Henry IV, Part I : The Ritualistic Rebirth of a Hero King

In the previous play, Richard II, Henry of Bolingbroke plays the role of a heroical usurper of the throne as a true representative and inheritor of the royal blood of Edward III, a hero-king. He slays the deposed king in a ritualistic manner in the up-side-down situation. In the following play, Henry IV, the situation has reversed itself and he now must confront the same fate as Richard. Harry Percy appears on the stage as a possible candidate who will assume the role of an anarchic, but heroical usurper. At this critical moment Harry Plantagenet performs a miraculous transformation by slaying his opponent Percy. Although this story seems, superficially, to be another well-made version of popular legends of Prince Hal, Shakespeare manages not to repeat a miracle story, but adds new elements which enables him to reorganise the ritualistic rebirth of a hero-king