Preview

Hotspur's Views On Honor

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
791 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hotspur's Views On Honor
Shakespeare
Second Major Essay
Goldy Locks Honor is commonly associated with people in places of high worthiness and respect, in Henry IV – Part 1 we aren’t given a set definition of what they view honor to be. Instead, honor has different meanings to different characters in the play. Shakespeare portrays his views on honor through the characters of Hotspur, Falstaff, and Hal. Since these characters have such contrasting views on honor it creates conflict for them with other individuals because they aren’t able to see eye to eye on their opposing actions. Hotspur’s view on honor is one of a solider, he believes that a win on the battlefield will win him equal honor. This take on honor is slightly barbaric; he seems to be certain that honor is something concrete in a physical sense, instead of something intangible. …show more content…
In this comparison, Hotspur is the too hot porridge, Falstaff is the too cold porridge, and lastly Hal is just right. Hal is the perfect in between of Hotspur and Falstaff. Hal understands honor to be noble behavior, not noble actions. He shows us at the beginning of the play that he’s a ruffian, but lets us in on his plan to regain the honor later. These actions of hanging out with criminals and hoodlums didn’t earn him favor with his father or with England for that matter. His plan to earn the honor later was to lower the views of him now, so that when it is time to be the hero everyone will love him even more instead of just expecting it from the get-go. His longing for honor is in moderation and he achieved honor in a suitable way. When Hal fought Hotspur it wasn’t so that he could earn honor but so he could save the thrown and his father, it was essential. Hal’s plan was effective, removing himself from his previous lifestyle just in time to be the hero his father needed him to
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Liberty Or Death And Patrick Henry
    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Similarities Between Liberty Or Death And Patrick Henry

    Patrick Henry does a great job of showing that you cannot judge if a person is good or evil by just their appearance. In Henry's, “Liberty or Death”, he does a great job of showing that our world is not how our parents make it out to be. The world we live in is filled with…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Henry Weapons Training
    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Henry Weapons Training

    The close study of Henry V and Weapons Training by Bruce Dawes has enhanced the concept of authority by portraying the idea through varying levels and perspectives. The level of authority one possesses is determined by their position in their hierarchical society. Additionally, one’s authority can ignite a sense of patriotism and unity among those under the influence of it. Also, a good leader may not necessarily equate to a good person.…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Prince And Julius Caesar Context And Form
    • 1311 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Prince And Julius Caesar Context And Form

    Shakespeare’s focus is characterisation and valuing honour and loyalty to the monarch in the context of performance…

    • 1311 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    John Ruskin's 'The Roots Of Honor'
    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    John Ruskin's 'The Roots Of Honor'

    In the excerpt “The Roots of Honor” by John Ruskin, it is expressed that purpose can change and that it is affected by the way society views that role. In a since one’s true purpose can be overshadowed and manipulated to be viewed as something completely different, making it unreliable. This meaning is revealed through figurative language in the excerpt “The Roots of Honor”. In the beginning of the passage John Ruskin discusses the role of a merchant and the image that society has created for that profession. The image created is that merchants are greedy cheats who hurt people through their selfishness. He then goes on to declare that “a true merchant differs as much from a merchant according to laws of modern political economy, as the hero of…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Roman Republic and Literary Elements
    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Roman Republic and Literary Elements

    A couple examples of honorable acts in “Julius Caesar” would be when Brutus allowed Mark Antony to speak at Caesar’s funeral, even though Antony was the enemy. Another example of honor would be when Antony stated that even though Brutus broke the law, he was still the most honorable conspirator of them all. A couple examples of honorable acts in “Antigone” would be when Antigone buried Polyneices because he deserved a proper burial, even though…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Creon's Loyalty In Antigone
    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Creon's Loyalty In Antigone

    The characters who are honored are the people who show true worth of who they are and follow what their hearts tells them, Eteocles and Antigone were honored. While the characters who are a disgrace are the people that can’t handle what's about to happen to them and don’t show loyalty to their…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Robin Hood Show Honor
    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Does Robin Hood Show Honor

    One part of the Knightly Code is to deal honorably with opponents in battle. An example of this is when Robin encountered Little John in the woods for the first time and he swapped his longbow for a stick to even out the battlefield. If Robin had kept his longbow, the fight would have been unfairly in Robin’s favor, but because Robin is honorable when he deals…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hal's Relationship to His Father vs Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry Iv
    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hal's Relationship to His Father vs Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry Iv

    Though it is the main source of his father’s disapproval, Prince Hal learns a great deal from his relationship with Falstaff, more than he does learn from his father. This relationship, and the time he spends at the taverns, served him well, not only in “glitt’ring [his reformation] o’er [his] fault … show[ing] [it] more goodly, and attract[ing] more eyes,” but also in teaching him everything that he needs to know about his future subjects. He knows how they think, what their needs are, and most importantly, how to appeal to them. Such knowledge, however, will help him avoid the mistakes committed by Richard II and his father, King Henry IV, later on. In addition, Hal acquires the trait of deceit from Falstaff, though he channels it to serve good ends. He deceives Falstaff to uncover his lies, deceives the traitors who were bribed to kill him and finally he disguises himself to converse with the soldiers during the war to know their fears and deliver a speech that lifts their spirit the next day. Up above all this, he deceives the whole nation and the adjacent countries into believing that he is a reckless young boy who is good for nothing and eventually surprises every one.…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Becket, the Movie
    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Becket, the Movie

    Aside from being dishonorable, Becket was also a man of great honor. He was a humble servant who showed reverence to his king. In the movie Becket, Thomas says to the king that “Nobility lies in the man, my prince, not in the towel.” By saying this, Becket states that being noble is a characteristic of a person as a whole, and not of that person’s social status of clarification of profession. Becket honors his job in serving the king and makes clear of it by stating that being a noble is more than just a title to him, but it defines who he is as a person.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    O.C.D
    • 1879 Words
    • 8 Pages

    O.C.D

    honour I dream not of.” (Act 1 Scene 3 L66). From this scene we can…

    • 1879 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hono Honor In America
    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hono Honor In America

    Honor in the past is very different from now. Alexander Welsh said,”In the early 17th century [...]upperclassmen in Europe and the United States regularly engaged in duels on ‘fields of honor’ to defend their manhood”(Welsh.What is Honor?). Honor in the past is incredibly contrasting to one another. In the beginning of the 17th century men would duel each other to defend their glory. Honor now is mostly about social life; do you party or stay home?, are you single or in a relationship?, etc. Honor now is based on what you have or haven’t done and if it was ‘wild’ or not.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Role Of Honor In Macbeth
    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Role Of Honor In Macbeth

    Throughout the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses diction to convey a change in not only his characters but their environments and other character’s points of view. The varying uses of honor allow Shakespeare to introduce motifs about Macbeth’s changing character throughout the play. In the start of the play, Macbeth is an innocent thane, yet by the end, he is a merciless king who becomes obsessed with his possible power. The honor represents his valiancy at first even though by the end, honor becomes worthless because Macbeth has abused it and has lost any trust from his people.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet, You Crazy
    • 1864 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hamlet, You Crazy

    The early England’s notion of honor described by Terry is promise. Men were considered honorable simply by right of birth and involved forever loyalty to one’s lord. Honor simply gave its holder dignity and status of a true honorable man, and this was categorized as the most important feature in a man. However during the Renaissance period, there was a major shift in the beliefs of honor. Terry said, “One of the most complex changes in the code of honor was a move from an external code to an internalized concept of what it is to be an honorable man.” (Terry 1071) The involvement of blood and lineage stopped coming in to play and in every situation, men behaved to please both “their state and their god.” (1071) The modern code of honor is heavily affected by religious affair and needs to satisfy god and one’s loyalty. Hamlet, the protagonist of the play is caught in an ambiguous world, the pressure between the old and the new code of honor leads him to become mad and think of…

    • 1864 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Nobility or Not to Be?
    • 1703 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Nobility or Not to Be?

    In a time of clear-cut class distinctions and social stratifications, William Shakespeare snatched up an opportunity to juxtapose the cultural norms of Elizabethan society with fictional plays on the stage of the Globe Theater. His use and demonstration of the word “noble,” throughout the play Julius Caesar, reflects the context of the word in 17th century England as well as its use and connotations in ancient Roman society. The word “noble” itself was loaded in both Elizabethan and Roman societies with multiple ideals clinging to its five letters. Questions of virtue, status, aristocracy and fame that both the characters in Julius Caesar, as well as Shakespeare’s audience at the Globe asked, connect the total meaning of this word to human nature across the boundaries of time and context. Shakespeare used the theme of nobility in Julius Caesar to interpret the relationship of commoners in the Elizabethan era and the social order, the role of the monarchy and the emphasis on virtue of his time.…

    • 1703 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hotspur Character Analysis
    • 912 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hotspur Character Analysis

    Hotspur is an proficient leader and a daring warrior, almost fit to be a prince. He is part of the Percy family of the North, which helped give Henry IV the rise to the thrown. King Henry respected Hotspur's bravery, valor, honor, and determination so much that he envied Northumberland for having such a son. At this moment in the play, King Henry's own son, Prince Hal, was going through a phase of rebellion. Hal pretends to be a vagrant by hanging out with Falstaff at the Boars Head Tavern. Even though he later transforms into a brave and valiant warrior, the King thought his son was nothing more than a dishonorable delinquent. Because Hal behaves this way, King Henry wishes a fairy would trade his own son for the son of Northumberland. Hotspur has more prince-like qualities than Prince Hal at this moment in time. Hotspur's relationship with Prince Hal has always been on a rival basis. In the play, they are relatively the same age and that means Hotspur can be a threat to future thrown that Hal wishes to inherit. Hotspur has experience in the battlefield and other characteristics that make him a worthy candidate for a prince. The king introduces the conflict that exists between the two men by describing how he would rather have Hotspur as a son.…

    • 912 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics