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Home > Prince Hal and the Body Falstaff: Theatre as Psychic Space in Shakespeare’s 1&2 Henry IV

Prince Hal and the Body Falstaff: Theatre as Psychic Space in Shakespeare’s 1&2 Henry IV

Elise Denbo | June 16, 2020 (Views: 37)

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Abstract

Aligning psychoanalytic and embodiment approaches, this paper focuses on 1&2Henry IV
using Julia Kristeva’s concept of the imaginary father, a ‘maternal-paternal conglomerate,’ as a
third space within primary-narcissism. While Hal’s ‘education’ has been analyzed in relation to
dualities of order and disorder, few, if any have considered Falstaff as an intrapsychic figure of
intimate revolt who supports the crafting of psychic- theatrical-imaginary space. Hal’s youthful
narcissism and his ability to connect with the popular voice are explored as a result of Falstaff’s
presence in the ‘prehistory’ of his kingship. Falstaff’s verbal copia, his ‘belly of tongues,’ recalls
the unruly female tongue as the site of disorder, but also the mother tongue that confers national
identity as a return to the vernacular richness of the land and its people. While Hal is able to
organize the various dialects and settings of 1&2HenryIV, it is the body Falstaff who impregnates
the play.

Keywords: Kristeva, Prince Hal and Falstaff, Psychic Space, Early Modern Theatre, Primary Narcissism, Shakespeare
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