“Thou art so fat-witted with drinking of old sack, and unbuttoning thee after supper....” Here he is saying that because Falstaff dinks so much alcohol, he has become obese and that because he eats so much at supper time, Falstaff has to unbutton his trousers just so he can fit his stomach in. This mocking could be taken the wrong way but Prince puts it so that it is not so much insulting but more of a joke. Falstaff goes on explain that goes by the moon and the stars. But Prince tells Falstaff that he better be careful or he’ll go to the gallows to be hung. As Falstaff and Hal are always joking, neither of them takes it too seriously but, deep down they know that something has to be one about Falstaff’s thieving.
Falstaff blames Hal for leading him astray, and says that before he met Hal he as a good man. As soon as Falstaff vows to change his ways, Hal proposes a robbery tomorrow, saying to Falstaff,
“Where shall we take a purse from tomorrow, Jack?” Immediately Falstaff jumps at the chance, it shows that his vow to reform was shallow and not at all true. This shows Hal that Falstaff could never give up the life he has at the moment, but both of them know he should.
Falstaff is a habitual rebel. He is a member of the Courts yet he is always stealing and never living up to his name. He is meant to be a knight yet he looks as if he has never raised a finger in battle. He is also meant to look respectable, be sensible and act moderately well-behaved. However Falstaff doesn’t even try. He is quite an old man but he wouldn’t never want to admit it. Falstaff is very quick-witted, he always has come-backs to everything that is thrown at him. An example of this is when Hal is going on at Falstaff about his weight, but Falstaff seems quite laid back and goes along with Hal’s comments. Falstaff often uses people to get what he wants, he doesn’t think about other people as long as he is happy.
Hal however plays more of the part that he is supposed to play. He doesn’t steal, drink, or gamble as much as Falstaff but because he is young he does it a bit. In Hal’s soliloquy he tells the audience that is waiting for the right moment to show his true colours to the world. Hal is saying here that even though Falstaff is his friend, one day he has to be king so he has to change to fit into that role and wont always be able to joke around like earlier in the scene. This shows that Hal is the more independent one because he is talking about leaving Falstaff behind not vise versa.
Their relationship in this first scene is very relaxed. They seem at ease around each other, continuously joking about and making comments about each other that could be hurtful but aren’t said in a way which makes so. In Act 1, Scene 2, neither Hal nor Falstaff have had a real chance to let their true selves show as they were only joking around in the play.
Act 5, Scene 4 is the war scene between the Rebels and the Court. By this time Hal has promised to his father that he will be more of a son that he wants, instead of wasting time in public houses. In the speech between Hal and the King, Hal said,
“I shall hereafter, my thrice-gracious lord, Be more myself.” This was Hal’s vow to change for his dad. Now is the time that he needs to leave Falstaff behind and become who he really meant to be.
The relationship between Hal and Falstaff in this scene is very different to that of the first one. There is a lot less joking about and teasing each other. This is mainly because they are about to go to war and Hal has to focus on winning for the country rather than messing about with his friends in the local public house. Hal, unlike Falstaff, has adapted to this change. He is ready to fight but Falstaff can’t make that change. He has let himself get into a routine of drinking and gambling that he can’t get out of.
During the actual war, Falstaff pretends to fall dead, this is so that he doesn’t have to fight any more so he wont get killed. I think that this is very cowardly as Falstaff is a knight and it is his duty to the country that he should fight. After finding Falstaff, Hal refers to Falstaff’s size again by saying,
“...could not all this flesh, Keep in a little life?” By this Hal is saying that isn’t Falstaff fat enough to keep him protected from the sword wounds. Believing that Falstaff is dead, Hal carries on to say that he doesn’t think he will miss him. However, after finding out that Falstaff is actually still alive, Hal goes back to the role of being Falstaff’s protector.
After Hotspur has been killed by Hal, Falstaff claims that it was him who killed Hotspur. This shows that Falstaff sill uses other people to get what he wants, even if it leaves the other person in a very bad condition, or even if they were his friend. This is very selfish of him as he only thinks of himself.
In these two scenes we have seen different sides to both Hal and Falstaff. The locations and events happening in each scene were also different so caused different sides of people to show through. The relationship between Hal and Falstaff also changes quite a lot. As Hal changes to fit in with what he needs to be, Falstaff doesn’t change. Even though their relationship is never totally destroyed, they could never go back to being as they were at the beginning of the play. Hal has always been greatly superior to Falstaff but Hal has always treated him as a friend. However now, it is hard for them to go back being as they were because Hal realises his position and has to keep up the expectations of the public and his family.