Source: "The Battle of Shrewsbury," in The Critical Review, Melbourne, No. 15, 1972, pp. 29-45.

[Clark examines Falstaff's comic role in the play and comments on the limitations of that role. Clark traces Falstaff's movement in the play from his stature as the principal character in what appears to be a comedy to his role as a subordinate character wielding little power by the end of the play. Throughout the play, Clark argues, Falstaff's Jests point to truths that other characters jail to recognize. By the end of the play, Falstaff has come to understand the limitations of his comic view of life, in that he realizes that preserving his own life is a serious matter.]

The Battle of Shrewsbury is the consummation of this mixed historical and comic drama which constitutes Henry IV Part One, but it is also a transitional stage in the development towards the puzzlingly...