“How to Read and Understand Shakespeare” S:1 E:10 Politics as Theater in Henry IV

S:1 E:10 Politics as Theater in Henry IV Here, the dynamic of appearance versus reality illuminates the making of a king. In the dual world of the Court and the Tavern, witness Shakespeare’s use of theatrical role-playing to reveal Prince Hal and Falstaff to themselves, and grasp how Hal’s journey to kingship takes on the nature of a calculated “performance.”