Honor is a topic that is quite frequently mentioned throughout Henry IV Part One. It was the glory which men sought, whether they be on the battlefield or for a doing a noble deed. When you try to picture an honorable person, a King or a Lord or may come to mind. At the very least it will be someone who truly lives by a code of moral justice. It is interesting then, that Shakespeare chooses to never have honor mentioned by someone whom we may consider honorable. Instead, only those people who we would normally consider to be dishonorable, mainly Falstaff and Prince Hal, speak of what honor truly is. These characters partake in robberies; loiter around the tavern drinking in excess and lie in order to avoid punishment. They seem to be dregs of society, yet almost exclusively have the privilege of speaking about honor.

The first mention of honor is spoken by Sir John Falstaff, ironically just before they are taking their positions to rob a passing train of people. He exclaims “A plague upon it when thieves cannot be true to one another…” (2.2.27-28) after he can’t find where Poins hid his horse. In this context, honor is a trust amongst those in the same line of work. Next, Prince Hal, equates honor with how much sack (wine) he can drink, the honor being the recognition he receives for it. This comes as he is celebrating with Poins about their joke of robbing their own crew, who just robbed the caravan. The next mention of honor is also from Prince Hal, this time speaking of honor in a more true to the definition manner. His father has essentially called him a shame for whom he keeps company with, and Hal responds that in order to regain his honor he will kill the honorable Knight Hotspur. By doing this, he hopes to win favor back from his father. To back up the claim that Hotspur is an honorable man, Douglass reaffirms this thought by saying to Hotspur “Thou art the King of honor. No man so potent breathes upon the ground But I will [oppose] him” (4.1.10-12).

Finally, the last mention of honor belongs to Falstaff. He gives us yet another perspective of what honor is:
“…a word. What is in that word honor? What
is that honor? Air-. A trim reckoning! Who hath it?
He that died a Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No.
Doth he hear it? No. ‘Tis insensible, then? Yea,
to the dead…”
(5.2.132-138)
Essentially, Falstaff is saying that honor means nothing. It is simply a word that men use to gain fame. In their search for this glory, they often die, thus their legacy lives on with the title “the Honorable Sir so-and-so”. However, if you want to live then you must rely on yourself, and do what you must to scrape by. This may lead you down a path of wrongdoing, but in his view, it’s better to be and old man who enjoys his drink than to be a young man slain and called honorable.