Sir John Falstaff Timeline and Summary

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• 1.2.1: Falstaff horses around with his buddy, the Prince of Wales, at the prince's pad in London.
• 1.2.9: Falstaff jokes with Prince Hal about the prince hanging thieves when he becomes king.
• 1.2.18: Falstaff and Poins try to convince Hal to take part in highway robbery.
• 2.1.14: Falstaff, Bardolph, Gadshill, and Petro rob the king's exchequer (treasury) on the road at Gad's Hill. Then, Falstaff and crew are robbed by a disguised Prince Hal and Ned Poins.
• 2.4.9: At the tavern in Eastcheap, Falstaff spins a tale about fighting a gang of thieves who robbed him of his stolen loot at Gads Hill. (The number of thieves grows exponentially.)
• 2.2.32: Falstaff talks to the messenger, John Bracy, who delivers news that the king wants to see Hal at the palace at the brewing rebellion.
• 2.4.39: Falstaff plays the role of "King Henry" in an impromptu skit at the tavern.
• 2.4.47: Falstaff switches roles with Hal and plays the role of the "Prince."
• 2.4.57: When the sheriff shows up at the tavern looking to throw Falstaff in the clink for highway robbery, Falstaff hides behind an arras (screen) and then passes out cold while Hal covers for him.
• 3.3.6: Falstaff accuses Mistress Quickly of picking his pockets the previous night (as he slept behind the arras while Hal spoke to the sheriff and covered for him).
• 3.3.10: Falstaff learns that he's to join the king's forces and fight against the rebels.
• 4.2.1: Falstaff, whose been made a captain, tells us he took bribes from able-bodied men who didn't want to be drafted into the king's army.
• 4.2.6: Falstaff calls his rag-tag troops "food for [gun] powder" and says their soon to be dead bodies will fill a "pit" as well as anything else.
• 5.2.3: On the battlefield at Shrewsbury, Falstaff delivers his famous speech on "honour" and says it's nothing but "air," a mere word that's useless to men who lose their lives trying to achieve it.
• 5.3.2: When Hal asks to borrow a weapon, Falstaff gives him a bottle of "sack" (wine) instead and makes a joke about war.
• 5.4.1: Falstaff plays dead to avoid being killed in battle.
• 5.4.2: Falstaff stabs Hotspur's dead body and hefts it over his back like a trophy.
• 5.4.3: Falstaff lies and says he killed Hotspur so he'll be rewarded by the king, even though Hal has informed him that the prince killed Hotspur.