  sir john falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by william shakespeare. in the two henry iv plays, he is a companion to prince hal, the future king henry v. in the merry wives of windsor he is the buffoonish suitor of two married women. though primarily a comic figure, falstaff still embodies a kind of depth common to shakespeare's major characters. a fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, he spends most of his time drinking at the boar's head inn with petty criminals, living on stolen or borrowed money. falstaff leads the apparently wayward prince hal into trouble, and is ultimately repudiated after hal becomes king. in act ii, scene iii of henry v, his death is described by mistress quickly in terms that parody plato's description of the death of socrates. falstaff has since appeared in other media, notably in operas by giuseppe verdi, ralph vaughan williams and otto nicolai. the operas focus on his role in the merry wives of windsor. ==appearances==  he appears in the following plays: * henry iv, part 1 * henry iv, part 2 * the merry wives of windsor his death is mentioned in henry v but he has no lines, nor is it directed that he appear on stage. however, many stage and film adaptations have seen it necessary to include falstaff for the insight he provides into king henry v's character. the most notable examples in cinema are laurence olivier's 1944 version and kenneth branagh's 1989 film, both of which draw additional material from the henry iv plays. there are several works about falstaff, inspired by shakespeare's plays: * orson welles's chimes at midnight (1966) compiles the two henry iv plays into a single, condensed storyline, while adding a handful of scenes from richard ii and henry v. the movie, also known as falstaff, features welles himself in the title role. * falstaff (1893), giuseppe verdi's last opera, with a libretto by arrigo boito. it is mostly based upon the merry wives of windsor. * [[falstaff (salieri)|falstaff
Comedy_characters Fictional_alcohol_abusers Fictional_antiheroes Fictional_knights Literary_archetypes_by_name Male_Shakespearean_characters Prisoners_in_Fleet_Prison