both engaged in homosexual relationship. One of the biggest similarity comes when they introduced in the film the same robbery based prank from the play Henry IV which pranked Bob(Falstaff). The film also depicts the devious plans of Scott (Prince Hal) to leave his lifestyle on the street for a live of acceptance and authority. Another thing is the Scott does not consider having sex unless he is rewarded appropriately. This shows that Scott is a prostitute and furthermore he exemplifies the true definition of hustler. The civil war plot was change in Van Sant’s film by a personal adventure to find mike’s lost mother, and it was this failed attempt which indicates Scott’s abandonment. The following scenes highlight not on Scott’s brilliant future but instead the destruction he left behind, which is represented by death of Bob and Scott’s
father. Shakespeare’s Henry IV places big importance on not only the plot of the play but also the prosperity of Prince Hal, who takes over his inheritance, took revenge of his enemies and was certain for great live. It is unavoidable that Prince Hal will abandon his poor friends and at this point the play follows Hal instead of the people he abandoned. In the contrary, Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho does not follow the character of Scott but rather the characters that he abandoned. This change in tone is affirmed in the beginning and the end scenes of the film which both present Mike instead of Scott. The film highlights the vulnerability of Mike and turns it back on the wars that usually come with royal families with his personal journey to find Mike’s mother. It is possible that if it was not for the constraints that are imposed by society Shakespeare’s play would examine the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff in a way that is not very different from Van Sant does in My Own Private Idaho. Shakespeare’s play is restricted when it comes to the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff. In the play Falstaff regards himself as young men at heart but he is old in reality. In the contrary, Van Sant’s dual Falstaff characters allow the audience to experience the relationship between Scott and Mike as a young man without giving up the emotional roller-coaster that old aged Bob experienced when he was betrayed by Scott. The film also shows the audience mike’s love and dependence on Scott who abandons him at the end. The article “‘Shakespeare, He’s in the Alley’: My Own Private Idaho and Shakespeare in the Streets” by Hugh H. Davis argues that Van Sant’s film tries to take Shakespeare’s play from royalty into the streets, reveals that that “Gus Van Sant's picture is an intertextual mosaic blending the obvious Shakespeare with popular culture references ranging from songs on the soundtrack to a Simpsons episode” (120). Without any doubt My Own Private Idaho does exactly that by including pop culture remarks and by also modernizing the character of Falstaff. The film also sympathizes with the characters that are left out struggling in the wake of the exceptionally powerful hero who abandons them. Shakespeare’s Henry IV is a history play that tackles issues that are beyond history, by confronting the real hardships people face when they are transitioning to adulthood not only for the child but also particularly for their father figure. Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho film takes this ongoing exploration even further, mainly by dividing the character of Falstaff into two and modernizing him. The film also show the emotional inequality of influence between the young men whilst showing how far they are from each other in terms of maturity, which creates an easy method for modern audience to experience Shakespeare’s work. Both the play and the film explore issues that humans constantly encounter in their daily lives which makes the film reliable in re-imagining of the play.
two different characters and by doing so making the audience to concurrently see not only the relationship between older Falstaff and his exceptional wunderkind, but also the strong relationship between two young men attached by their common misfortune and experience. Remarkably, Van Sant’s take on Henry IV play does not highlight the point of view of royal character, but rather the two different characters of Falstaff as he embarks on a journey to find acceptance and authority. In this approach Van Sant is able to establish a persuasive method to sell and make it easy for the modern audience to experience Henry IV. He concentrated on the issues that were not widely discussed and by doing so he increased the importance of the issues that were abandon in the play.
Shakespeare’s Henry IV opens with the king feeling guilty about the removal of Richard and that is messing with his mind. He is planning to go on crusade to the holy land to pay for his mistakes but there are conflicts brewing close to him that need his attention instead of going to the Holy land. His kingdom is facing a threat from a growing rebellion which includes the nobles who help him to take the throne and this was been fueled by mainly the Percy Family. Scotland and wales are aggressively calling for rebellion against King Henry IV as the late king Richard’s approved heir, Edmund Mortimer waits on the wings. King Henry’s distrustful, abusive and possibly his imperious treatment of Henry Percy who was the son of the Earl of Northumberland who was also known as ‘Hotspur’ and he was called this for his courage and his aggressive personality only made things bad for king Henry IV. At the same time, Prince Hal is involved in a life of drinking, partying, robbing and he surrounded himself with a lot questionable characters including his companion Falstaff. The king and the people surrounding prince hal are not aware of his ultimate plan to shut down the rebellion and rule the kingdom His plan was disclosed when said “My reformation, glittering o’er my fault, / Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes / Than that which hath no foil to set it off / I’ll so offend to make offense a skill, / Redeeming time when men think least I will” (Bevington 377). Falstaff who was the personal advisor and friend of Prince Hal was the first to feel that maybe the Prince is trying to leave them for a better live with his father the king. In one of the most emotional scenes in the play. Falstaff is trying to convince Hal to continue with his lifestyle and not join his father “…banish plump Jack and banish all the world” (390), but Hal did not listen to Falstaff and he finally joined his father. Prince Hal was the key factor in shutting down the rebellion and killing Hotspur. Finally, Prince Hal took over the position in society he was destined for because of his birth as the son of the King. Van Sant’s film My own private Idaho starts with the character my mike who is acting as the young Falstaff wearing a mechanic’s uniform with the name Bob on it who is acting as the old Falstaff and there for hinting the relationship between the two characters.
Mike went through a lot with scot who has similar characteristics with Prince Hal and both engaged in homosexual relationship. One of the biggest similarity comes when they introduced in the film the same robbery based prank from the play Henry IV which pranked Bob(Falstaff). The film also depicts the devious plans of Scott (Prince Hal) to leave his lifestyle on the street for a live of acceptance and authority. Another thing is the Scott does not consider having sex unless he is rewarded appropriately. This shows that Scott is a prostitute and furthermore he exemplifies the true definition of hustler. The civil war plot was change in Van Sant’s film by a personal adventure to find mike’s lost mother, and it was this failed attempt which indicates Scott’s abandonment. The following scenes highlight not on Scott’s brilliant future but instead the destruction he left behind, which is represented by death of Bob and Scott’s
father. Shakespeare’s Henry IV places big importance on not only the plot of the play but also the prosperity of Prince Hal, who takes over his inheritance, took revenge of his enemies and was certain for great live. It is unavoidable that Prince Hal will abandon his poor friends and at this point the play follows Hal instead of the people he abandoned. In the contrary, Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho does not follow the character of Scott but rather the characters that he abandoned. This change in tone is affirmed in the beginning and the end scenes of the film which both present Mike instead of Scott. The film highlights the vulnerability of Mike and turns it back on the wars that usually come with royal families with his personal journey to find Mike’s mother. It is possible that if it was not for the constraints that are imposed by society Shakespeare’s play would examine the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff in a way that is not very different from Van Sant does in My Own Private Idaho. Shakespeare’s play is restricted when it comes to the relationship between Prince Hal and Falstaff. In the play Falstaff regards himself as young men at heart but he is old in reality. In the contrary, Van Sant’s dual Falstaff characters allow the audience to experience the relationship between Scott and Mike as a young man without giving up the emotional roller-coaster that old aged Bob experienced when he was betrayed by Scott. The film also shows the audience mike’s love and dependence on Scott who abandons him at the end. The article “‘Shakespeare, He’s in the Alley’: My Own Private Idaho and Shakespeare in the Streets” by Hugh H. Davis argues that Van Sant’s film tries to take Shakespeare’s play from royalty into the streets, reveals that that “Gus Van Sant's picture is an intertextual mosaic blending the obvious Shakespeare with popular culture references ranging from songs on the soundtrack to a Simpsons episode” (120). Without any doubt My Own Private Idaho does exactly that by including pop culture remarks and by also modernizing the character of Falstaff. The film also sympathizes with the characters that are left out struggling in the wake of the exceptionally powerful hero who abandons them. Shakespeare’s Henry IV is a history play that tackles issues that are beyond history, by confronting the real hardships people face when they are transitioning to adulthood not only for the child but also particularly for their father figure. Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho film takes this ongoing exploration even further, mainly by dividing the character of Falstaff into two and modernizing him. The film also show the emotional inequality of influence between the young men whilst showing how far they are from each other in terms of maturity, which creates an easy method for modern audience to experience Shakespeare’s work. Both the play and the film explore issues that humans constantly encounter in their daily lives which makes the film reliable in re-imagining of the play.