Searching for Honor in Henry Iv

The concept of award holds a special vex in our hearts and minds. During the middle ages, the very society was built upon it. Duels, and point wars, could be started because of an attack on watch over. However, by the time that William Shakespeare began to write, that antediluvian system of mention no longer held the special place that it once had. Some shut away respected the old customs, only if more began to cast doubts on traditional note; duels were banned, valour began to decay, and the idea of fairness gave way to the desperate race for advantages that we still se in our society today. This was, of course, reflected in a newly stratified English society in which knights still followed a strict code, but a different kind of honor began to develop, one where anyone can be honor adequate regardless of class, and honor is tailored to circumstances. And of course, this is brought to the opposite extreme as well: a complete loss of faith in the concept of honor and the adoption of a certain amorality. All of these different viewpoints began to interact, and in short enough people were determined to decide for themselves just now what honor is. In his play King Henry IV touch off I, Shakespeare explores three different interpretations of honor, and ultimately asserts the importance of a possible honor.




Hotspur is Shakespeares depiction of the most extreme interpretation of honor, and it is shown to be crippling. In the first scene that we meet Hotspur, one sees exactly how intense his honor is. He is incensed that the king has refused to ransom money his cousin Mortimer, and believes that Henry IV is actively antagonizing him, which leads Hotspur to feel as though he had insulted the honor of the Percy family. He describes the importance of honor and declares that … it were an easy leap / To pluck bright honor from the pale-faced moon, (1.3.206-207) as though he really would be willing and able to do such a thing. Hotspur is more than ready to do the impossible in the pursuit of...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper