The Importance Of Setting In Henry The Iv Part 1

Without a setting, characters would just be conversing because there would be no backdrop or external connection. The setting establishes the time and the mood for a scene. It establishes the tone and the actions of the characters. The descriptive details that come along with a setting allows a reader to visualize the scene. Additionally, it establishes the appropriateness of the actions that the characters can perform. In William Shakespeare’s Henry the IV part 1, the palace, the tavern, and the battlefield are among the important settings in the play. Shakespeare constantly changes the setting to differentiate between the themes of leisure, order and honor.
The theme of leisure is present in all of the scenes that take place at the tavern in Eastcheap. The tavern is the place to

Additionally, it a lively, happy place filled with good-times, “humor” (1.2.74) and companionship. It is filled with commoners because it is considered the local “hang out” with laughter throughout and the “time of day” (1.2.1) unknown. Latest gossip and stories are shared at the tavern. This is where Hal can relax, have “loose behavior” (1.2.215) and forget his role as the “sweet/ young prince” (1.2.85-86). He can assume the role as a common man. Hal and his friend, Poins, laugh and play practical jokes, especially on Falstaff and one of the waiters, “‘Francis.’” (2.4.32) He teases Falstaff for being “fat-witted” (21.2.2) and lazy. It is the place where the youthfulness is alive in Hal and where he acts like a young adult. He is a young prince that just wants to enjoy his life and learn the “language” (2.4.19) of the locals. He may be forgetting his role as a prince, but he is laying the foundational work for when he becomes king. Hal is