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As Henry IV, Part 2 commences, Falstaff remains his usual self: quick-witted, full of life, and a master of evasive maneuvers. He enters the drama in act 1, scene 2, where he’s confronted by the Lord Chief Justice for his participation in the Gads Hill robbery, which took place in the second act of Henry IV, Part 1. Not long after managing to evade the Chief Justice’s inquiries, he’s confronted by Mistress Quickly in act 2, scene 1. She comes with two officers—Fang and Snare—whom she’s engaged to ensure Falstaff pays his debt to her. A ridiculous fight ensues, which the Lord Chief Justice arrives in time to break up. He orders Falstaff to pay his debt, but he wields his characteristic charm to strike up a new deal with Mistress Quickly. Despite being ensnared by these legal and financial troubles, Falstaff seems as alive and carefree as ever. This attitude is doubtless related to the respect he’s gotten with the spread of rumors that he—and not Prince Harry—defeated Hotspur in battle. These rumors buttress his self-confidence as he answers orders once again to assemble troops and report for battle.
As high as Falstaff is flying at the beginning of Part 2, his arc in this play moves ineluctably toward the banishment that was ominously prophesied back in act 2, scene 4 of Part 1. Perhaps the first sign of his downward trajectory arises in a brief exchange he shares with the prostitute Doll Tearsheet, who notes his age and asks him when he’ll prepare himself for death. Falstaff responds: “Peace, good Doll. . . . [D]o not bid me remember mine end” (2.4.237–38). Falstaff, who has already insisted on his eternal youthfulness several times in the play, would prefer to believe in a life of endless enjoyment and pleasure. Yet Doll’s question about death points forward to the end of the play, where Harry officially banishes Falstaff from his presence—a turning point that will ultimately lead to Falstaff’s death in Henry V. But before the announcement of his banishment comes in act 5, scene 5, Falstaff persists in his usual ways. Just as he did in Part 1, he continues to deliver speeches that, though uttered in a comic mode, powerfully critique the sober-minded and militaristic political values of the ruling class.
