Falstaff As An Acts Of Manipulation In King Henry IV By William Shakespeare

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Fellow teaching colleagues, psychological studies have shown that first impressions take less than a tenth of a second for us to paint a mental image of a particular person, place or event. Taking this into consideration, it can be concluded that as long as one can control that tenth of a second, they are already manipulating our mental image. Hence therefore any representation that has being created with a sense of interpretation can be said as an act of manipulation.As we all know, the 2016 HSC Advanced English course, module C is currently the Representation of People and Politics. Just from the title, again we hear the word ‘representation’, and as I mentioned previously, any if not all representations, are acts of manipulation. The play …show more content…

Looking at an overview of Falstaff, he has traits that of a villain, yet in King Henry IV, he is arguably one of the most beloved character, responsible for comedic relief. However I believe this is Shakespeare making a statement, and masking it behind humour. You see, it can be said that Falstaff is a politically driven character, in which everything he does is with purpose, whether that be financial gain or obtaining power. His relationship with Hal was for him to gain favor, once Hal became king. He acts as a great contrast to Hal, as throughout the play, Hal grows and changes stepping up to expectation and embodying a just and righteous ‘man’, so to speak. Falstaff’s character, however remains stagnant, barely changing throughout the play. Even his final actions in the play claiming to have killed Hotspur was with the intent of gaining rewards and power. So why is Falstaff, a character with many negative traits, made to be so likeable?, and Hal a man who is supposedly our beloved hero seen as a rebellious child for half the play? It could be Shakespeare making a comment as to how in politics, you never truly understand a person and their true intentions. Take the quote from Act 4 Scene 2 Line 56 : ‘...they’ll fill a pit as well as better. Tush, man, mortal, men, mortal …show more content…

Remember that comment I made earlier about first impressions? If you were to enter and view this play without any prior knowledge, would you question it’s historical accuracy? Would you question the existence of characters such as Falstaff? For many of us simple answer is no. That’s because Shakespeare is in a way, rewriting history. He is taking facts, and turning them into fiction. Therefore this whole play, ever since the beginning can be said as a representation of the people and politics during Shakespeare’s time, manipulating audiences to look at history through a different lens. For example, Shakespeare chose to make Hotspur and Hal of similar age, whereas Harry Percy of Shakespeare’s time was probably closer to Henry’s age. Now this is to either create a rival for the character Hal, or it is making a political statement regarding the two figures who are of different nature clashing until only one remains. Similar to the idea how there can only be one ruler, this political rivalry had to end with only one as victor. Remembering scenes such as Act 4 Scene 4, a small yet powerful act. The audiences gets a small yet insightful scene where the religious figures are conversing and taking sides for the upcoming battle. This again is Shakespeare referring to the religious

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