Hot On The Trail

While I was re-reading Henry IV Pt. 1 today I came to realize the similarities between Hotspur and Hamlet. The particular passage that caught my attention was Act 4 Scene 3 in Henry IV Pt.1 where Hotspur unloads his grievances to Sir Blunt, King Henry's agent. I'll admit I was looking for evidence, in the vein of G. Wilson Knight, to prove that a character commonly held as a villain such as Hotspur could be seen as a hero, or vice-versa As it turned out when I read this passage it resonated with the plot in Hamlet. Is not Hotspur to Henry IV/Prince Harry what Hamlet is to Claudius/Gertrude? I'm not saying that they are exactly the same, but it is interesting to see how a similar relationship is played out in two different genres. As our exam is not open-book like last year, we are expected to draw connections across genres, in advance. I think it is quite original, so I'll stick with it. Perhaps later I'll draw up a chart comparing the two figures: Hotspur and Hamlet.