Identity for 3/20

The role of identity in The First Part of King Henry IV is displayed in a few varying aspects. One of which that is interesting to me is the role that Prince Harry takes on in Act I Scene II. The prince plays along and assumes the role of a thief when he encounters Poins and Falstaff. Here, not only is the prince playing a trick on Falstaff with thievery, but he is also playing a trick in a sense by covering up his true identity as the heir to the throne. Though the circumstances came upon him to mask his identity, this deceit that Prince Harry decides to carry out works for him and towards his favor in terms of political machinations. By disguising himself amongst the likes of the thieves, the prince is able to remain under the political radar, so to speak, until that time at which he will reveal himself and take up his rightful place as the crown prince. It is revealed to the audience in the prince’s speech which occurs at lines 206-207 that his “reformation, glitt’ring o’er my fault,/Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes.” What this says about Hal’s assumption of disguise is that it reaches rather beyond what will suit his means now in laying low, but will also help him when he takes up the identity as a king in his own right. Therefore something so simple becomes rather diabolically clever in nature!

            While having touched upon the idea of the identity of kingship, that also reminds me of the reoccurring symbol of the sun to symbolize that office. The sun within the play comes to symbolize not only the king but also his reign. As in the legacy of kings, a king’s reign comes to be a large part of what identifies him not only as a monarch but also a man. At I.II.175-81, Prince Harry describes himself as the sun, “herein will I imitate the sun,/Who doth permit the base contagious clouds/To smother up his beauty from the world.” This speech is interesting on the part of the prince, keeping in mind a few things. To me, a very striking word in this speech is the use of the word “imitate”. That is saying that the prince is not quite yet the sun, but seeks to be in it’s likeness. This becomes more fascinating when later, the prince’s father, King Henry IV himself, identifies himself as the sun. Also, what Prince Harry is saying in these lines conveys the nature of the deception of his identity that he is carrying out – he, the sun, hiding amongst those lower in station to him, the clouds. This is an effective disguise for the prince because it’s not a level of identity that he would be supposed to have taken up. For identifying as the sun on the part of King Henry IV, that occurs at III.II.79-83. The king describes his “sunlike majesty,” which “shines seldom in admiring eyes.” Along with the “cloudy men” the king also mentions like his son does, what the king’s take on the ability to identify with the sun is less positive than the prince’s. Prince Harry sees the clouds as something to cloak himself in until he emerges and shines. King Henry IV see the clouds as blocking the light of his kingship, which has the effect of making him question his identity within that role. Where the king has reservations, it can be seen that the prince is bold. While they both identify with the sun, they do so in different phases of the effect it has.