Rereading Shakespeare's Prince Hal and Falstaff

The two Henry IV plays, described as “the twin summits of Shakespeare's achievement”, feature the unlikely friendship of Prince Hal and Falstaff. This book further analyzes their relationship. Past performances and criticism have often presented Falstaff, arguably the world's greatest comic character, as too much of a clown. Shakespeare works from different moral centres to give each main character his due. Though Falstaff is rejected by Prince Hal as Henry V, his voice, representing Eastcheap’s seamier, more human side of existence, cannot ultimately be denied. After his death, the Hostess of the tavern in Eastcheap associates Falstaff, one of the City's own, with Britain's legendary past.