Forgiveness In Henry IV, Part One

Interestingly enough, the subject of forgiveness in Henry IV, Part One does not truly appear until the closing act of the play. Forgiveness is addressed in an intriguing way in Act 5 of Henry IV, Part One. In scene 1, the king explains to Vernon and Worcester that if they end the rebellion, he would be willing to look the other way and "forgive" their treasonous actions. This seems to be a generous offer from a king who cares only for himself, and later in the final scene of the play, the king orders Vernon and Worcester to be executed for helping to lead the rebellion. This is ironic because King Henry won the battle, yet he is still killing his enemies--the people who he told he would forgive them. As a foil to the king's actions, Prince Hal actually releases Douglas in the same scene because even though he was against the crown, Douglas fought valiantly and with honor and integrity. It seems the prince was able to forgive his enemy in order to rise above his father, proving that he will be a better, more competent ruler of the kingdom than his father was. In this way, Hal is almost taking on the "leader as father" role, forgiving one of his subjects--his "child"--to better the cause of the nation.