You want tragedy? Hotspur's pride and devotion to his cause back him into a corner there's no escape from. HENRY IV, PART 1 has every genre you can ask for. Hal purposefully cultivates his terrible reputation, to make his eventual "reform" that much more meaningful, but Hotspur’s rebellion forces Hal into growing up sooner than he’d anticipated. It’s the story of three Henrys: King Henry IV faces a rebellion led by heroic Henry “Hotspur” Percy, while his oldest son Prince Henry, called Hal, spends his days in taverns avoiding his responsibilities and committing various (hilarious) petty crimes with his best friend, the roguish old mischief-maker Sir John Falstaff. Don’t be put off by the title-it's really more about the future Henry V, and despite the “Part One,” this gem of a play stands alone. If you only read one Shakespeare play in your life, read HENRY IV, PART 1.
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