I'm Not Sure Why I Liked It, But I Did

Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This (like all of Shakespeare's histories) is more interesting and entertaining than I expected it would be. Especially reading with aids--for this, I read from the No Fear Shakespeare edition--I could plow straight through and didn't have to spend a lot of time struggling with meaning. That makes it easier to enjoy, for sure. And it's got that great line about "heavy the head that wears the crown" and stuff.

Having said all that, I don't think it's an awesome story; not much actually happens, to start with, and I don't find the funny parts that funny. I understand a lot of people, including theatre-goers of the time, really like Falstaff, and find him amusing, and I sorta get it, but I don't join them. (I bet they sold this as "Falstaff Part II" back in the day.) I would have liked to see him do something good and become a better man rather than still be a jerk at the end, taking advantage of people and being a terrible soldier. But I guess this allowed Shakespeare to show that Henry was a screwup at first, like Falstaff, but pulled it together when he needed to be a leader, casting off the bad influences of his youth. That makes the story largely about his growth, and I bet you could write a pretty good 5-paragraph essay about the way Hal changes. Glad I don't hand out those essays anymore...

Anyway, kinda fun. Kinda disjointed. A bit amusing in places, but for my money not *that* funny. I liked the serious parts best, actually.

YMMV.

View all my reviews