Examining Falstaff in Henry IV Part I
A Character Analysis of Shakespeare’s Comic Character
Dec 8, 2008
Falstaff is regarded as one of the greatest characters Shakespeare has created, a "true and perfect image of life" (Bloom). This article examines some of the arguments for this claim.
Falstaff’s Rich Language Creates Character
Falstaff’s presence, apart from his physically obese character on stage, is also evident in the richness of his prose, which gives a sense of vitality and exuberance.
In contrast to King Henry’s analytical and rhythmic verse as he considers the future of his kingdom, Falstaff’s conversation with Hal is spontaneous and powerful:
Let us be ‘Diana’s foresters’, gentlemen of the shade’, ‘minions of the moon’ …being governed...by our noble and chaste mistress the moon, under whose countenance we steal.’
The effectiveness of this passage might be seen how the sequencing of noble, heroic names strongly builds up to the powerful emblem of the moon, before collapsing into the anticlimactic conclusion that Falstaff has been describing the theft.
Taking Falstaff’s language as a means of his characterization helps to understand Mark Van Doren's statement that Falstaff was evidence of Shakespeare’s "mastery in the art of understanding style, and through style of creating men".
Falstaff Acts as Playwright and Mimic
Falstaff's language shows its brilliance not only in articulating himself, but also in the imitation of others. The humorous scene where Hal and Falstaff act out imagined dialogues exemplify why to Harold Bloom, Falstaff is "the most intimate link between playwright and comedic genius".
Hal Acts as Himself, and Falstaff as King Henry
In this scene, Falstaff parodies the ornate rhetoric of John Lyly’s Eupheus, and charmingly mocks the king and Hal: "Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a micher, and eat blackberries?" The humour derives from how he parodies the regality of royal family with lighthearted scolding.
Falstaff simultaneously elevates himself as one "with virtue in his looks", which is funny not only in the visual irony of the obese Falstaff glorifying himself, but also how Falstaff uses his verbal brilliance to show his own wit.
Falstaff Acts as Hal, and Hal as King Henry
When Hal insults Falstaff, his words lose the jesting tone of Falstaff's, instead burning with anger and maliciousness, seen in his gross imagery of Falstaff as "that huge bombard of sack, that stuffed cloak-bag of guts, that roasted Manningtree ox". This foreshadows tensions, but here, it is again Falstaff’s wit that returns the comedic touch to this conversation, as he vindicates himself with the plea: "banish plump Jack, and banish all the world", which is both humorously and genuinely pitiful.
Falstaff’s identity hence comes about strongly from acting. It is a means where he fills more characters than himself, paradoxically him the genuine feel that others do not possess.
Falstaff Introduces Freedom
In The Rejection of Falstaff, critic A.C Bradley points out that Falstaff is more than humour. Instead, he shows a more sophisticated philosophy that "to reduce a thing ad absurdum is to reduce it to nothing and to walk about free and rejoicing."
This might be interpreted to how Falstaff transcends limitations by cutting them down through humour, thus maintaining his own hedonistic lifestyle with little concerns for the rest of the world. . These points, taken from Bradley’s essay, are worth considering further:
- Truth - Falstaff makes statements swearing they are true, although the characters in the play and the audience can recognize them for blatant lies. His description of being ‘robbed’, or his claim to have killed Hotspur, are hilarious for their comedic value, and their insights into Falstaff’s disregard for truth.
- Religion - Falstaff mocks and misinterprets Christianity, such as when he tells Hal he should work in his vocation. Asides from showing Falstaff’s hedonistic nature, which prefers current pleasures to religion, the mocking reference of Puritans and religion is also a motif expressed in plays such as Twelfth Night.
- Honour - In an uncharacteristically serious and contemplative soliloquy, Falstaff contemplates the uselessness of honour as a "mere scrutcheon" in a catechism. Admirable for its succinctness in expression, his views are an irony of his social position as a knight.
- War - Aside from Falstaff’s dubious recruitment methods, perhaps the most wonderful instance of humour is in the midst of war, when Hal calls for Falstaff’s pistol and instead unsheathes a bottle of sack. Falstaff’s behaviour during war, both appalling yet humorous, culminates in his apparent rise from death, an indication of his rejection of death for existence: "Give me life".
Falstaff, who surpasses many other fictional characters both in terms of wisdom and sense of self-consciousness, and mght be considered one of the most vivid and strong representations of human nature that English Literature has to offer. Nevertheless, his relevance in a Shakespearean History such as Henry IV Part I deserves some examination.
Bibliography:
- The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition edited by Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean Howard, Katherine Eisaman Maus
- Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom
- Shakespeare by Mark Van Doren
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