Perhaps you recall: The transformation of the capering Prince Hal into the formidable King Henry V is the new “defining motif” of this humble weblog. (Scroll down if you click the link.)
This same tranformation, however, broke the spirit of Prince Hal’s fellow-caperer, Sir John Falstaff. After the King broke off their friendship, Fallstaff’s dissolute life finally caught up with him, and he died.
In Henry V, when Falstaff’s friend Bardolph hears that the jolly knight is dead, he declares:
Would I were with him, wheresome’er he is, either in
heaven or in hell! (Act II, Scene 3)
As the statement of a Christian, this sentence makes no sense. In hell, it is impossible to enjoy each other’s company. But as the lament of a friend, it is heartbreakingly beautiful.
…John Wilson was a member of the D.C. City Council when I was in high-school. When I was in college, he became the chairman.
Father Mark White Blog 