Previous
Act 5, Scene 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Henry IV Part 2, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Lies, Honesty, Morality
Disease
The Right to the Throne
Time
Warfare
Summary
Analysis
The epilogue enters, apologizes for the inadequacies of the play, and says he’ll make up for the lousiness of the play by performing a dance to entertain the audience. He promises that Falstaff’s story will be picked up again in the next play, which will also include King Henry V’s future wife Katherine. He promises, too, that Falstaff is not based on the historic Sir John Oldcastle, for Falstaff will “die of a sweat” in France whereas Oldcastle died a martyr. He exits.
The “truth” of Falstaff’s character was a sticky issue in Shakespeare’s day. The character was based on a real-life man, John Oldcastle (in fact, “Falstaff” was originally “Oldcastle” in the play), but Oldcastle’s relatives were understandably upset by the portrait and this epilogue seems written to assuage their anxieties.
Themes
Literary Devices
