Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary
devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Doubles
1 Henry IV explores
many different sides of a few major themes. Its primary technique
for this multifaceted exploration is one of simple contrast. The
differences between Harry and Hotspur make a statement on different
perceptions of honor, just as the differences between the Boar’s
Head Tavern and the royal palace make a statement on the breadth
of England’s class differences. In utilizing contrast as a major
thematic device, the play creates a motif of doubles, in which characters,
actions, and scenes are often repeated in varied form throughout
the play. For instance, Falstaff and the king act as doubles in
that both are father figures for Harry. Harry and Hotspur act as
doubles in that both are potential successors to Henry IV. Falstaff’s
comical robbery in Act II, scene ii serves as a kind of lower-class
double to the nobles’ Battle of Shrewsbury, exploring the consequences
of rebellion against the law.
British Cultures
As befits the play’s general multiplicity of ideas, Shakespeare
is preoccupied throughout much of 1 Henry
IV with the contrasts and relationships of the different
cultures native to the British Isles and united under the rule of
the king. Accents, folk traditions, and geographies are discussed
and analyzed, particularly through the use of Welsh characters such
as Glyndwr and Scottish characters
such as the Douglas. Shakespeare also rehearses the various stereotypes
surrounding each character type, portraying Glyndwr
as an ominous magician and the Douglas as a hotheaded warrior.
Magic
A strong current of magic runs throughout the play, which
is primarily a result of the inclusion of the wizardly Glyndwr.
Magic has very little to do with the plot, but it is discussed by
different characters with uncommon frequency throughout the play.
As with the subject of honor, a character’s opinion about the existence
of magic tends to say more about the character than it does about
the subject itself. The pragmatic and overconfident Hotspur, for
instance, expresses contempt for belief in the black arts, repeatedly
mocking Glyndwr for claiming
to have magical powers. The sensuous and narcissistic Glyndwr,
by contrast, seems to give full credence to the idea of magic and
to the idea that he is a magician—credence that says more about
Glyndwr’s own propensity for
self-aggrandizement than about the reality of magic itself.
