Hotspur's Virtue
When you think of honor, you might think of a strong and bold war hero jumping in front of his fellow soldiers, taking a hit to save them, or a brave man in a valiant fight against a dragon to save a beautiful princess. I, Sir John Falstaff, say that’s stupid. Honor is a pointless virtue; it shouldn't be sought after by anyone that is halfway intelligent. I know you must be thinking, ‘that man is a fat old drunk! He’s not intelligent!’, but if it weren’t for my understanding of the pointlessness of honor, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Honor is also a powerful virtue that can change the outcomes of men's lives. Many men stupidly strive for honor, which is a complete waste of time. Hotspur ventured for honor by fighting bravely in war. Hal
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attempted to achieve honor when he saw his father’s distaste with his actions. As a result of pursuing honor, the men around me did not live their lives to the fullest, whereas I lived an utterly magnificent one.
Hotspur was always worrying about obtaining even more honor and bringing pride to his family’s name.
In his last moments, Hotspur said,“O Harry, thou hast robbed me of my youth,”(5.4.78). Even Hotspur knows that he died too young and that it wasn’t at all necessary. He died in battle because he believed that fighting was the only way to obtain more honor. He equated honor with glory on the battlefield and thought it was important to defend his reputation and family name. Hotspur waged war on the King because he had a false sense of honor. He thought that he must protect his family’s honor. Hotspur also believed he was entitled to respect because he was born a Percy. Honestly, I was really surprised when I saw that Hotspur had not faked his own death just like I had, questioning, “Why may not he rise as well as I?” (5.4.128). If Hotspur was truly an intelligent man, he would have faked his death long before he got into that battle with Prince Hal. Since he did not, he died in an “honorable” way; he went down swinging. After his defeat, he attempted for even more honor by sneaking in a quick death speech saying, “But thoughts, the slaves of life, and life, time’s fool,”(5.4.82). When he said this, he couldn’t have been referring to anything besides the honor that caused his downfall. His thoughts of honor have been the slaves of his life, causing him to waste his time and die such a young death. Honor didn’t help Hotspur, but rather it caused him to die a tragic and early …show more content…
death.
At first Prince Hal was having a good time with us in the bars, but then he pursued honor because of his father which made him stressed and stupid.
Prince Hal became stressed about becoming a son that his father could be proud of, so he took after Hotspur, and tried to achieve honor through fighting as well. When he was speaking to his father, he spoke of Hotspur very highly when he said, “I do not think a braver gentleman, / More active-valiant, or more valiant-young, / More daring or more bold, is now alive,”(5.1.90-92). The tone that he took when referring to his supposed enemy was full of pure lust. Hal knew that Hotspur, although the enemy, had the exact drive that his father wanted him to have as the prince, so Hal took Hotspur’s hunger for honor and strived for it as well. Not only did Hal want to be as honorable as Hotspur in order to make his father proud, but he also wanted to kill Hotspur, to in some twisted way make Hotspur’s honor his own. I was lurking just outside, in hopes to not face any battle, before Hal and Hotspur faced off in their fight. Just before entering I heard Hal say to Hotspur, “To share with me in glory any more. / Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere,”(5.4.65). Hal was referring to the two stars as him and Hotspur, declaring that they couldn’t keep sharing their glory. This meant that either must’ve died at the hand of the other, for neither could live while the other survived. Hotspur was too hungry for honor, but Hal wanted that
of Hotspur’s to be his own. Hal believes that the way to honor, and to be like Hotspur, is through courageous acts; he believes his dishonor will wash away with the bloodshed of battle. This strive for honor made Hal turn into something he is not. Hal was not like Hotspur, who is obsessed with bringing glory to his family by killing, but turns that way because he seeked honor in the eyes of his father. Not only did he become personally obsessed with his newly found honor, but he tried to push it onto me before we went into battle as well, when he said, “Why, thou owest God a death,”(5.1.127). Usually, I would perceive Hal as joking with me, but in this serious moment before we went off into battle I believed that he was trying to get me to think about honor, and dying an honorable death through battle. Hal used to be my best friend; a fun guy, who would drink with me and joke around in the bars. Now he is different. Since Hal sought out honor, it has changed him into a completely different person. I am smart because I understand that honor is nothing. I am alive, not because I am a coward, but because I am not in any way consumed with the thought of striving for honor. What is honor anyways? Meaningless. “Can honor set to a / leg? No. Or an arm? No,” (5.1.132-133) it cannot heal people. “What is honor? A word. What is in that word / “honor”? . . . Air. A trim reckoning,”(5.1.135-136). Honor cannot do anything, it is just air, an idea, a mist of something somebody invented to feel good about the blood they have shed. “Who hath it? He that died o’ Wednesday. Doth / he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No,”(5.1.137-138) because nobody can feel anything when they lay dead in the dirt. Honor is nothing and that is it! Honor cannot heal, and dead people cannot feel it, because it isn’t anything. It’s air! I was the smartest person in that battle, because of my knowledge of honor. I never really had to risk my head in fighting, because I didn’t did much fighting in the first place, and when I did I faked my death. Without wanting honor, I was able to save myself. I am not so consumed with striving for honor that I must shed blood in order to make myself and the people around me proud. That wastes time, and look what I did with all of my free time. Was I focused on honor? No, I was living in paradise. I joked around with my buddies, ate lots of good food, drank tons of wine, and slept with dozens of women. I am alive and I am living my life to its fullest. I am alive while Hotspur is dead and I am having a blast, while Hal is concerned about what his father thinks of him, trying to impress people by risking his neck off in war. Many men stupidly strive for honor which is an utter waste of time. Hotspur ventures for honor by fighting bravely in war. Hal attempts to achieve honor when he sees his father’s distaste with his actions. But, honor means nothing. Hotspur died for nothing. Hal wasted his efforts to achieve nothing. Honor has affected these men and caused them to lead less than ideal lives. The reason why I did not die an early death, and why I am living a wonderful life is because of my understanding of the dangers of honor. Honor is a pointless virtue that isn’t desired by smart people such as myself.
attempted to achieve honor when he saw his father’s distaste with his actions. As a result of pursuing honor, the men around me did not live their lives to the fullest, whereas I lived an utterly magnificent one.
Hotspur was always worrying about obtaining even more honor and bringing pride to his family’s name.
In his last moments, Hotspur said,“O Harry, thou hast robbed me of my youth,”(5.4.78). Even Hotspur knows that he died too young and that it wasn’t at all necessary. He died in battle because he believed that fighting was the only way to obtain more honor. He equated honor with glory on the battlefield and thought it was important to defend his reputation and family name. Hotspur waged war on the King because he had a false sense of honor. He thought that he must protect his family’s honor. Hotspur also believed he was entitled to respect because he was born a Percy. Honestly, I was really surprised when I saw that Hotspur had not faked his own death just like I had, questioning, “Why may not he rise as well as I?” (5.4.128). If Hotspur was truly an intelligent man, he would have faked his death long before he got into that battle with Prince Hal. Since he did not, he died in an “honorable” way; he went down swinging. After his defeat, he attempted for even more honor by sneaking in a quick death speech saying, “But thoughts, the slaves of life, and life, time’s fool,”(5.4.82). When he said this, he couldn’t have been referring to anything besides the honor that caused his downfall. His thoughts of honor have been the slaves of his life, causing him to waste his time and die such a young death. Honor didn’t help Hotspur, but rather it caused him to die a tragic and early …show more content…
death.
At first Prince Hal was having a good time with us in the bars, but then he pursued honor because of his father which made him stressed and stupid.
Prince Hal became stressed about becoming a son that his father could be proud of, so he took after Hotspur, and tried to achieve honor through fighting as well. When he was speaking to his father, he spoke of Hotspur very highly when he said, “I do not think a braver gentleman, / More active-valiant, or more valiant-young, / More daring or more bold, is now alive,”(5.1.90-92). The tone that he took when referring to his supposed enemy was full of pure lust. Hal knew that Hotspur, although the enemy, had the exact drive that his father wanted him to have as the prince, so Hal took Hotspur’s hunger for honor and strived for it as well. Not only did Hal want to be as honorable as Hotspur in order to make his father proud, but he also wanted to kill Hotspur, to in some twisted way make Hotspur’s honor his own. I was lurking just outside, in hopes to not face any battle, before Hal and Hotspur faced off in their fight. Just before entering I heard Hal say to Hotspur, “To share with me in glory any more. / Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere,”(5.4.65). Hal was referring to the two stars as him and Hotspur, declaring that they couldn’t keep sharing their glory. This meant that either must’ve died at the hand of the other, for neither could live while the other survived. Hotspur was too hungry for honor, but Hal wanted that
of Hotspur’s to be his own. Hal believes that the way to honor, and to be like Hotspur, is through courageous acts; he believes his dishonor will wash away with the bloodshed of battle. This strive for honor made Hal turn into something he is not. Hal was not like Hotspur, who is obsessed with bringing glory to his family by killing, but turns that way because he seeked honor in the eyes of his father. Not only did he become personally obsessed with his newly found honor, but he tried to push it onto me before we went into battle as well, when he said, “Why, thou owest God a death,”(5.1.127). Usually, I would perceive Hal as joking with me, but in this serious moment before we went off into battle I believed that he was trying to get me to think about honor, and dying an honorable death through battle. Hal used to be my best friend; a fun guy, who would drink with me and joke around in the bars. Now he is different. Since Hal sought out honor, it has changed him into a completely different person. I am smart because I understand that honor is nothing. I am alive, not because I am a coward, but because I am not in any way consumed with the thought of striving for honor. What is honor anyways? Meaningless. “Can honor set to a / leg? No. Or an arm? No,” (5.1.132-133) it cannot heal people. “What is honor? A word. What is in that word / “honor”? . . . Air. A trim reckoning,”(5.1.135-136). Honor cannot do anything, it is just air, an idea, a mist of something somebody invented to feel good about the blood they have shed. “Who hath it? He that died o’ Wednesday. Doth / he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No,”(5.1.137-138) because nobody can feel anything when they lay dead in the dirt. Honor is nothing and that is it! Honor cannot heal, and dead people cannot feel it, because it isn’t anything. It’s air! I was the smartest person in that battle, because of my knowledge of honor. I never really had to risk my head in fighting, because I didn’t did much fighting in the first place, and when I did I faked my death. Without wanting honor, I was able to save myself. I am not so consumed with striving for honor that I must shed blood in order to make myself and the people around me proud. That wastes time, and look what I did with all of my free time. Was I focused on honor? No, I was living in paradise. I joked around with my buddies, ate lots of good food, drank tons of wine, and slept with dozens of women. I am alive and I am living my life to its fullest. I am alive while Hotspur is dead and I am having a blast, while Hal is concerned about what his father thinks of him, trying to impress people by risking his neck off in war. Many men stupidly strive for honor which is an utter waste of time. Hotspur ventures for honor by fighting bravely in war. Hal attempts to achieve honor when he sees his father’s distaste with his actions. But, honor means nothing. Hotspur died for nothing. Hal wasted his efforts to achieve nothing. Honor has affected these men and caused them to lead less than ideal lives. The reason why I did not die an early death, and why I am living a wonderful life is because of my understanding of the dangers of honor. Honor is a pointless virtue that isn’t desired by smart people such as myself.