He also suggests that Shakespeare initially tailored the part for the comic actor Will Kemp. Wiles also points out the comic phallic possibilities in the name. The only weapon associated with Falstaff in Merry Wives is a cudgel or wooden practice sword. In the dramatic realms of historical event, the Henry IV plays, Falstaff's purpose is to provide a comic viewpoint. Merry Wives has been dubbed one of Shakespeare's poorer works.
Critics call the plot and subplot lines sloppy.
Although the praise for Falstaff is nearly universal, it has been argued that the Falstaff of Merry Wives is a very different figure than his namesake in the histories. Though still witty, pompous, self-absorbed and exploitative, he seems almost bereft of the mental agility he displayed in the Henry IV plays. He is too easily duped and gulled in this comedy. More astute commentary, however, argues that the character seems a lesser figure in Merry Wives simply because he now occupies the world of a comedy, not because Shakespeare was tired of him. In this stringently moral society, the playful and festively immoral Falstaff is destined to fail in his attempt to buck the social order.