Sally Bayley: The Shakespeare tragedy that truly speaks to us now

By Dilip -

In 2021, as we approach Shakespeare's putative birthday tomorrow, there are more profound reasons why his character is pertinent. During this difficult year of lockdowns and isolation, Falstaff has emerged in my mind as a potent symbol of dispossession and social misfortune   

There may be Shakespeare characters who are more celebrated, or whose tragedies are grander, but perhaps none is as easy to empathise with as John Falstaff, the portly knight of Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor.  John Falstaff, that charismatic drunk, who lodges at the Boar's Head Tavern and keeps company with Prince Henry, aka Hal, soon to be Henry V; the chaotic old man who distracts the young prince from his more serious business of becoming king.

Happy birthday Shakespeare

We feel a certain sympathy for Falstaff because he is a dependent: in need of company, food and fellowship, of social acceptance. He reminds us how in need we all are. As US critic Harold Bloom put it about his own very intimate relationship with Falstaff as a boy of 12: "I turned to him out of need because I was lonely." Falstaff reminds us we are all children at heart wanting love and attention, family and community. Rejection and isolation are never far away for any of us.

We relate to the disreputable Falstaff as a wayward form of kin, a relative in need of reforming, a character in whom we see aspects of our own dented personalities: the character who tells lies and improvises his story when under pressure; who speaks wittily through his drink. You might say he speaks wittily because of his drink and not much else, because Falstaff is not a man of action. He fails to carry out the Gadshill robbery plot planned in the first part of Henry IV, and instead, runs away from his assailants. Despite this, he is ready with a tall tale to impress his audience. But what else does Falstaff have to rely on but his capacity for consumption of dry white wine or 'sack', and his gift of the gab?..

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210421-the-shakespeare-tragedy-that-truly-speaks-to-us-now

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