citizen” contrasted to that of a “slave”); and because of this quality, the ironical comic type developed into a sympathetic figure during the Renaissance, a character who, despite his roguery and crafty ways, invites the audience to share in his delight and to laugh with him. The buffoon and the boaster (or impostor), by contrast, are not necessarily sympathetic characters. The audience may more likely laugh at them instead of with them. In fact, the audience may even enjoy seeing such characters receive their comeuppances at the play’s conclusion.
Shakespeare clearly made use of all three types of comic characters as described in Aristotle’s (or Aristotelian) works. But, as suggested before, Shakespeare was never content to rely or slavishly adhere to dramatic conventions. He often broke the boundaries and moved into new territory never before explored by other playwrights. And that exactly may be what lies behind the striking distinctions between the three versions of Falstaff that Shakespeare presented on the London stage. Rather than making Falstaff one comic character, Shakespeare purposely made him into all three comic types; and in each of the three plays, a different comic type predominated: the ironical type in 1 Henry IV, the impostor in 2 Henry IV, and the buffoon in The Merry Wives of Windsor.