From Henry IV Part 1 Act V Scene I Lines 127-141.
Shakespeare's King Henry IV Part 1 centers on the principal theme of the conflict between order and disorder. This conflict is prevalent throughout the drama through the use of various vehicles, such as Hal's inner conflict, the country's political dispute, and the contradiction of moral values between the world of the court and the world of the tavern. The character, Sir John Falstaff, unlike the honorable Hotspur or King Henry, is a symbol for vitality and freedom from all life's seriousness. Falstaff's enduring moral disorder and contempt for glory accompanied with danger is evident in his short soliloquy on honor at the conclusion of Act V Scene I in Henry IV Part 1. .
By Act V, Prince Hal has reformed himself. He no longer basks in the tavern life of irresponsibility and novelty. Rather, the prince has moved away from his former mentor, Falstaff, and has become an honorable leader like his father, King Henry. In addition, Hal seems to have adopted the language of the court, speaking mostly in blank verse similar to the language of Henry and Sir Walter Blunt. Falstaff, on the other hand, continues to speak in his typical prose speech, indicating the enduring division between the court and tavern worlds.
Hal's acceptance of his responsibilities to the court is made apparent in the dialogue preceding Falstaff's speech on the subject of honor. In this scene, Hal and Henry make attempts to appease Worcester and Vernon, members of the rebel camp, in hopes of calling off the pending battle. Hal's prediction that Douglas and Hotspur will not accept Henry's offer of a free pardon due to their love of fighting warrants Henry's newfound respect for his son, the prince. Upon discussion of the inevitable battle, King Henry begins to make preparations for war. As the King departs, Falstaff immediately professes his blatant cowardice, begging his former student to protect him in battle.
Falstaff plays the one of comedy in this very serious play. ... Falstaff doesn't think much of honor, instead he mocks it. ... Falstaff even fakes his own death to avoid being killed by his enemy. ... Falstaff is interested in few things, mainly food and beer. ... Maybe that is why Shakespeare developed so much of Falstaff into this play. ...
Much of this is because Henry and Falstaff are very different people. Falstaff is greedy, lazy, selfish, witty the opposite of Henry. ... To do this he invites Falstaff along on his journey of discovery. ... This can be seen when Hal pays for the robbery committed by Falstaff and again when he puts Falstaff in charge of a group of soldiers. ... Falstaff says "What is honor?...
Falstaff takes the role of prince while Hal plays the part of the king, urging his son to end his association with Falstaff, who defends himself profusely in the process. During their exchange, Falstaff's appearance as an old, lazy, and hopeless individual is accentuated, which forces Falstaff to defend himself and reveal his true intention of being a valiant and integral companion to Hal. ... Hal uses several metaphors and invective to criticize Falstaff within the first stanza. Falstaff is portrayed as being a no good useless companion, who is a negative influence on Hal. ... " ...
Falstaff was known for his many individualizing traits. Falstaff always had an interesting part in each section of the play. In the play, Henry IV, Falstaff is a friend of Prince Hal. ... Hamlet is more of the laid back kind of guy than Falstaff. Falstaff has more excitement to his personal character. ...
According to Falstaff, not a great deal. ... Falstaff is truly exemplary of the tavern world. ... 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. ... In this way, and spoken directly to the audience, Falstaff effectively expresses his unashamed resolution not to submit to moral order. ...
His purpose here is to keep Falstaff on his toes. ... In fact, what Hal means by this is that Falstaff will be the hanged thief. ... After Falstaff's misinterpretation of Hal's reference to Falstaff's being the hanged thief, Hal says to him "Thou judgest false already!" ... Falstaff would assumingly take this to mean that Hal think he will not be the "brave judge" that Falstaff has previously asserted, but the audience could infer that Falstaff is wrongly judging the character of Hal. ... When Falstaff protests "Banish plump Jack and banish all the world!" ...
Henry IV, Part 1 The effect of scenes from the two plots in Acts I, II, III is how the scenes of Prince Hal and his somewhat common life with his life of prostitutes, thievery and severe alcoholism with his leech like friends Poins, Peto, Bardolph and of course the laughter provoking likes of Sir John Falstaff which is compared with prince Hals fathers (King Henry) life of leading England towards victory over the rebels, who at the current point of focus is Hotspur, the impetuous young knight who King Henry himself commended for his gallant behavior in the battle at Homledon against the Sco...
In 1640, in a commendatory poem to Shakespeare's Poems, Leonard Digges noted that, while Ben Jonson's plays could no longer dependably attract an audience large enough to cover the costs of production, Shakespeare's play was still a certain hit: "let but Falstaff come, Hall [i.e. ... No doubt much of its continued popularity has resulted, as Digges suggested, from the comic action, and, in particular, from the character of Falstaff. ... The twentieth century, however, rediscovered both on stage and in the study the fact that the play offers more than the remarkable (and oft-rema...
In Henry IV Falstaff plays a foolish knight who has twenty-three animal references made to him. A contrast is continually made between Falstaff and various animals. ... A contrast example is when Falstaff is hiding from Mrs. ... The irony of Falstaff being compared to a flea serves to show him a fool in the eyes of the audience, and nothing as incredulous as Falstaff being the size of a flea could possibly be true. ... Ford insults Falstaff in his presence he can not defend himself. ...
