ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies specific strategies Shakespeare used to activate and buttress the memory of Falstaff as that which shades off into a kind of intimated oblivion, and traces the mnemotechnical implications of his dramaturgically necessary death. Falstaff's signature corpulence features prominently in the criticism of the Henriad. Falstaff's reported deathbed farewell effectively overwrites the memory of Falstaff as the Henriad takes its decisive turn toward the redeemed Prince exhibiting kingly virtues. With Falstaff safely redirected from the battlefield to the suburbs, this citizens' comedy portrays the lusty knight as mostly harmless, past his prime but refusing to acknowledge his waning appeal to the opposite sex. The very appearance of Falstaff is for Hal a memento mori reminding him of his end; if not spiritually then certainly politically and dynastically. In addition to playing at Moriens, Falstaff embodies the sacrificial scapegoat, the classical braggart soldier, the medieval figure of Vice and its various allegorical incarnations.
