Characters
Because 1 Henry IV is a history play, it does not include as many symbols as some of Shakespeare's tragedies like Hamlet or Macbeth. Instead, Shakespeare uses real historical characters as symbols of particular traits and ideologies. Hotspur, for example, is an embodiment of masculinity and martial prowess while Mortimer becomes a symbol of feminine "weakness" based on the connection he shares with his wife. Prince Hal is also a symbolic character, as he comes to represent a democratic and balanced form of kingship that will be celebrated later in the Henriad with Henry V.
The Sun
The sun is an important symbol that characters use to represent the king, or a particularly strong ruler. At the end of the play, just before Hotspur dies, Hal tells him that England does not have room for two "stars," comparing himself to the sun and Hotspur to another formidable celestial body. This was not an uncommon metaphor in early modern England, when kings were thought to be ordained by God and therefore semi-divine in their authority.
Gardens
Gardening and horticulture are important motifs in the play, as characters frequently compare England to a garden that is either vulnerable to invasive weeds (rebels and other threats) or young enough to grow into something prolific and beautiful. Gardening metaphors abound in the play as a way of conceptualizing England's "health" as a nation, with the king figured as the gardener who tends to his plot.
Hotspur's Map
Hotspur's map – which he loses before the battle – symbolizes his incompetence as a potential ruler of Britain. That he loses the map (later recovered by Glendower) at such a crucial time suggests that he is disorganized and negligent of small details that are necessary for an effective ruler. When he finally regains his map, he explains how the rebels plan to divide the kingdom into three parts, which to an early modern audience, would portend disaster. In Renaissance plays, divided kingdoms were often vulnerable ones, as in Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear.
Men and Women
As explained above, Shakespeare uses individual characters as emblems of the ideologies to which they subscribe. In a broader sense, however, Shakespeare also uses men and women as symbols of strength and weakness, respectively. The play is undoubtedly male-dominated, focusing on relationships between and among men as well as the concept of "honor" as it relates to masculine virtue. By contrast, the women in the play represent the allure and softness of the domestic sphere that ultimately, characters like Hotspur argue, feminize men and make them less capable of embodying honor and valor.
