![Falstaff, by Eduard von Grützner](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Eduard_von_Gr%C3%BCtzner_Falstaff.jpg/200px-Eduard_von_Gr%C3%BCtzner_Falstaff.jpg)
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare as a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vainglorious, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, but he is ultimately repudiated after Hal becomes king. Though primarily a comic figure, Falstaff still embodies a kind of depth common to Shakespeare's tricky comedy.