The character of Falstaff in Henry IVNone of Shakespeare's plays are read more than the first and second parts of Henry IV. Particularly in Henry IV Part I, Shakespeare writes events that are chronologically historical and interesting to follow. The reader follows the chain of events with devotion and content, eager to find out what happens next. Although the hero of the play is Prince Henry, or Hal as we know him, the reader may focus more on Falstaff, one of the other major characters Shakespeare created for comic relief. He was a witty, self-aware and self-centered companion to the prince. King Henry even criticized his eldest son for keeping company with such a base man. Although Hal is the hero of the play in both the tragic and comic parts, Falstaff is a main character to focus on in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part I. The Prince is a character with many qualities, good and bad. He is a man of great abilities and violent passions, as Samuel Johnson noted in his Plays of William Shakespeare. Johnson also said that Hal's actions are wrong and even partially evil and I would have to agree with him on that. (Johnson 234) To prove my point and justify Johnson's, I should refer to the scene after the Boar's Head tavern. The crew decides to play a game of thieves and Hal and a companion in turn decide to rob Falstaff himself for fun. They do it and therefore leave man his dignity. However, it can be argued that Falstaff prepared himself for a joke so cruel that he even bragged about how he had fought off the masked thieves who, as he later discovered, were none other than the prince himself and his companion. Where, as the reader knows, he... middle of paper ... the reader will appreciate is Falstaff. He is a self-centered man, concerned with his own desires, without care or concern for others. Many critics agree that he was placed in the play for comic relief and serves that purpose well. Finally, it can be said that Falstaff enhances the play and gives the viewer the pleasure of following a character of such personality and spirit.WORKS CITED Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Henry IV Memorandums of HC Robinson, Signet Classic, pp. 236-237. Goldman, Michael. Shakespeare and the energies of the drama Henry IV, Signet Classic, pp. 260-261. Johnson, Samuel. The plays of William Shakespeare Henry IV, Signet Classic, pp.234-235. Kahn, Coppelia. Succession of man: masculine identity in Shakespeare Henry IV, Signet Classic, pp.262-266.Wilson, John Dover. The Fortunes of Falstaff Henry IV, Signet Classic, pp..238-243.