Henry IV, Part II · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Henry IV, Part II by William Shakespeare.
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Sir John Falstaff
major
Also known as Falstaff, Jack Falstaff, Sir John, John Falstaff, sweet Jack
Falstaff is Prince Hal's disreputable companion, a knight who treats honor as a word and taverns as a kingdom. His genius for self-preservation collides with the demands of war and his growing need for the prince's favor, which he pursues through outrageous lies and charm. In the play's middle movement, his comic capture of Colevile and his running battle with the Lord Chief Justice expose the gap between the world he inhabits and the one Hal must eventually rule.
Prince Harry
major
Also known as Prince Henry, Hal, Prince, Harry
Prince Harry moves between Westminster and Eastcheap, keeping Falstaff as a familiar while reading his letters with the ironic distance of a man already rehearsing kingship. He knows his tavern companions are a disguise, yet he cannot fully abandon the ease and wit they offer him. His decision to spy on Falstaff in disguise at supper shows a prince who must see the truth of his own world before he can leave it behind.
King Henry IV
major
Also known as King Harry, Harry the Fifth, King Henry the Fifth, King
King Henry IV rules a kingdom still bleeding from the rebellion at Shrewsbury, where Hotspur fell and the Percy family's fury did not. His health is failing, and his anxieties about Prince Hal's wildness are sharpened by the knowledge that his own claim to the throne was never secure. His death in the play's final movement forces the realm to confront what succession means when the heir has been keeping company with a fat knight.
Lord Chief Justice
supporting
Also known as Chief Justice, the Lord Chief Justice
The Lord Chief Justice embodies the rule of law in a play full of men who break it, and he has the courage to rebuke Falstaff to his face. When King Henry IV dies, he stands in the coldest expectation, knowing that the young king he once imprisoned may now be his judge. His refusal to beg for mercy and his insistence that he acted in honor make him the play's clearest test of whether justice can survive a change of reign.
Prince John of Lancaster
supporting
Also known as young Prince John, young Lancaster, Lancaster, Lord John of Lancaster
Prince John of Lancaster leads the royal army against the Archbishop's rebellion with a composure that unnerves even his allies. He negotiates peace terms with the rebels and then arrests them for treason the moment their soldiers disperse, a maneuver that reveals how little he shares his brother Hal's taste for taverns or mercy. His calculating victory at Gaultree establishes him as a foil to Hal: where the prince of Wales is learning to be human, Lancaster is learning to be ruthless.
Earl of Northumberland
supporting
Also known as Northumberland, old Northumberland, My Lord Northumberland, Lady Northumberland
Northumberland is the father of Hotspur, the fiery rebel killed at Shrewsbury, and his grief has made him cautious where once he was bold. He listens to conflicting reports about the battle, refusing to believe his son is dead until Morton forces the truth upon him, and then he must decide whether to join the new rebellion or protect what remains of his family. His hesitation and his wife's pleas expose the human cost of the Percy family's long war against the crown.
Archbishop of York
supporting
Also known as Archbishop, the Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York commands the rebel coalition, lending it the moral weight of the church and the eloquence of a scholar. He insists he takes up arms not as an enemy of peace but as a physician to a diseased commonwealth, weighing grievances against offenses in an even balance. His authority holds the rebellion together, yet he depends on allies whose resolve may prove thinner than his own.
Lord Mowbray
supporting
Also known as Mowbray, Thomas Mowbray, my good Lord Mowbray
Lord Mowbray stands among the rebel leadership, eager to face the royal army in open field rather than wait for fortune to shift. When word comes that Northumberland has withdrawn to Scotland, Mowbray's blunt verdict—that their hopes dash themselves to pieces—exposes the fragility beneath the coalition's bravado. His readiness for battle contrasts sharply with the political rot eating at the rebellion from within.
Lord Hastings
supporting
Also known as Hastings, good Lord Hastings, the Lords Hastings
Lord Hastings serves as the rebellion's strategist, coolly assessing that the king's divided strength and hollow treasury make him vulnerable. He dismisses fears of a full royal assault, noting that French and Welsh threats pin the king's forces at his back. His clear-eyed pragmatism gives the rebels momentum, though his confidence rests on allies who may not hold.
Bardolph
supporting
Also known as Lord Bardolph, Corporal Bardolph, honest Bardolph, Bardolph
Bardolph moves through the tavern world as Falstaff's errand-runner and drinking companion, his flaming nose a running joke among the crew. When Pistol brings word of the old king's death, Bardolph's delight—he would not trade his fortune for a knighthood—captures the giddy opportunism of Falstaff's circle. His fate shadows the play's darker turn, as the merry days of Eastcheap meet a new king's cold justice.
Ancient Pistol
supporting
Also known as Pistol, Pistol Sir John, Ancient Pistol
Ancient Pistol struts through Falstaff's orbit, spouting mangled classical tags and proclaiming himself a warrior of epic stature. He brings Falstaff the news of Hal's coronation and rides the wave of anticipated favor, but his bravado collapses when confronted—Doll Tearsheet recalls him fleeing 'like quicksilver.' His inflated language and hollow courage embody the gap between martial rhetoric and the grubby reality of Falstaff's world.
Doll Tearsheet
supporting
Also known as Doll, Mistress Doll Tearsheet, Mistress Tearsheet
Doll Tearsheet holds her own in the Boar's Head tavern, matching Falstaff's wit and mocking his aging body even as she professes to love him. She sees through the men around her—calling Pistol a braggart and skewering Falstaff's vanity—yet her attachment to the fat knight leaves her exposed. Dragged off by beadles in a brawl, she becomes the play's starkest image of how the old world's revels end in punishment and disease.
Mistress Quickly
supporting
Also known as Hostess, Hostess Faith, Hostess O the Lord
Mistress Quickly runs the Eastcheap tavern where Falstaff holds court, forever threatening to toss the rogue in a blanket yet wiping his sweaty face and swearing she loves him. Her muddled speech and bottomless tolerance make her both comic and quietly heartbreaking, since she is the one left holding the debt when the fun ends. She anchors the play's low world, showing what loyalty to Falstaff actually costs.
Justice Shallow
supporting
Also known as Shallow, Master Shallow, good Master Robert Shallow, Robert Shallow
Shallow presides over a sleepy corner of the kingdom where he reminisces endlessly about nights at Clement's Inn and the women he once knew, while Falstaff quietly sizes him up for money. His vanity and rambling nostalgia make him easy prey, yet his fussy hospitality and pride in his household give the country scenes their comic warmth. He embodies the provincial world the play keeps measuring against the court and the tavern.
Justice Silence
supporting
Also known as Silence, Master Silence, Good Master Silence
Silence sits beside his cousin Shallow in Gloucestershire, saying almost nothing while others talk, then blooming into song once the wine is poured. His name and his sudden music create one of the play's gentlest jokes, a man whose silence hides a surprising store of feeling. He helps make the country scenes a place of ordinary pleasures, set against the court's sleepless anxiety.
Davy
minor
Also known as Davy, Exit Davy
Shallow's servant, who manages his household affairs.
Poins
supporting
Also known as Ned, honest Ned, Edward
Poins moves through Eastcheap as Hal's shadow and accomplice, reading Falstaff's pompous letter aloud and proposing they disguise themselves as drawers to watch the old knight in his true colours. He is quick, unsentimental, and clear-eyed about the company they keep, which makes him both useful and faintly disposable. His partnership with Hal shows the prince's double life at its most playful, before the reckoning comes.
Earl of Warwick
supporting
Also known as Warwick, Prince My Lord of Warwick, King Warwick
Warwick stands at the king's bedside and in the palace corridors, measuring the political weather with a calm that others lack. He sees that the dying Henry's cares are ended, and he fears what the new king's temper will mean for nobles who served the old one. His sober presence gives the court scenes their sense of impending change.
Earl of Westmoreland
supporting
Also known as Westmoreland
Westmoreland appears among the princes and lords who gather as Henry IV's reign closes, a reliable figure in a court bracing for a new monarch. He belongs to the world of practical service, where loyalty is measured in arms and attendance rather than wit. His presence helps establish the weight of the crown's machinery against the tavern's disorder.
Duke of Gloucester
minor
Also known as Gloucester, Humphrey of, King Humphrey
King Henry's young son, later Duke of Gloucester.
Thomas of Clarence
minor
Also known as Clarence, Thomas, the Princes Thomas of Clarence
King Henry's third son, who reports on the rebellion.
Falstaff's Page
minor
Also known as Page, Page A, Page Marry, Page Ephesians
A small page boy given to Falstaff, who mocks his size.
Gower
minor
Also known as Gower, Master Gower, good Master Gower
A messenger and officer in the king's service.
Sir John Colevile
minor
Also known as Colevile, Sir John Colevile of the dale
A rebel knight captured by Falstaff.
Ralph Mouldy
minor
Also known as Mouldy, Ralph Mouldy
A reluctant recruit pressed into service by Falstaff.
Simon Shadow
minor
Also known as Shadow, Simon Shadow, Si fortune
A thin recruit chosen by Falstaff for his appearance.
Thomas Wart
minor
Also known as Wart, Shallow Thomas Wart
A ragged recruit pressed into service by Falstaff.
Peter Bullcalf
minor
Also known as Bullcalf, Shallow Peter Bullcalf, Bullcalf O Lord
A recruit who bribes his way out of military service.
Francis Feeble
minor
Also known as Feeble
A woman's tailor who is conscripted but shows courage.
Fang
minor
Also known as Fang, Hostess Master Fang
A sheriff's officer who attempts to arrest Falstaff.
Snare
minor
Also known as Snare, Master Snare, good Master Snare
A sheriff's officer who assists Fang in arresting Falstaff.
Rumour
minor
Also known as Rumour
The allegorical figure who speaks the Induction, spreading false news.
Travers
minor
Also known as Travers
A servant of Lord Bardolph who brings news from the rebellion.
Morton
minor
Also known as Morton, Enter Morton
A messenger who brings news of Hotspur's death to Northumberland.
Lady Percy
minor
Also known as Lady Percy, Percy, This Percy
Hotspur's widow, who mourns her husband and confronts Northumberland.
Lady Northumberland
minor
Also known as Lady Northumberland
Northumberland's wife, who tries to dissuade him from rebellion.
Harry Hotspur
minor
Also known as young Hotspur, noble Hotspur, Hotspur, young Harry Percy, Harry Percy
The deceased rebel leader, frequently mentioned but does not appear on stage.
Earl of Douglas
minor
Also known as the Douglas, Douglas
A Scottish rebel lord who fought at Shrewsbury and is mentioned in passing.
John of Gaunt
minor
Also known as John a Gaunt, John
The late Duke of Lancaster, father of King Henry IV, mentioned in passing.
King Richard II
minor
Also known as fair King Richard, Richard, King
The deposed king, whose murder haunts Henry IV's conscience.
Beadle
minor
Also known as Beadle
A parish officer who punishes Doll Tearsheet and the Hostess.
Porter
minor
Also known as The Porter, Porter, Exit Porter
A servant who opens the door at the palace.
Sneak
minor
Also known as Sneak
A musician who performs for Shallow and Silence.
Jane Nightwork
minor
Also known as Jane Nightwork
An old woman once courted by Shallow, mentioned in conversation.
Master Dombledon
minor
Also known as Master Dombledon
A man mentioned by Shallow as a debtor.
William Visor
minor
Also known as William Visor, Visor, William Visor of Woncot
A man mentioned by Shallow as a troublemaker.
Clement Perkes
minor
Also known as Clement, Clement Perkes
A man mentioned by Shallow as a debtor.
Francis Pickbone
minor
Also known as Francis, Francis Pickbone
A man mentioned by Shallow as a debtor.
Mistress Ursula
minor
Also known as Ursula, old Mistress Ursula
An old woman Falstaff once swore to marry, mentioned in passing.
Nell
minor
Also known as Nell, Ellen
A name used by Pistol for Mistress Quickly.
Mistress Dorothy
minor
Also known as Mistress Dorothy
An alternate name for Doll Tearsheet.
Peto
minor
Also known as Peto, Prince Peto
A companion of Prince Hal and Falstaff, appears briefly.
Sir John Blunt
minor
Also known as Blunt, Exeunt Blunt
A loyal knight and messenger for the king.
Harry Monmouth
minor
Also known as Harry Monmouth, Monmouth
An epithet for Prince Hal, referring to his birthplace.
Bolingbroke
minor
Also known as Bolingbroke, Harry Bolingbroke
King Henry IV's name before his coronation, used in historical references.
Althaea
minor
Also known as Althaea
A figure from Greek myth referenced by the king in a speech.
Priam
minor
Also known as Priam
The Trojan king, referenced in a classical allusion.
Arthur
minor
Also known as Arthur
A name mentioned in a song by Silence.
William Shakespeare
minor
Also known as William Shakespeare
The author, mentioned in the text as a name on the title page.
