Ancient Pistol is one of the best comedic characters in Shakespeare’s plays. He appeared in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry V and Henry IV, Part II. He’s described by Falstaff as his “ancient,” or his ensign, and first appears in the Boar’s Head Tavern uninvited. He’s pursued by police in this same play because he assaulted a man who died. He’s also punished along with Falstaff at the end of Henry IV, Part II. The character of Baron Munchausen is based on a real-life person who fought for the Russian Empire. He became a celebrity after the Russo-Turkish War. The stories about his character inspired Rudolf Erich Raspe to adapt the man into a literary character. His exploits in the book are fictional. They feature his outrageous achievements and travels, much of which are clearly an exaggeration. Here is a quote from the book: Tragedy: refers to a type of drama that explores serious, sometimes dark, and depressing subject matter. Shakespeare uses the type most notably with the bombastic and self-glorifying ensign Ancient Pistol in Henry IV, Part 2, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry V. [4] Other examples are "fashion's own knight", the Spaniard Armardo, in Love's Labour's Lost, the worthless Captain Parolles in All's Well That Ends Well, and Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Sir Tophas of John Lyly's Endymion also fits the mold.

His usual function is to impede the love of the hero and heroine, and his power to do so stems from his greater social position and his increased control of cash. In the New Comedy, he was often the father of the hero and so his rival. More frequently since, he has been the father of the heroine who insists on her union with the bad fiancé; as such, he appears in both A Midsummer Night's Dream, where he fails and so the play is a comedy, and Romeo and Juliet, where his acts are successful enough to render the play a tragedy. One might say: “The alazon in this story is particularly funny.” Or, “Did you hear what he said? He’s like a modern-day alazon.” Alazons are usually used as a type of comic relief. These characters are clearly outrageous and admit to absurd deeds the reader, and the other characters, aren’t meant to take as fact. Depending on the character, they may be more or less likable. Someone like Falstaff is incredibly likable, while Pistol may be less so. Academic Drama: a theatrical movement that was popular during the Renaissance in the 16th-century. It was performed in universities.

Captain Parolles is a deceitful character who brags about his triumphs in war but actually turns out to be a coward. This is one of the central features of characters known as alazons. He’s abandoned by Bertram in this play, the only person who was willing to trust him. This was despite the fact that other characters had encouraged Bertram not to trust him to begin with. Throughout both plays, he engages in bombastic and over-the-top speeches. He is often, without realizing it, the butt of jokes. Frye, Northrop. 1957. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. London: Penguin, 1990. ISBN 0-14-012480-2.

Baron Munchausen from Baron Munchausen’s Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia by Rudolf Erich Raspe Victor L. Cahn, Shakespeare the Playwright: A Companion to the Complete Tragedies, Histories, Comedies, and Romances, Praeger, Westport, 1996. p.468.Carlson, Marvin. 1993. Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. Expanded. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8154-3.