Bardolph is one of Falstaff and Prince Hal's buddies, in the days when Hal is hanging out in low class taverns (in Henry IV, Part I, for example). Bardolph is a thief, a drunk, and a coward. His face is marked with "carbuncles," which makes him the butt of jokes for the other men, and he mostly just takes it, suggesting a passive nature. His passivity is also seen in how he lets Falstaff set the story, and then goes along with it. Because he does go along with it, he's also a liar, though not a very good one.

He is eventually hanged for looting.