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The Story of English Kings, According to Shakespeare
The Story of English Kings According to Shakespeare Author:James Jesse Burns General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1900 Original Publisher: D. Appleton Subjects: Great Britain Gt. Brit Drama / Shakespeare Literary Criticism / Shakespeare Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the Gen... more »eral Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: THE STOEY OF FALSTAFF. While giving our attention to the final scenes which the great artist has drawn for us in the career of Henry IY, we have left Falstaff in the waiting- room. Let us now go back to some scenes in which the big knight was a leading actor -- at least a leading talker. And, perhaps, from the story-teller's point of view, it will be better hence to follow him so far as his part is played before the curtain till it reach a close, not heroic indeed, but not lacking in pathos. The last we saw of Sir John Falstaff was his serio-comic exploit in carrying off the body of the slain Hotspur, and claiming, without a blush, to have himself given the quietus to that doughty warrior. Not long after this modest performance, the war still progressing, we see him in a London street, strolling heavily along, a diminutive page, whom he pleasantly addresses, " You giant!" bearing his sword and buckler. Falstaff. Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me : the brain of this foolish-compounded clay, man, is not able to invent anything that tends to laughter, more than I invent, or is invented on me: I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men. I do walk before thee like a sow that hath overwhelmed all her litter but one. If the prince put thee into my service for any other reason than to set me off, why then I have no judgment. Thou art fitter to be worn in my cap than to wait at my heels. I was never manned with an agate till now; but I will set you nei...« less