Henry IV Part 2 Lesson Plan

Discuss the significance of Sleep being personified in this Act. How does this relate to Rumor's personification? What are these personifications doing in this play?

Sleep's personification accomplishes two things in this scene: 1) it suggests King Henry IV's current mental/physiological state and 2) it mirrors the personification that occurred in the induction, developing the themes of the work. The presence of Sleep's personification shows the audience how close the King is to death and the tenderness of his condition. Sleep also represents the forces, like Rumor, that hold sway over the lives of men, even if they are unseen and intangible.

Discuss how the King...