John Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is one of the most famous comic characters in English literature. A fat, vain, cowardly knight who is contemptuous of honourable virtues. Falstaff dominates the two Henry IV plays. He also acts as a “father ruffian” figure to the future Henry V, who is known in the plays as Prince Hal. Falstaff introduces Hal to a hedonistic lifestyle amongst the commoners of Eastcheap, London. Shakespeare’s depiction popularized the notion that Henry had a riotous youth before he adopted the serious mantle of kingship. It is a dramatically rich tale – but the reality is quite different.