We see a very bright future in public relations for both these guys. Both men are hyperaware of the necessity of political strategy and controlling their images. The thing is, Henry has no idea how much he and his son share in common. Throughout the whole speech, of course, Henry scolds his son for hanging with the commoners and overexposing himself in a way that's dangerous to his public image. This guy sure thinks highly of himself, doesn't he?) A few lines later in the play, Henry also says he could exhibit a "sun-like majesty" when he finally appeared before his needy little subjects as the king (3.2.2). This strategy reveals Hal to be a rather shrewd and crafty politician, no? Hal's father, King Henry, uses a similar metaphor to describe his political strategy before he became king: By being seldom seen, I could not stir But like a comet I was wonder'd at That men would tell their children 'This is he ' (3.2.2) Here, King Henry claims that, by limiting his public exposure, the people "wonder'd" at him as though he were a "comet." (Wow. The idea is that his future subjects will be amazed, awestruck and, therefore, more loyal and obedient, when Hal is king. According to Hal, when he reveals his true "beauty" by "breaking through the foul and ugly mists," the kingdom will be stunned (in a good way) by his seeming transformation. (1.2.29) The sun, of course, is a symbol commonly used by monarchs, and here, Hal puns on his status as the king's "son" who stands to inherit the crown. When Prince Hal confides in the audience that he's not actually the naughty boy he appears to be, he compares himself to the "sun" and suggests that he's intentionally allowed his bad boy behavior and his low-life friends to "cloud" or "smother up" his true nature, which just happens to be dazzling, like the sun: Yet herein will I imitate the sun, Who doth permit the base contagious clouds To smother up his beauty from the world, That, when he please again to be himself, Being wanted, he may be more wonder'd at, By breaking through the foul and ugly mists Of vapours that did seem to strangle him. King Henry and Prince Hal sure do like their references to celestial bodies – what's the deal? Let's take a peek at some specific moments in the play.
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