Henry IV, Part Two

The play picks up where Henry IV, Part One left off. Its focus is on Prince Hal’s path toward kingship & his ultimate rejection of Falstaff. Unlike Part One, Hal & Falstaff’s stories are virtually separate. The two meet only briefly. The play’s tone is elegiac, focusing on Falstaff’s age & nearness to death.
Still drinking & engaging in petty criminality in London’s underworld, Falstaff has a relationship with Doll Tearsheet, a prostitute. With news of a 2nd rebellion, he rejoins the army & goes to the country to recruit. He encounters Mouldy, Bullcalf, Feeble, Shadow & Wart, rustic yokels who are to be conscripted into the loyalists, with two of whom, Mouldy & Bullcalf, bribing their way out. He also meets an old school-chum, Master Shallow. They reminisce about their youthful follies.
In the other storyline, Hal remains acquainted with London lowlife, seemingly unsuited to kingship. His father, King Henry IV, has apparently forgotten their reconciliation in Part One, & is disappointed in the young prince. Another rebellion is launched against Henry IV. This time it’s defeated, not by battle, but by duplicitous political machinations of Hal’s brother, Prince John. King Henry sickens, appearing to die. Seeing this, Hal believes he’s King & exits with the crown. The king, awakening, is devastated, thinking Hal cares only about power. Hal convinces him otherwise. He dies contentedly.
The two storylines meet in a final scene. Having learned Hal is now King, Falstaff goes to London expectating great rewards. Hal rejects him, saying he’s changed & can no longer associate with such people. The London lowlifes, expecting a ‘paradise of thieves’ under his governance, are instead purged & imprisoned by the authorities.
At the end of the play, an epilogue thanks the audience, promising the story will continue in a forthcoming play “with Sir John in it”. In fact, the subsequent play, Henry V, doesn’t feature Falstaff except for a brief mention of his death.