Life is All There Is
Claim your inner Falstaff
Armanda Veve
Divine Zest
Imagining God in the Spirit of Shakespeare's Falstaff
Francis has a difficult time imagining God as loving each living being with tender care. For her, the whole idea is too sentimental. A little mawkish, she says. She also struggles with the notion of God as a cosmic moralist, preoccupied with reward and punishment. It's too austere, too rigid. But she finds it meaningful to imagine God as a spirit, a force whose very essence is zest for life. "I like to imagine God in the image of Shakespeare's Falstaff," she says.
This got me thinking. Falstaff is known for his exuberance, his love of life, and his refusal to be constrained by societal norms. He embodies a kind of joyous vitality that defies strict moral boundaries, and in doing so, he embodies the richness and complexity of human experience that those of us in the process tradition identify value. We think that what makes life valuable is not external to life, it is the richness of experience in life itself. Whitehead called it "self-enjoyment." Falstaff has a sense for this self-enjoyment. He is hedonistic in way but by no means nihilistic, and he has a social side. His God seems to be life itself, lived to the fullest. I asked ChatGPT to imagine God in the image of Falstaff. Here's what it/he/she said:
""To conceive of God on the analogy of Falstaff is to envision a deity who is not distant, austere, or overly concerned with the minutiae of human moral failures. Instead, this God would be indulgent, embracing the fullness of life, delighting in creation, and finding joy in the spontaneity and unpredictability of existence. This God would celebrate the messiness of life, the contradictions, and the imperfections, much like Falstaff himself.
Characteristics of the Falstaffian God:
Embodiment of Joy and Pleasure: Just as Falstaff revels in the pleasures of food, drink, and good company, "The Falstaffian God" is a deity who delights in the joys of creation. This God encourages humanity to find pleasure in the world, to relish the good things in life, and to celebrate with others.
Irreverent Wisdom: Falstaff, despite his apparent lack of seriousness, often delivers profound insights with humor and wit. Similarly, "The Falstaffian God" possesses a wisdom that is not confined by conventional religious or moral boundaries, offering guidance that is playful, paradoxical, and deeply human.
Embracing Imperfection: Falstaff is unapologetically flawed, yet he remains endearing and lovable. "The Falstaffian God" embraces human imperfections, understanding that flaws and failures are part of the richness of life. This deity offers grace not through judgment, but through an acceptance of the whole human experience.
A Lust for Life: Falstaff's character is defined by his exuberant love of life. "The Falstaffian God" encourages a similar lust for life, urging humanity to live fully, passionately, and with a sense of adventure. This God reminds us that life is to be lived, not merely endured.
A Celebration of Humor and Laughter: Laughter is central to Falstaff's character, and "The Falstaffian God" is a deity who values humor as a sacred gift. This God finds joy in the absurdities of life and encourages laughter as a form of spiritual liberation.
The Sacredness of Community: Falstaff is rarely alone; he thrives in the company of others. "The Falstaffian God" emphasizes the importance of community, of sharing life's pleasures and challenges with others, and of finding the divine in the connections between people.
Imagining God in this way challenges traditional notions of the divine, offering a more inclusive and life-affirming vision. "The Falstaffian God" would be a deity who celebrates life in all its fullness, who finds divinity in laughter and joy, and who invites humanity to do the same.
Characteristics of the Falstaffian God:
Embodiment of Joy and Pleasure: Just as Falstaff revels in the pleasures of food, drink, and good company, "The Falstaffian God" is a deity who delights in the joys of creation. This God encourages humanity to find pleasure in the world, to relish the good things in life, and to celebrate with others.
Irreverent Wisdom: Falstaff, despite his apparent lack of seriousness, often delivers profound insights with humor and wit. Similarly, "The Falstaffian God" possesses a wisdom that is not confined by conventional religious or moral boundaries, offering guidance that is playful, paradoxical, and deeply human.
Embracing Imperfection: Falstaff is unapologetically flawed, yet he remains endearing and lovable. "The Falstaffian God" embraces human imperfections, understanding that flaws and failures are part of the richness of life. This deity offers grace not through judgment, but through an acceptance of the whole human experience.
A Lust for Life: Falstaff's character is defined by his exuberant love of life. "The Falstaffian God" encourages a similar lust for life, urging humanity to live fully, passionately, and with a sense of adventure. This God reminds us that life is to be lived, not merely endured.
A Celebration of Humor and Laughter: Laughter is central to Falstaff's character, and "The Falstaffian God" is a deity who values humor as a sacred gift. This God finds joy in the absurdities of life and encourages laughter as a form of spiritual liberation.
The Sacredness of Community: Falstaff is rarely alone; he thrives in the company of others. "The Falstaffian God" emphasizes the importance of community, of sharing life's pleasures and challenges with others, and of finding the divine in the connections between people.
Imagining God in this way challenges traditional notions of the divine, offering a more inclusive and life-affirming vision. "The Falstaffian God" would be a deity who celebrates life in all its fullness, who finds divinity in laughter and joy, and who invites humanity to do the same.
He is Life Itself
“Shakespeare will not allow Falstaff to die upon stage. We see and hear the deaths of Hamlet, Cleopatra, Antony, Othello, and Lear. Iago is led away to die silently under torture. Macbeth dies offstage but he goes down fighting. Falstaff dies singing the Twenty-third Psalm, smiling upon his fingertips, playing with flowers, and crying aloud to God three or four times. That sounds more like pain than prayer. We do not want Sir John Falstaff to die. And of course he does not. He is life itself.” (Harold Bloom, Falstaff: Give Me Life.
Life is All There Is
Falstaff is ancient energy thumping at volume through a temporary poundage of flesh. He is part pagan — the Lord of Misrule...and as such his time is short.
We meet him first in “Henry IV, Part 1,” already old, lusting at life, drinking pal of the young Prince Hal, who is calculatedly slumming it in London’s East End, like any rich kid running away from the family firm.
His Falstaffery is made out of language: “If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked! If to be old and merry be a sin, then many an old host that I know is damned: If to be fat be to be hated, then … banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.”
Hal the pedant prince is always informing his audiences, real and imagined. Falstaff’s outrageously embodied language reminds us that life is all there is.
- Review of Harold Bloom's Give Me Life, by Jeanette Winterson, April 21, 2017, in NY Times
We meet him first in “Henry IV, Part 1,” already old, lusting at life, drinking pal of the young Prince Hal, who is calculatedly slumming it in London’s East End, like any rich kid running away from the family firm.
His Falstaffery is made out of language: “If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked! If to be old and merry be a sin, then many an old host that I know is damned: If to be fat be to be hated, then … banish plump Jack, and banish all the world.”
Hal the pedant prince is always informing his audiences, real and imagined. Falstaff’s outrageously embodied language reminds us that life is all there is.
- Review of Harold Bloom's Give Me Life, by Jeanette Winterson, April 21, 2017, in NY Times