PERSONS REPRESENTED. King HENRY the Fourth: HENRY, Pirnce of Wales, afterwards THOMAS, Duke of Clarence ; Prince JOHN of Lancaster, afterwards his sons. Earl of WESTMORELAND; of the king's party. Lord Chief Justice of the king's bench. A Gentleman attending on the chief justice. SCROOP, Archbishop of York ; Lord Mow BRAY; Lord HASTINGS ; enemies to the king. TRAVERS and MORTON, domestics of Northumber land. FALSTAFF, BARDOLPH, PISTOL, and Page. DAVY, servant to Shallow. MOULDY, SHADOW, WART, FEEBLE, and BULLCALF, recruits. FANG and SNARE, sheriff's officers. A Dancer, speaker of the Epilogue. Lady NORTHUMBERLAND. Lady PERCY. Lords and other Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, Messenger, Drawers, Beadles, Grooms, &c. SCENE-England. OBSERVATIONS. THE transactions comprized in this history take up about nine years. The action commences with the account of Hotspur's being defeated and killed [1403]: and closes with the death of king Henry IV. and the coronation of king Henry V. [1412-13.] THEOBALD. Mr. Upton thinks these two plays improperly called The First and Second Parts of Henry the Fourth. The first play ends, he says, with the peaceful settlement of Henry in the kingdom by the defeat of the rebels. This is hardly true; for the rebels are not yet finally suppressed. The second, he tells us, shows Henry the Fifth in the various lights of a goodnatured rake, till, on his father's death, he assumes a more manly character. This is true; but this representation gives us no idea of a dramatic action. These two plays will appear to every reader, who shall peruse them without ambition of critical discoveries, to be so connected, that the second is merely a sequel to the first; to be two only because they are too long to be one. JOHNSON. Warkworth. Before Northumberland's Castle. Enter RUMOUR, painted full of tongues. Rumour. OPEN your ears; For which of you will stop The vent of hearing, when loud Rumour speaks? Upon my tongues continual slanders ride; Make fearful musters, and prepar'd defence; That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, Among my houshold? Why is Rumour here? Who, in a bloody field by Shrewsbury, Hath beaten down young Hotspur, and his troops, Even with the rebels' blood. But what mean I Than they have learn'd of me; From Rumour's tongues wrongs. [Exit. |