The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 19.0124  Sunday, 24 February 2008

From:		Hugh Grady <
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Date:		Thursday, 21 Feb 2008 09:52:13 -0500
Subject: 19.0117 Harry, Hal, Henry
Comment:	RE: SHK 19.0117 Harry, Hal, Henry

I read with interest David Crosby's praise for Don Bloom's "observation" 
about Falstaff's almost exclusive use of the name "Hal" for the Prince 
in 1 and 2 Henry IV, which he says "must be the starting point for any 
further discussion of the name's significance. All the other 
speculations seem fatuous or overblown until grounded in this way. I 
hope Don's example will inspire us all to make similar close readings." 
Since one Warren J.  Macisaac pointed out exactly the same thing in an 
article in Shakespeare Quarterly 30 years ago ("A Commodity of Good 
Names in the Henry IV Plays, SQ 29.3 (Summer 1978): 417-19), I am not 
optimistic that this "discovery" will prove as ground-breaking or 
earth-shattering as Crosby thinks.

Best,
Hugh Grady

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