Henry IV Part 1 Resources

Biographical information about the historical King Henry's life and reign.

Want to know more about the historical Prince Hal? Check out this website.

An interesting BBC History article on the Man and the Myth.

Awesome tool for all students to look up words in any of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

Read Henry IV Part 1 online. Warning: There aren't any footnotes but this is good in a pinch.

The English Shakespeare Company's production is the go-to version of Henry IV Part 1 for teachers and everyday fans of Big Willy Shakespeare. It's available from most libraries on DVD and VHS. You can also watch the whole thing on YouTube (see below for link).

Also known as Falstaff, Chimes at Midnight (a.k.a. Campanadas a Medianoche ) is Orson Welles's film adaptation of the Henry plays. A very cool film, but don't depend on this if you're preparing for a quiz on the play text. (Welles conflates Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, Richard II, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Holinshed's Chronicles to paint a portrait of a "tragic" Falstaff.)

Gus Van Sant's homage to Shakespeare and Orson Welles. Keanu Reeves plays "Scott" (a Prince Hal figure) who spend his time with his BFF, "Mike" (played by River Phoenix), a gay street kid, prostitute, and narcoleptic. (We couldn't even begin to make that up.)

You can find the BBC's made for television productions of parts 1 and 2 in most libraries. The flashbacks to events from Richard II offer useful bits of background, especially for those who haven't read Richard II. Truth be told, the tavern scenes are a little depressing. If you're looking for more fun, check out the Royal Shakespeare Company's production.

For a better understanding of how Shakespeare's Elizabethan audience might have approached the play's representation of rebellion, check out this authorized (by the monarch) sermon, which was read in churches on a regular basis during Queen Elizabeth's reign. Rebellion, according to the Elizabethan worldview, was a "great a sin against God."

One of Shakespeare's main sources for Henry IV Part 1 is Volume III of Holinshed's Chronicles (1587). You can check out Project Gutenberg's e-text of the 1808 edition online.

Another source for Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V is the pre-1588 play The Famous Victories of Henry V, which chronicles Hal's life during his father's reign and his own. Scenes 1-7 correspond to the action in Henry IV Part 1. Check it out here.

This totally awesome battle scene from The Chimes at Midnight is said to have influenced Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart.

Check out Act 2, Scene Four (from Michael Bogdanov's 1990 production) on YouTube.

Watch the full 1990 movie on YouTube.

Totally useful map with locations of major events in the Henry plays. We suggest you print this sucker out and keep it with your copy of Henry IV Part 1.

Super nifty map that shows how the rebels plan to divide the kingdom into three parts.

Pictorial account of the battle at Shrewsbury.