Comedy in I Henry IV and II Henry IVIn I Henry IV and II Henry IV, William Shakespeare brings together drama and comedy to create two of the most fascinating pieces of history never written. Many of Shakespeare's other works are almost absolute in their adherence to comic or tragic traditions, but in the two plays of Henry IV, Shakespeare combines comedy and drama in a way that seems to bring a certain realism to his characters, and therefore to the parts. The present essay is an examination of the diverse and significant effects that Shakespeare's comic scenes have on I Henry IV and II Henry IV. The Diversity of Society Perhaps the first and most obvious effect of Shakespeare's use of comedy in the two Henry IV plays is the resulting diversity of characters. We can see that the rooms are divided into three general scenes or settings, the courtyard, the tavern and the rebel camp, and it is largely the tavern scenes that feature characters not found in the bases histories of the pieces. In doing so, Shakespeare of course attracts a more diverse audience, who can perhaps recognize themselves in all the variety of society characters found in I Henry IV and II Henry IV. Shakespeare's mastery of language and dialect helps achieve this, as his characters' speech resonates with realism. The lines of the tavern crowd, for example, are full of colloquialisms and double entenders: Falstaff. Welcome, antique gun. Here, Pistol, load yourself up with a cup of sack. Unload on my hostess. Gun. I will shoot her, Sir John, with two bullets. Falstaff. It is pistol-proof, sir; you will... middle of paper ...... on themes similar to those found in the two plays of Henry IV, such as usurpation, rebellion and the question of the lineage of royal law . But Richard II and King Henry V are decidedly more serious in tone, and comparing them to I Henry IV and II Henry IV, it can be argued that it is the latter two plays that resonate more realistically with the wider spectrum of life. that they present. Shakespeare carefully balances comedy and drama in I Henry IV and II Henry IV, and in doing so the Bard gives us what are perhaps the most memorable characters in all of English literature. Works Cited Bevington, David, ed. The necessary Shakespeare. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2005. Shakespeare, William. "The first part of King Henry IV." The necessary Shakespeare. By William Shakespeare and David M. Bevington. New York: Longman Group, 2004.