Beginning of Essay
At the beginning of the play it seems that the chief rebel, Hotspur, is in dispute with the King but as the play progresses we find that the main contest is between Hotspur and Hal, the King's son. At first thought, Hotspur seems to be the easy winner, for all Hal ....

Middle of Essay
.... is brave and valiant and has a good reputation with the people, whereas Hal compared with Richard does not care for the welfare of the country and spends his time entertaining himself with poor company. Hotspur has nothing but disrespect for Hal. During the play he calls him: 'the madcap Prince of Wales'. He thinks of Hal as an unworthy opponent. From Hotspur's point of view the only real opponent is King Henry, and yet it is Hal, 'the madcap of Wales', who vanquishes him in the end, much to his surprise and dismay. We are neither surprised nor dismayed by Hal's triumph because we know Hal better than Hotspur does, and we know what is going ....