Part II
(Shakespeare)
THE second part of Henry IV. is distinguished from the rest of Shakespeare's historical plays by containing the final fall of Falstaff. It has. of course, the alarums and excursions, the conspiracies and parleys, the Laneasters, Northumberlands. Scroops and Mowbrays appropriate to historical plays. But of more enduring importance than their marchings and counter-marchings is the underlying story of the Fat Knight and his command in the war, his junketing and bluffing through his commission, and the last pathetic scene when his boon-companion, Prince Henry, now come to the throne, rebukes him and passes him by. The play ends with the arrest of Falstaff and ' all his company,' and their departure for the fleet ; and one can look for him in vain in Henry V. There one may find heroics in plenty, speeches that have become famous, humour even, behind the lines; but the only trace of Falstaff is in these scenes where it is told, first that' the king has killed his heart,' and then, finally, that ' Falstaff, he is dead.'