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Prince Hal (Henry, Prince of Wales)
Falstaff is Prince Hal’s best friend and a merrily obese clown who loves drinking and eating and shamelessly avoids work, war, and responsible adulthood. Unafraid to lie about being more noble than he really is, Falstaff’s seemingly mocking musings on the nature of honor and war turn out to contain some of the most profound thinking in the play.
Sir John Falstaff Quotes in Henry IV Part 1
The Henry IV Part 1 quotes below are all either spoken by Sir John Falstaff or refer to Sir John Falstaff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2, Scene 4
Quotes
Why, hear ye, my masters: Was it for me to kill the heir-apparent? should I turn upon the true Prince? why, thou knowest I am as valiant as Hercules: but beware instinct; the lion will not touch the true Prince. Instinct is a great matter; I was now a coward on instinct. I shall think the better of myself and thee during my life; I for a valiant lion, and thou for a true prince.
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Act 4, Scene 2
Quotes
Tut, tut; good enough to toss; food for powder, food for powder; they’ll fill a pit as well as better: tush, man, mortal men, mortal men.
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Act 5, Scene 1
Quotes
Well, ‘tis no matter; honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honour set a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honour? A word. What is in that word “honour”? What is that “honour”? Air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it? He that died o’Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. ‘Tis insensible then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore I’ll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon. And so ends my catechism.
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Get the entire Henry IV Part 1 LitChart as a printable PDF.
Sir John Falstaff Quotes in Henry IV Part 1
The Henry IV Part 1 quotes below are all either spoken by Sir John Falstaff or refer to Sir John Falstaff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2, Scene 4
Quotes
Why, hear ye, my masters: Was it for me to kill the heir-apparent? should I turn upon the true Prince? why, thou knowest I am as valiant as Hercules: but beware instinct; the lion will not touch the true Prince. Instinct is a great matter; I was now a coward on instinct. I shall think the better of myself and thee during my life; I for a valiant lion, and thou for a true prince.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 4, Scene 2
Quotes
Tut, tut; good enough to toss; food for powder, food for powder; they’ll fill a pit as well as better: tush, man, mortal men, mortal men.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, Scene 1
Quotes
Well, ‘tis no matter; honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honour set a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honour? A word. What is in that word “honour”? What is that “honour”? Air. A trim reckoning! Who hath it? He that died o’Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. ‘Tis insensible then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore I’ll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon. And so ends my catechism.
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Page Number and Citation:
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