Between Family And Duty: Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, As A Reflection Of The Medieval English Dynasty Disputes

Abstract

English history has long been shaped by its royal dynasties and families whose lives have always been a topic of interest for historians, literary critics, and more. Their lives today are the main point of interest in magazines, but history records their decision, family relationships, and disputes as important as the politics of that nation and country. Shakespeare was a favourite writer of Queen Elizabeth I, and his history plays were also popular in his time. He depicted the struggles of the houses of the dynasties: Tudors, Plantagenets, and Stuarts. His play Henry IV, Part 1, stages the problems, conflicts, and tensions between royal families, houses, and political responsibility within the framework of medieval English sovereignty. The tense, dramatic narrative that unfolds in King Henry IV’s relationship with his son, Prince Hal, and the challenge to royal authority posed by the Percy Rebellion, interrogates questions of legitimacy and rule, the burdens monarchs carry, as well as the personal costs to their pursuit of empire. It argues that by situating King Henry VI within the historical context of the War of the Roses and the ensuing turmoil following King Henry VI’s deposition, Shakespeare imbues family squabbles with broader aspects of succession, legitimacy, and the struggle to maintain power. The article suggests that the play is not only a study of individual character but also a literary criticism of dynastic rivalry that agitated Tudor England.