The arrival of the sheriff and "all the watch" at the tavern door interrupts this merriment. The names of renowned Hotspur ("that same mad fellow of the North," as Falstaff calls him), Mortimer, Douglas, and "that devil Glendower" leave him unperturbed unlike Sir John, he cannot be a coward.īut Hal must appear before his royal father, and this provides the subject for the play extempore, a kind of rehearsal, in which the prince and Falstaff play alternate roles. When Falstaff returns with news of the revolt of the Percies, the prince seems almost totally unconcerned. At Hal's request, Falstaff leaves to "send him packing." During Sir John's absence, Bardolph and Peto tell how the old knight coached them to back up his preposterous story. Let all be merry, he exclaims and suggests a "play extempore" - a bit of amateur play acting - as a source of amusement.Ī messenger from the king is announced. His spirits are uplifted, for he now knows that Hal has the money taken from the travelers. Valiant though he is, never would he be one to kill the heir-apparent, whom he recognized immediately by instinct. Falstaff, in his special way, does exactly that. At last the prince gives the true account of what happened and challenges Falstaff to explain away the fact that he has proved himself to be a coward and liar. Hal and Falstaff exchange derogatory epithets. He then tells how courageously he fought at Gadshill against enemies who, first said to number one hundred, are successively reduced to six or seven and, as he testifies, two particular ones in buckram suits become successively four, seven, nine, and finally eleven. First the prince, then Poins, calls for poor Francis, who, striving to please both, runs up and down stairs in a ridiculous manner, answering each call with "Anon, sir." Hal makes the newly-arrived Falstaff and the rest of the thieves wait at the door while he comments on the significance of Francis' behavior, curiously shifting to a comparison of himself with "the Hotspur of the North."įalstaff and his companions enter, the fat knight complaining bitterly about the prevalence of cowardice and calling for sack. He engages Francis, one of them, in a bewildering game with Poins' help. Hal tells his companion that he has won much honor by being accepted as "sworn brother" to the lowly tavern servants. At the Boar's-Head Tavern, Prince Hal and Poins are entertaining themselves.
0 kommentar(er)
