Falstaff

Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in four plays by William Shakespeare. Round and glorious, tradition holds that Shakespeare wrote the part for his second comedian, a fat man, John Heminge, who played at bold, baudy humor of a [John Candy] sort. Flush with flatulent humor, Falstaff still managed to embody a kind of depth common to Shakespeare's tricky comedy. In Act II, Scene III of Henry V, his death is described by the character "Hostess," possibly the bar-lady Mistress Quickly[?], who describes his body in terms that echo the description of the death of Socrates.

He appears in:

• Henry IV pt one[?]
• Henry IV pt two[?]
• Henry V
• The Merry Wives of Windsor

There is a LOT to say about him. Would someone like to start?

Giuseppe Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, with libretto by Arrigo Boito, is an opera buffa, based primarily on The Merry Wives of Windsor.