William Shakespeare wrote many great short stories and plays. He was born on April 23rd 1564 and died April 23rd 1616. He was educated in Latin grammar and literature as a young child. In 1582 he married his wife, Anne Hathaway. In 1583, they had their first child, Susanna and then in 1585 they had twins, Hamnet and Judith ("Shakespeare" Biography). He had written many plays and poetry. Some of his famous plays were known as Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry IV, and Hamlet. Many people admired the plays Hamlet and Henry IV, because of the magnificent characters that were chosen to be a part in both of the plays. The characters Hamlet and Falstaff have many different characteristics. .
In one of his plays, Henry IV, featured a very different character known as Falstaff. He was one of Shakespeare's finest characters ("Sir" 464). He was known as a coward, liar, rascal, and combat soldier, and of course a lecher, someone who is overly interested in the opposite sex ("Sir" 464). Falstaff was known for his many individualizing traits. Falstaff always had an interesting part in each section of the play. In the play, Henry IV, Falstaff is a friend of Prince Hal. He amuses himself by wooing the respectable ladies of two merchants, but then beaten and dumped by the "merry wives" ("Sir 697). The character Falstaff would not be beloved if he was not openhearted, witty, and cowardly ("Shakespeare").
In 1601, Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. During this time, it was marked for Shakespeare by two events, the death of his father and the imprisonment of his patron and friend, Lord Southampton (Deville). Hamlet is known as Shakespeare's "later tragedies." Hamlet is one of the most compelling characters ever to rise from the pages of literature (Moore). He is a mysterious combination of a series of literary sources and the phenomenal genius of Shakespeare ("Hamlet" 438).
