Henry Iv Character Analysis

Pirandello uses the theme of madness at its best that make the audience Enjoy this creativity of madness. From the beginning until the end, the play presents the “false masks”, not just the masks but also the wearing of other masks under these masks. The characters do not only wear masks to hide their own identity in the play like everyone else in the life, but also forced to wear other masks to join the plan in the imperial house (Paolucci, 1974).

As already noticed, the main character in the play “Henry IV” is unnamed Italian aristocrat old man. His crucial transitional moment in his life was the moment he fell down of his horse while he was joining the carnival festivals that left him insane. During the festivals, he was wearing his theatrical clothes that he had been wearing for his role around twenty years of his life, the role of "the king Henry IV". When he woke up after the accident, he believed that he is Henry, of Germany, the character he was playing his role, and therefore he placed in a castle playing his role in the real life. He forced everyone in the castle including the servants to wear like people in the eleventh century,

For example, Matilda acted as Henry’s lover like what they were in the past, not only Matilda but also all of the characters. Therefore, time was an important element that affected the identity of each one when they involved in the plan. Another important element was the unit of place, in the Holy Roman Empire Vs in the modern world, and in the “Villa” itself where “Henry” was living. Playing roles and changing the identity according to the place, they exist in, had a great influence. Pirandello shows the relationship between fiction and reality when he decided to connect between the fictional roles of the characters and their destiny, he decided their future by linking each one of them to a specific role (Ugwu,