When Shakespeare has to render Hotspur's impatience he does it superbly, when he has to render Hotspur's courage he fails lamentably.
In the third scene of this fourth act we have another striking instance
of Shakespeare's shortcoming. Sir Walter Blount meets the rebels “with
gracious offers from the King,” whereupon Hotspur abuses the King
through forty lines; this is the kind of stuff:
“My father and my uncle and myself
Did give him that same royalty he wears;
And when he was not six and twenty strong,
Sick in the world's regard, wretched and low,
A poor unminded outlaw sneaking home,
My father gave him welcome to the shore; ...”
and so on and on, like Hamlet, he unpacks his heart with words, till
Blount cries:
“Tut, I came not to hear this.”
Hotspur admits the reproof, but immediately starts off again:
“Hot. Then to the point.
In short time after he deposed the king;
Soon after that, deprived him of his life,”
and so forth for twenty lines more, till Blount pulls him up again with the shrewd question:
“Shall I return this answer to the king?”
Hotspur replies:
“Not so, Sir Walter; we'll withdraw awhile.
Go to the king.....
And in the morning early shall mine uncle
Bring him our purposes; and so farewell.”
And yet this Hotspur who talks interminably when he would do much better to keep quiet, assures us a little later that he has not well “the gift of tongue,” and again declares he's glad a messenger has cut him short, for “I profess not talking.”