Editing John Falstaff (section)

===''Henry IV, Part 1''===
{{further|Henry IV, Part 1}}
[[File:Falstaff plays the king.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|1829 watercolour by [[Johann Heinrich Ramberg]] of Act II, Scene iv; Falstaff enacts the part of the king]]

King Henry is troubled by the behaviour of his son and heir, the [[Prince of Wales]]. Hal (the future [[Henry V of England|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.

Hal likes Falstaff but makes no pretence of being like him. He enjoys insulting his dissolute friend and makes sport of him. He and Poins pretend to go along with a plan by Falstaff and three friends to carry out a highway robbery, but then attack the robbers in disguise and in turn steal their loot, after which Hal returns it to its owner. Hal tells the audience that he will soon abandon this life and assume his rightful high place in affairs by showing himself worthy through some (unspecified) noble exploits. Hal believes that this sudden change will gain him additional approval and earn him respect at court.

Falstaff, who has "misused the King's press damnably",<ref>{{Folger inline|1H4|4|2|12–13|bare=true}}</ref> by taking money from able-bodied men who wished to evade service and by keeping the wages of those he recruited who were killed in battle ("food for powder, food for powder")<ref>{{Folger inline|1H4|4|2|66–67|bare=true}}</ref> is obliged to play a role in the Battle of Shrewsbury. Left on his own during Hal's duel with [[Henry Percy (Hotspur)|Hotspur]], he feigns death to avoid attack by Douglas. After Hal leaves both Hotspur and Falstaff on the field and being thought dead, Falstaff revives, stabs Hotspur's corpse in the thigh and claims credit for the kill. Though Hal knows better, he is merciful to Falstaff, who subsequently states that he wants to amend his life and begin "to live cleanly as a nobleman should do".<ref>{{Folger inline|1H4|5|4|76–169|bare=true}}</ref>