William Shakespeare's "Henry IV" Analytical Essay by Peter Pen

This paper explains that the character of Falstaff, in William Shakespeare's "Henry IV" is a completely independent organism; he is both a child, who needs nursing, and a mother, who gives nursing, which renders him emotionally self-sufficient. The author points out that Falstaff has no sense of history; he is devoid of the peripheral vision of past or future that tends to de-emphasize the present; thus, Falstaff lives like nature because he is not fiscally bound to dependence, conscious of himself or a partaker in history. The paper relates that Falstaff never fully believes in honor, but he does see practical value in wearing its mask, having a title, to the point that he will lie about killing Hotspur to have it.