But according to Goddard, Hal must choose between the principle of Force represented by his father, Henry IV, who has deposed Richard II, and the principle of Imagination, represented by Falstaff. He warns the city of Harfleur that it will see its naked infants impaled on his soldiers' spears if it resists. Goddard supports his interpretation with a close reading of the text. Falstaff is immortal because he is a symbol of the supremacy of the imagination over fact. He forecasts man's final victory over Fate itself.
Facts stand in our way.
Possessing it, he perpetually does something creative with it. It is not enough for him to be the sworn enemy of facts. Any lazy man or fool is that. He is the sworn enemy of the factual spirit itself, of whatever is dull, inert, banal. And where he is, life becomes bright, active, enthralling.