Seven Ages

History · c. 1597

Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1

The play where the histories become great literature.

Track this play
By the Seven Ages editors2 min read · Contains affiliate links

Bolingbroke, now Henry IV, holds an uneasy crown; his son Hal slums it in Eastcheap taverns with the fat knight Falstaff while the brilliant, hot-tempered Hotspur raises rebellion in the north.

Shakespeare braids court, tavern, and battlefield into a single story about what a king is actually made of. Falstaff — vast, witty, shameless, and somehow the most alive character in the language — is reason enough. That his scenes coexist with Hotspur’s and never feel like a different play is the miracle.

Which edition?

Typeset series plate: Arden Shakespeare, Third Series — Henry IV, Part 1. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the book's cover.ARDEN SHAKESPEARE,THIRD SERIESHenry IV,Part 1

1Arden Shakespeare, Third Series

Ed. David Scott Kastan · Bloomsbury

Kastan is excellent on Falstaff, and on the politics Falstaff keeps interrupting.

Amazon
Typeset series plate: Oxford World’s Classics — Henry IV, Part 1. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the book's cover.OXFORD WORLD’SCLASSICSHenry IV,Part 1

2Oxford World’s Classics

Ed. David Bevington · Oxford University Press

Bevington is the most companionable of the great editors, and it shows here.

Amazon
Typeset series plate: The New Cambridge Shakespeare — Henry IV, Part 1. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the book's cover.THE NEW CAMBRIDGESHAKESPEAREHenry IV,Part 1

3The New Cambridge Shakespeare

Ed. Herbert Weil & Judith Weil · Cambridge University Press

The Weils are sharp on Hal, and refuse to make him likeable too early.

Amazon
Typeset series plate: Folger Shakespeare Library — Henry IV, Part 1. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the book's cover.FOLGER SHAKESPEARELIBRARYHenry IV,Part 1

4Folger Shakespeare LibraryFirst read? Start here

Ed. Barbara Mowat & Paul Werstine · Simon & Schuster

The best entry point in the histories — and the funniest.

Amazon

Henry IV, Part 1 on stage

Henry IV, Part 1 on screen

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation Chimes at Midnight (1965), directed by Orson Welles. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.1965Chimes atMidnightORSON WELLES

1Chimes at Midnight (1965)

Film · dir. Orson Welles · inspired by Henry IV, Part 1

Typeset plate for the screen adaptation The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part 1 (2012), directed by Richard Eyre. A designed placeholder, not a picture of the poster.2012The HollowCrown: HenryIV, Part 1RICHARD EYRE

2The Hollow Crown: Henry IV, Part 1 (2012)

TV film · dir. Richard Eyre

Seven Ages recommends editions on their merits and takes no payment for placement. As an Amazon Associate, Seven Ages earns from qualifying purchases.

Reading Henry IV, Part 1 this year?

Mark it in your record when you finish — one seat, kept for decades.

Track Henry IV, Part 1