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Some of the reasons for this include the lack of accountability and the general predilection for mischief that Shakespeare attributes to men in general.
In the historical dramas, such as "Henry IV," much more than in the comedy, the characters are prone to making mistakes also because their individual weaknesses as human beings. As human beings, they face not only the external factors and challenges that create the appropriate environment for making mistakes, but also their own conscience and the need to make sensible decisions that actually matter.
One should also point out that in some of the other plays, Shakespeare plays an equal amount of blame on the shoulders of female characters as well. Most notably, tragedies such as "Hamlet" or "Othello" are examples in that sense. Women share the blame and the volume of mistakes that eventually lead to the downfall of the main characters.
Bibliography
1. Shakespeare, William. Henry IV. The Oxford Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 1987.
2. Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Oxford School Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 1995.
3. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream....
Acclaim Books. 1997
4. Rabkin, Norman. Shakespeare and the Problem of Meaning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981
5 F.E. Halliday, A Shakespeare Companion 1564-1964, Baltimore, Penguin, 1964.
6. Kastan, David Scott (ed.) "King Henry IV Part 1" The Arden Shakespeare: Third Series Thompson Learning 2002
7. Sisk, J.P. "Prince Hal and the Specialists." Shakespeare Quarterly 28 (1977)
8. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans and J.J.M. Tobin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997
9. http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/midsummer001.html Last retrieved on November 11, 2009
10. Bloomfield, Jem. Fairies in Midsummer Night's Dream. 2007. On the Internet at http://shakespeareantheatre.suite101.com/article.cfm/fairies_in_midsummer_nights_dream. Last retrieved on November 11, 2009
Shakespeare, William. Henry IV. The Oxford Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 1987.
Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Oxford School Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 1995.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Acclaim Books. 1997
Bibliography
1. Shakespeare, William. Henry IV. The Oxford Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 1987.
2. Shakespeare, William. Henry V. Oxford School Shakespeare. Oxford University Press. 1995.
3. Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Acclaim Books. 1997
4. Rabkin, Norman. Shakespeare and the Problem of Meaning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981
9. http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/midsummer001.html Last retrieved on November 11, 2009
10. Bloomfield, Jem. Fairies in Midsummer Night's Dream. 2007. On the Internet at http://shakespeareantheatre.suite101.com/article.cfm/fairies_in_midsummer_nights_dream. Last retrieved on November 11, 2009
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She declares that a man who snatches what he desires is actually a true man. Lady Macbeth burdens herself by seducing his husband into committing the murder afterall. Although, initially she has the strength and potential to deal with the task of abetting in a murder and thinks she will be able to forget all about it once she becomes the Scottish Queen but eventually conscience overpowers her vices. She
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Reflecting the greater audience sympathy stirred in Five Kings and its cinematic incarnation Chimes at Midnight, the Welles saga ends with Hal pardoning Falstaff for disturbing his coronation, thus showing a more loving tribute to Falstaff than utterly rejecting him, as in the original Shakespeare. Falstaff's potentially seditious views of honor and the importance of the individual's life over sacrificing it for the collective are thus validated very clearly in