Falstaff

“Banish plump Jack, and banish all the world,” (2.4.497-498) is Sir John Falstaff’s plea to Prince Hal and is the view of nearly every reader who partakes in William Shakespeare’s, Henry IV. At first the reader may view Falstaff as only a drunken, belligerent, thief, but as the play progresses one can see that he is no mere foil. Sir John Falstaff is a very complex character that the reader admires because he …

…Falstaff, one of the most famous comic characters in all English literature, endows the reader with his exploits and his wittiness. Adoration for him is so great that not only does the average reader love him, but even Elizabeth I, Queen of England adored Falstaff and requested that Shakespeare write a play focusing on Sir John. It truly seems that Hal be the only person, real or fictional, that wishes Sir John Falstaff be banished.