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Symbols
In Henry IV Part 1, celestial events are controversial symbols. Some characters, such as Glendower and Bardolph, believe in their symbolic power and read the future in the skies, trusting the motions of the sun, moon, stars, and meteors to foretell events in the human world. Yet for other characters, such as Prince Hal and Hotspur, celestial events are totally devoid of symbolic power and are just ordinary natural processes that have nothing to do with human history. Throughout the play, celestial events play a dual role: they function both as an affirmation of symbolic significance in the natural world and as a refutation of that significance, depending on who’s looking at them.
Celestial Events Quotes in Henry IV Part 1
The Henry IV Part 1 quotes below all refer to the symbol of Celestial Events. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 3, Scene 1
Quotes
…at my nativity
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes,
Of burning cressets; ay, and at my birth
The frame and huge foundation of the Earth
Shaked like a coward.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Henry IV Part 1 LitChart as a printable PDF.
Celestial Events Symbol Timeline in Henry IV Part 1
The timeline below shows where the symbol Celestial Events appears in Henry IV Part 1. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 2
...behavior has nothing to do with his true nature. He compares himself to a personified sun who may “permit the base contagious clouds” to dull “his beauty” but who, “when he...
(full context)
Act 2, Scene 4
...When Hal asks what excuse they have for such cowardice, Bardolph points to the portentous meteors which, he says, foreshadow angry times.
(full context)
Act 3, Scene 1
...natural phenomena that would have occurred whether or not Glendower was born. Glendower insists that the sky was in flames and “the Earth did tremble” in specific announcement of his birth. He...
(full context)
Act 5, Scene 1
...Prince John, Sir Walter Blunt, and Falstaff observe the dawn. The king says the blood-red sun looks angry at the day. Prince Hal says the whistling of the southern wind “foretells...
(full context)
