The Character of Falstaff in Henry IV
The character of Falstaff, in Shakespeare’s play Henry IV Part One, serves as an emblem of frivolity and carelessness within a world filled with social and political significance. Falstaff scorns the world of politics and moral decisions in favor of existing from moment to moment. Though he dislikes this "other world", Falstaff realizes he must sometimes come in contact with it. Falstaff’s famous speech in lines 127-139 of Act V shows us how he regards the Prince’s world of honor and duty. Through this speech, Falstaff places himself firmly out of any moral world concerned with justice or honor, instead living for no other reason than life itself.
Falstaff’s speech comes after the King and Prince Hal decide to war against the army of Hotspur. Though they wait on word from Worcester, the probability of conflict seems high. Falstaff knows that when the battle comes, he is going to be in the middle of it. Shortly before his speech on the nature of honor, Falstaff shows fear that he might be hurt. In lines 121-2 Falstaff asks Hal to protect him if he should fall during battle. The Prince’s rejection of the request shows his scorn for Falstaff’s desire to passively preserve only his own life. Throughout the last half of the play, as the Prince drifts away from Falstaff, Falstaff’s role in the action of the play as a whole diminishes. The importance placed upon the idea of honor allows Hal to assume his rightful position beside the King, while Falstaff dims into the background.
Falstaff’s idea of honor is directly linked to his sense of time itself. In the opening lines of his speech, Falstaff says,"‘Tis not due yet: I would be loath to pay him before his day." (L. 127-8) In this example, God is being related by Falstaff to someone who has set a schedule determining the time and place of everyone’s death. For Falstaff, one’s role in life is not to stray from the path created by that higher Power. The notion of honor, as he later describes in this speech, is a belief through which one can transgress that natural order. He says,"Yea, but how if honor prick me off when I come on?" (L. 130) In order for one to gain honor, one must risk one’s life. This type of gambling is not for Falstaff, as he decides that his own life is more important than,"A word.
Falstaff’s blatantly honest soliloquy has provided the audience with a direct insight into his mind, and contrasts well with Hal and Hotspur’s speeches, in which their moral order and regard for honour is evident. Falstaff helps to show the change in Hal to the audience. Falstaff himself is no different to the Falstaff of Act 1, unlike Hal who has obviously undergone a great deal of change. Falstaff’s speech is highly typical of the tavern world’s way of thinking: straightforward, sometimes humorous, spoken in prose, and only the values of the tavern world taken into consideration, with no regard for such insubstantial, un-physical concepts as honour. In this way, and spoken directly to the audience, Falstaff effectively expresses his unashamed resolution not to submit to moral order.
one's eyes as time passes, but because it reigns the ebb and flow of the tides.
Toliver, Harold E. "Falstaff, The Prince, and the History Play." Sanderson, Henry the Fourth, Part 1. 169-193.
This questioning of what is actually important, physical needs or conceptual ideals, was relevant in Shakespeare’s time, and still is today. Living under Elizabeth I, the product of major religious upheaval, Shakespeare may have been disillusioned with the worlds of kings and queens of which he wrote. The belief in the importance of honor and reputation was still very popular during this time period, and in a play in which the entire plot revolved around these ideals Falstaff’s speech sticks out. This may have been a subtle critique of these values held so dearly by Shakespeare’s
The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. The Braves didn’t have the best teams from 1966-1990, no World Series titles, just not up to where they had been in earlier years. In 1990 the braves had the worst record in baseball, and then in 1991, they went from worst to first, and went to the World Series. They went again in 1992, but unfortunately, they lost both times. However, in 1995 the Braves went to the Championship of baseball once again, they represented the National League, and the Cleveland Indians represented the American League. The Series went six games, and in game six the Braves won, beating the Indians, one to nothing, and winning the World Series.
Falstaff is often left out of the conversation or treated as an object when people discuss Shakespeare’s “Henriad.” The conversation has grown to include Falstaffian supporters and those who continue to objectify him. On the one hand, critics like Harry Berger, author of “The Prince’s Dog: Falstaff and the Perils of Speech-Prefixity,” argues that Falstaff’s concealed motives are only brought to light through the characters speech. On the other hand, critics like Robert Bell, author of “The Anatomy of Folly in Shakespeare’s “Henriad,” believes Falstaff to be a fool, but he believes him to be one of Shakespeare’s “Greatest Fools.” I find these critics to be in direct conversation with one another. They both attempt to consider Falstaff in the forefront of the text, along with Prince Harry; more specifically, how one interacts with the other through folly and speech. While I agree with some critics notions that Falstaff has flaws, I would argue that he is more than an object; he is pertinent to the success of the prince, and he must be considered as the subject; Falstaff is the catalyst through whom Prince Harry enjoys his indiscretions, sins, and follies without reprimand or any acceptance of responsibility. Falstaff and Prince Harry share the same mind, but this is only apparent through the folly and parody of Falstaff. Prince Harry is completely oblivious to the fact that he and Falstaff rest on either side of a double-headed coin allowing them to share a psychic link. I will show that Falstaff has knowledge of all of Prince Harry’s actions as well as his own downfall before it occurs through a close analysis of 1 Henry IV, act 1, scene 2.
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Hotspur is stubborn, brash, dense and courageous. All of these characteristics define Hotspur’s view of honor, one of personal integrity while fighting for glory thought noble, King Henry will say he is nothing short of the “theme of honor’s tongue.” Pretty high praise levied towards a soon-to-be traitor, heck, he even wishes Hotspur were his son in the stead of Hal. Hotspur’s innate concept of honor leads him to the conclusion he will win even more honor should he become involved in a conspiracy against the usurping Henry, his true colors show themselves when he states of the king: “If he fall in, good night-or sink or swim. Send danger from the east unto the west, So honour cross it from the north to south, And let them grapple. O the blood more stirs To rouse a lion than to start [flush from cover] a hare.” Hotspur believes honor at it’s pique in the sweaty and bloody quenched battlefields of war. He enjoys fighting more than copulating with his wife. In the end, his impetuous nature is his undoing, when he is slain by the cheeky Prince Hal, who will come to be known in later years as Henry V, demonstrating a calculated lust for glory and power, while also being a far more well-rounded individual in the Shakespearean canon of
The British Monarchy of Henry VII led the United Kingdom into a new direction. Henry VII changed the governmental system used, along with other things that affected the society of the England. King Henry VII of England redirected the Yorkist and Lancastrians, putting an end to the war between them and expanding the British monarchy. The War of the Roses lasted for thirty-two years. The Tudor dynasty began with Henry VII and continued its reign for one hundred and eighteen years.
Many of Shakespeare’s works are susceptible to multiple readings and interpretations, including the interpretation of characters. William Shakespeare’s play 1 Henry IV is no exception. The character of John Falstaff has been the subject of many debates regarding his character and whether he is a purely comedic character or if he, in fact, is a character of tragic origins. Falstaff is a character who appears mostly in scenes at The Boar’s Head, which is a pub in the play. There are very moments in which readers can analyze Falstaff for more than a town drunk. Although many believe Sir John Falstaff is a comedic character, the interactions he has with Prince Hal, his alcoholism, his wise soliloquy and his quick thinking on the battlefield portray
In Act 1, Scene 2, Hal and Falstaff are dinking at the bar. We get the
In Henry IV parts I and II we see Falstaff as the romantic character that is stated in the definition above, defying everything that the Classical character, Prince Hal, stands for and believes.. He refuses to take life seriously. He believes that "War is as much of a joke to him as a drinking bout at the Boar's Head." He uses people solely for his own purposes, either for money or for food and drink. He is rude and crude to all those around him and is one of the best liars who continually gets caught in his lies but makes new ones to cover for the old failed ones. Yet Baker states that, "His presence of mind and quickness of retort are always superb; his impudence is almost sublime. Yet the man thus corrupt, thus despicable, makes himself necessary to the prince that despises him, by the most pleasing of all qualities, perpetual gaiety. Falstaff creates around his capacious bulk a sort of Utopia which frees us temporarily from the worries and troubles of the actual world. What does it matter that Falstaff ridicules chivalry, honor, truth-telling, and bravery in battle? He is not to be taken seriously...he is a wholly comic character."
Morality is a remarkable dispute of a person’s actions within one’s own mind. Typically, everyone in the human species possesses a sense of their own regards to the matter of positive or negative outcomes. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the main character faces a vast majority of internal struggles throughout his story. Hamlet is surrounded by tragedy and betrayal. Hamlet’s endeavors in the play coincide with those of a modern day soldier. Hamlet’s character relates to a soldier on the aspects of honor and murder, but they differ in their sense of morality.
We have all heard about the legend of Atlantis. It’s said that Atlantis was an advanced civilization with highly developed economy and technology. But one day, catastrophe occurred in sudden. Atlantis entirely sank beneath the waves in only one day and one night. In thousands of years, Atlantis has caught the imagination of people from all over the world. Many adventurers, historians and anthropologists spent their whole life trying to open the mysterious veil of Atlantis. But has Atlantis ever existed?
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