Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. Falstaff is also featured as the buffoonish suitor of two married women in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Though primarily a comic figure, he embodies a depth common to Shakespeare's major characters.
A fat, vain, and boastful knight, he spends most of his time drinking at the Boar's Head Inn with petty criminals, living on stolen or borrowed money. Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is repudiated when Hal becomes king.
Welles, who played Falstaff in his film, considered the character "Shakespeare's greatest creation". His death is mentioned in Henry V , but he has no lines, nor is it directed that he appear on stage. However, many stage and film adaptations have seen it necessary to include Falstaff for the insight he provides into King Henry V 's character.
The most notable examples in cinema are Laurence Olivier 's version and Kenneth Branagh 's film , both of which draw additional material from the Henry IV plays. The character is known to have been very popular with audiences at the time, and for many years afterwards. According to Leonard Digges , writing shortly after Shakespeare's death, while many plays could not get good audiences, "let but Falstaff come, Hal, Poins , the rest, you scarce shall have a room".
King Henry is troubled by the behaviour of his son and heir, the Prince of Wales. Hal the future Henry V has lost his authority at court and spends his time in taverns with low companions. He has become an object of scorn to the nobility and his worthiness to succeed his father is doubted. Hal's main companion in enjoying the low life is Sir John Falstaff. Fat, old, drunk, and corrupt as he is, he has a charisma and a zest for life that captivates the Prince.
