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Falstaff's Role In Henry IV, Part One - College Term Papers

Falstaff's Role In Henry IV, Part One



Henry IV, Part One, has always been one of the most popular of
Shakespeare's plays, maybe because of Falstaff. Much of the early criticism
I found concentrated on Falstaff and so will I. This may begin in the
eighteenth century with Samuel Johnson. For Johnson, the Prince is a "young
man of great abilities and violent passions," and Hotspur is a "rugged
soldier," but "Falstaff, unimitated, unimitable Falstaff, how shall I
describe thee? Thou compound of sense and vice . . . a character loaded
with faults, and with faults which produce contempt . . . a thief, a
glutton, a coward, and a boaster, always ready to cheat the weak and prey
upon the poor; to terrify the timorous and insult the ...

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Falstaff's frivolity from the play
and it can exist for its own sake apart from the major theme of the drama.
3. That the play is really about the fate of the kingdom, and that you
(the reader) do not connect Falstaff's scenes with the main action. This
means that the play has no real unity.
Starting with Johnson's first assumption, I do agree with this. Any
discussion of Falstaff is bound to include a judgement about his moral
character. Is he a coward, a thief, a glutton? No one can deny that he is
in fact a glutton and a thief. A coward is debatable. I choose to think he
is. He is self centered and cares only for his own profit and enjoyment. He
will protect himself at all costs including playing " possum" if necessary
to avoid injury. When he misuses the money intended to buy troops and
weapons, he turns it into profit for himself. Once again, with no concern
for anyone else, he potentially jeopardizes the troops, the battle and the
kingdom with substandard men and ...

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Falstaff's Role In Henry IV, Part One. (2004, February 22). Retrieved March 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Falstaffs-Role-Henry-IV-Part-One/3486
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"Falstaff's Role In Henry IV, Part One." Essayworld.com. February 22, 2004. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Falstaffs-Role-Henry-IV-Part-One/3486.
"Falstaff's Role In Henry IV, Part One." Essayworld.com. February 22, 2004. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Falstaffs-Role-Henry-IV-Part-One/3486.
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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 2/22/2004 11:47:17 PM
Category: Arts
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 921
Pages: 4

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