ABSTRACT

https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315018577/389c1d69-bf6d-4f43-8610-58d40a6d0a1a/content/Inline_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Aseries of comic interludes interrupts the continuity of the historical pattern of the two parts of Henry IV, and because these interludes have been built about the character of Falstaff, they have obscured the history play they were meant to adorn. It is with reluctance that I relegate to an epilogue to this chapter the discussion of the immortal who has been so largely responsible for keeping the play alive in the hearts of posterity, but this is a history play, and Falstaff is historically an intruder, though certainly a “delectation.”