Beginning of Essay
Falstaff: Friend or Father Figure? When studying the characters of Shakespeare's Henry IV, one can not help but observe Falstaff. Falstaff is considered by many to be one of the greatest comic inventions ever. Critics have called Falstaff everything ranging fro ....

Middle of Essay
.... constantly in debt and unscrupulous in the choice of means for procuring money; a cowardly soldier, and a lying braggart; a flatterer to the face, and a satirist behind the backs of his friends; - and yet we are never disgusted with him." (cited in Hemingway 418) Falstaff's underlying purpose of the play is to act as a father figure to Hal, Henry IV. So, how does a man of such a personality attract noble followers such as Hal? In order for us to answer this question we must first observe the character of Hal. Hal can be compared to a chameleon. At the beginning of the play, the audience witnesses Hal's constant indulgence in drink and pran ....