Henry IV, Part One

These three excerpts examine Falstaff's character. In the first, A. C. Bradley maintains that Falstaff is not a coward, even though his behavior sometimes appears cowardly. In the second excerpt, Axel Clark traces Falstaff's movement in the play from his stature as the principal character in what appears to be a comedy to his role as a subordinate character wielding little power by the end of the play. In the third excerpt, Robert F. Willson argues that when Shakespeare changed Falstaff's name from Oldcastle to Falstaff he rendered the spelling as he did for specific reasons. Willson shows how Falstaff's name is symbolic of the character's cowardice and gluttony.

Falstaff has inspired an abundance of criticism, to say the least. Critics tend to agree that Shakespeare's characterization of Falstaff is one of the playwright's greatest achievements. Probably the most debated aspect of Falstaff's character is his cowardice. Eighteenth-century commentary, beginning with Maurice Morgann's study of Falstaff, focussed heavily on this subject. Morgann argued that the "real" Falstaff was a courageous figure, not the drunken coward he appeared to be. A. C. Bradley continued this line of argument in the nineteenth century. Bradley maintains that while...

Henry IV, Part One | Falstaff

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