Harold Bloom says to reject Falstaff is to reject Shakespeare. Do you agree?

Question

I have to say that I prefer Helen Vendler to Bloom since I don't like the way he makes up so many weird terms which for me don't add anything.

I should add that in his book, Shakespeare the Invention of the Human, he sets up Hamlet, Lear, and Falstaff as the great characters which redefined man's concept of what it means to be human.

(He also thinks that Rosalind of As You Like It is terribly important.)

Bloom said that he thought he would never see a better performance of Falstaff than the one Raph Richardson gave. I wonder if that is available anywhere? (I'll check.)

I have never seen a performance of Henry IV either part live but have a great performance on audio tape.

I wish they would make a movie now of Henry IV. It probably won't happen though. Come on Branaugh, do it now!

Answer 1

Actually, in the sense that he means Falstaff not as the literal alter-ego of Shakespeare, but the embodiment of the spirit of Shakespeare, then yeah, I guess I do have to agree with him. (And yes, Prof. Bloom is nothing if not opinionated and convinced of the rightness of his opinions...) But only the Falstaff in the "Henry IV" plays, not "The Merry Wives of Windsor". (Cheap Hollywood sequel to make money...!) I don't agree that without Falstaff you'd still have the great tragedies, because what leavens the great tragedies is that element of dark comedy that seems so modern, and which Falstaff really has at his core in spite of his bluster. If you look at "King Lear" one way, it's the darkest of comedies, and that's what the Fool understands. Hamlet is almost a philosopher-Falstaff in some ways. And so on. Again, I don't think it's the character "Falstaff" per se that Bloom is talking about (Sir John, the cowardly knight), but his personification of the absurdity of life and how you just have to keep after it with all the pleasure you can muster and pain you can endure.

Answer 2

I've never been quite the Falstaff fan that Mr. Bloom is, but...

99 times out of 100, if Harold Bloom says the moon is made of green cheese, I'm inclined to agree. That is one smart dude.

Answer 3

though Falstaff might be Shakespeare's alter ego, i can't agree with bloom (though I've loved his books). anyway, if you reject Falstaff that doesn't mean that you reject king Lear, Othello, Hamlet and so on.

Answer 4

falstaff is pivotal in twelfth night and similar characters who add mirth and merriment keep cropping up to keep the audience awake incase they were drunk on gin. my favourite falstaff was the now deceased john thaw.