Abstract
More than the king himself, Shakespeare's Henry IV is about education of the young prince, the future Henry V. Elaborating the myth of Hal's reformation Shakespeare introduces Falstaff whose humorous exchange with Hal in Act II, scene iv on the conduct of the latter takes on the form of a play within a play.
In this scene Falstaff and Hal pose respectively as Henry IV and stage the confrontation between Hal and the king as they imagine it. With education as the underlying theme, their comments on Hal's conduct through the eyes of another character in the play as well as their own staged interpretation of it offer a moment when performance of performance occurs.
The significance of this scene increases when Elizabethan concern with play-acting is taken into account. Often perceived as injurious to human nature, it was criticized by pamphleteers such as Stephen Gosson who considered the representation of kings by common actors as dangerous and perjurious: "for a meane person to take vpon him the title of a Prince with counterfeit porte, and traine, is by outward signes to shewe them selues other wise then they are, and so with in the compasse of a lye".
This paper analyses the humorous scene taking into consideration the position of actors in the early modern society. It concentrates on ways performance can be perceived and interpreted, especially, when it concerns the portrayal of kings.