Question

king henry iv part ii
by william shakespeare
act 2, scene 2

in this excerpt from king henry iv, part ii, the plays main protagonist, prince henry, has returned from war. he is accompanied by poins, one of his friends. prior to this scene, henry was a young, carefree prince who preferred spending his time in taverns, rather than learning the responsibilities of being a king. but having experienced war, henry is considering an earlier promise made to his father that he will reform and act like a true prince.

london. another street.

(enter prince henry and poins)

prince henry: before god, i am exceeding weary.
poins: ist come to that? i had thought weariness durst not have attached one of so high blood.
prince henry: faith, it does me; though it discolours the
(5) complexion of my greatness to acknowledge it. doth it not show vilely in me to desire small beer?
poins: why, a prince should not be so loosely studied as

select the correct text in the passage.

which excerpt best reveals that prince henry believes poins is not particularly intelligent?

prince henry: shall i tell thee one thing, poins?
poins: yes, faith; and let it be an excellent good thing.
(35) prince henry: it shall serve among wits of no higher breeding than thine.
poins: go to; i stand the push of your one thing that you will tell.
prince henry: marry, i tell thee, it is not meet that i should be sad, now my father is sick: albeit i could tell
(40) thee, as to one it pleases me, for fault of a better, to call my friend, i could be sad, and sad indeed too.
poins: very hardly upon such a subject.
prince henry: by this hand thou thinkest me as far in the devils
(45) book as thou and falstaff for obduracy and persistency: let the end try the man. but i tell thee, my heart bleeds inwardly that my father is so sick:

Explanation:

Analyze the prompt and question

The question asks to select the excerpt from the passage that best reveals Prince Henry believes Poins is not particularly intelligent.

Evaluate the dialogue options

• "It shall serve among wits of no higher breeding than thine."
• In this line, Prince Henry directly insults Poins's intellect ("wits") by comparing it to those of low breeding/intelligence.

Confirm the best textual evidence

The phrase "wits of no higher breeding than thine" directly targets Poins's mental capacity, indicating Prince Henry's low opinion of his intelligence.

Answer:

"It shall serve among wits of no higher breeding than thine."