Henry IV, Part 1 Famous Quotes

The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.

Falstaff in Act 5, Scene 4, having played dead to avoid being killed by Douglas — his reinterpretation of cowardice as strategic wisdom is the most shameless rationalisation in the play and also, from a survival standpoint, correct.

What is honour? a word. What is in that word honour? what is that honour? air.

Falstaff's catechism on honour in Act 5, Scene 1, before the Battle of Shrewsbury — he works through the logic of honour as a social fiction, concludes it cannot set a broken leg, and decides he wants none of it. Hotspur would disagree fatally.

Honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on?

Falstaff starting his honour speech in Act 5, Scene 1 — 'prick' means both 'spur on' and 'mark off a list', so the opening question asks whether honour drives him forward and also whether it marks him for death.

Banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.

Falstaff in the Boar's Head Tavern in Act 2, Scene 4, during the play-acting scene where Hal pretends to be his father — Falstaff plays himself, begging not to be banished. Hal's reply ('I do, I will') is a warning Falstaff chooses not to hear.

Give you a reason on compulsion! If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion.

Falstaff in Act 2, Scene 4, refusing to explain why he ran away at Gadshill — the blackberry comparison elevates evasion into a principle. He is not hiding the truth; he is asserting that compulsion cannot demand it.

Falstaff sweats to death, And lards the lean earth as he walks along.

Hal mocking Falstaff in Act 2, Scene 2 before the robbery — 'lards' means drips fat, and 'lards the lean earth' is both a physical description and a joke about Falstaff's excess compared to the world's want.

Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!

Falstaff in Act 5, Scene 4, having stabbed the already-dead Hotspur and claimed the kill — the complaint about a world given to lying comes from the man who has just committed the lie. His confidence that the audience will enjoy this is justified.

I would 'twere bed-time, Hal, and all well.

Falstaff to Hal in Act 5, Scene 1, on the morning of the battle — the line is tired rather than witty, and it is the most honest thing he says in the play. He would rather not be there.

What doth gravity out of his bed at midnight?

Falstaff in the Boar's Head Tavern in Act 2, Scene 4, on the arrival of a sober messenger — his question treats seriousness as a social intrusion, something that belongs in bed and should not be up disturbing the revellers.

A plague of all cowards, I say, and a vengeance too!

Falstaff arriving furious at the Boar's Head in Act 2, Scene 4 after the Gadshill robbery is foiled — his outrage at cowardice, delivered by the man who ran from the robbery, is entirely earnest. He means other cowards.

If all the year were playing holidays, To sport would be as tedious as to work.

Hal alone in Act 1, Scene 2, explaining his strategy — he has been pretending to enjoy tavern life and intends the contrast of his eventual reform to be all the more spectacular. The holiday metaphor is his calculation in miniature.

O gentlemen, the time of life is short! To spend that shortness basely were too long.

Hotspur rallying his forces in Act 5, Scene 2, before Shrewsbury — the logical structure (life is short, therefore spend it well) is completely sound, and the conclusion he reaches (charge the king's forces) may or may not qualify as 'not basely'.

The skipping king, he ambled up and down With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits.

Henry IV to Prince Hal in Act 3, Scene 2, describing Richard II's downfall — 'bavin' is cheap brushwood that burns fast and hot. Henry built his own reputation by being sparing with appearances; Hal has been doing the opposite.

Instinct is a great matter; I was now a coward on instinct.

Falstaff in Act 2, Scene 4, explaining why he ran at Gadshill — he was not afraid, he is saying; it was instinct. The argument makes cowardice sound like a natural faculty rather than a moral failure.

This sickness doth infect The very life-blood of our enterprise.

Hotspur in Act 4, Scene 1, reacting to news that Northumberland is ill and cannot join the battle — the medical metaphor describes political crisis accurately: the whole rebellion is sick because one part failed.