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By being seldom seen, I could not stir
But like a comet I was wondered at,
That men would tell their children “This is he.”
Others would say “Where? Which is Bolingbroke?”
And then I stole all courtesy from heaven,
And dressed myself in such humility
That I did pluck allegiance from men’s hearts,
Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths,
Even in the presence of the crownèd king.
Thus did I keep my person fresh and new,
My presence, like a robe pontifical,
Ne’er seen but wondered at, and so my state,
Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast
And won by rareness such solemnity.
(Act 3, scene 2, lines 48–61)
King Henry speaks these lines at the play’s turning point, in the scene where he confronts Prince Harry for his dishonorable conduct. During this confrontation, Henry reflects aloud on what makes a legitimate king. Specifically, he reflects on what makes him more suitable for the throne than Richard II, whom he deposed. To Henry’s mind, Richard spent too much of his time carousing with the common rabble, which undermined his legitimacy. A king is meant to stand above, and not among, his subjects. By contrast, Henry took a very different approach to managing his reputation at court. As he describes here, he kept himself scarce, only showing his face occasionally. By making himself into a mystery, he stirred up intrigue. Furthermore, the rarity of his presence, matched with the humility of his conduct, gave him a veneer of “solemnity” that the court considered appropriate for a king.
Yet Henry’s argument for his legitimacy doesn’t demonstrate his true honor so much as it reveals his ability to play the role of a king. Note how, in this passage, Henry often draws on theatrical metaphors to describe his conduct. He didn’t actually feel humble, even though he “dressed [himself] in . . . humility.” Likewise, he describes his presence as being “like a robe pontifical,” which suggests a merely visual impression of kingly gravitas. In other words, Henry’s claim to legitimacy rests on little more than his capacity as an actor. Significantly, Prince Harry follows in his father’s footsteps as a master of political theater. As he explained at the end of act 1, scene 2, his dishonorable and misspent youth has all been for show. Far from being a true degenerate, he has merely been biding his time until the right moment arises, when he can miraculously transform himself into an honorable prince. The plan for his self-redemption is a work of political theater par excellence, and it stands at the very heart of the current play, Henry IV, Part 1.
