The three major characters in Henry IV are Prince Hal, Falstaff, and King Henry. Let us consider them in that order.

Prince Hal is in his early twenties, and at best we can characterize him as fun loving, irresponsible, fairly intelligent, and independent.  He does not appear particularly rebellious, but rather humorous and at worst acting without much foresight. He is the most important character in the play because he is central to both plots, and in the course of the play we see him change and mature from a grown boy to a young and very promising man. No other characters seem to change much during the play.

If we think about his character based on sixteenth century standards, he appears more rebellious and troublesome. Shakespeare's audience would see a much greater turn around than would the modern audience.

Falstaff is a character that a surprising number of students have met in one form or another. He is a man of dreams and ambitions, but little follow through. He is a talker, a persuader, particularly of young men and sometimes women. He always has a plan, but is never very successful. Many of us have had a Falstaff in our lives, perhaps when in high school or even later in college. We may wonder, why can't my dad be like that? Fun, spontaneous, with more stories than you have time to hear.

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